Date of Award

Spring 5-20-2021

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA Museum Professions

Department

Communication and the Arts

Advisor

Gregory Stevens, M.A.T.

Committee Member

Renee Robinson, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Ruth Tsuria, Ph.D.

Committee Member

McKenna Schray, Ph.D.

Keywords

museums, race, identity, exhibitions, curator, critical race theory, systemic racism, community, document analysis, multi-case study, cross-case synthesis

Abstract

After the many racial injustices that occurred in 2020, cultural institutions have been motivated to educate the public on historical and contemporary topics of race and identity. This project sought to analyze exemplary cases of exhibition production with topics of race and identity in mid-sized art museums. The goal was to provide a set of recommendations for exhibiting these topics to bolster community trust. Two museums were studied–the Montclair Art Museum and Newark Museum of Art–which revealed that the exhibitions at both institutions were relevant to contemporary issues, engaging to their respective communities, and educational for a wide range of audiences.

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