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How to Be an Empathetic Museum in this
Troubled Time March 20, 2020 We at The Empathetic Museum are mindful of and concerned about the current and future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our many communities, especially the vulnerable. At a time when our values and instincts drive us to be of service to our communities, closures to protect both our museums’ people and our visitors are being initiated or mandated, and some of us must shelter at home or care for loved ones. It is a tremendously difficult time; our hearts go out to everyone, and we hope that our empathetic museum principles provide inspiration for our work whenever possible. |
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Sign hanging on a closed store in Seattle, WA. Photo courtesy of José Lara.
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Above all, model institutional empathy by showing care for your staff. Professional staff may be able to work from home without disruption of pay yet may need morale boosting and time to adjust to this new routine. What about frontline, cafeteria, maintenance, and security staff? Have their hours been reduced or cut entirely? Do they have paid leave? Do some need immediate assistance? We must not forget them. Are there ways that we can share the burden and buy time for individuals facing the most dire economic consequences (i.e. furloughs vs layoffs)? Join with other museums and cultural institutions to advocate for financial assistance for the sector.
Despite your closure, think about ways to serve and remain in touch with your community through the five Empathetic Museum characteristics: Civic vision: Now more than ever, believe that your institution is part of the civic infrastructure of your municipality. Be in touch with other civic and community leaders so that you can be a part of planning and problem solving for your community. Institutional Body Language: Be a source of light, levity, and comfort. Be sure that all messages online, in print, or on other media embody and model empathy as well as respect for scholarship, accuracy of language and information. Do not propagate intolerant language by connecting the pandemic to a particular country or people. Provide your own or share links to activities for children and families at home. Share links from other arts organizations that are providing online music, theater, art instruction, etc. Community resonance: Practice civic responsibility and continue to be in touch with your community partners so that you can grapple together especially with local issues. Be aware of and work against racial, economic, or gender inequities as a result of this pandemic in your community. Timeliness and Sustainability: As Nina Simon has suggested in her widely distributed post on the current situation, think about and document the efforts you are making to retain contact with your audiences so that you might continue some of these even after the crisis is over. Performance measures: Develop, administer, and share methods of assessing the impact of your efforts. As one of our members said: “It's a bit like the oxygen mask -- we need to make sure we're safe but then need to start thinking about how we can be of help and service to those around us.” The Empathetic Museum: Janeen Bryant, Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Jim Cullen, Charlette Hove, Gretchen Jennings, Stacey Mann, Jackie Peterson, Nayeli Zepeda. |
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Cómo ser un museo empático en estos
tiempos difíciles Marzo 20, 2020 En The Empathetic Museum (El Museo Empático) estamos conscientes y ocupados en el impacto actual y futuro de la pandemia COVID-19 en muchas de nuestras comunidades, especialmente las vulnerables. En este momento, cuando nuestros valores e instintos nos llevan a servir a nuestras comunidades, se han iniciado cierres para proteger tanto al personal de los museos como a los visitantes, y algunos de nosotros tenemos que refugiarnos en casa o cuidar de nuestros seres queridos. Es un tiempo tremendamente difícil. Nuestros corazones se extienden a todos, y esperamos que los principios del museo empático aporten inspiración para el trabajo cuando sea posible. Sobre todo, genera empatía institucional al cuidar al personal. Quizá el personal pueda trabajar desde casa sin interrupciones en su pago, pero puede necesitar un aumento en la moral y tiempo para adaptarse a esta nueva rutina. ¿Qué pasa con aquéllos en servicio o atención al público, cafetería, mantenimiento, seguridad? ¿Se han reducido sus horas o se han eliminado completamente? ¿Cuentan con licencia remunerada? ¿Algunos de ellos necesitan ayuda inmediata? No debemos olvidarlos. ¿Hay maneras en las que podemos compartir la cargar y ganar tiempo para aquellos individuos que enfrentan las consecuencias económicas más graves (i.e. permisos de ausencia vs. despidos)? Únete a otros museos e instituciones culturales en abogar por asistencia financiera para el sector. A pesar del cierre de tu museo, piensa en maneras de servir a tu comunidad y mantenerte en contacto con ella a través de las cinco características del museo empático: Visión cívica: Ahora más que nunca, piensa que tu institución es parte de una infraestructura de tu localidad. Mantente en contacto con otros líderes cívicos y comunitarios para que seas parte de la planeación y solución de problemas para tu comunidad. Lenguaje corporal institucional: Se una fuente de luz, ligereza y alivio. Asegúrate de que tus mensajes en línea, impresos o en otros medios, expresen y representen empatía, así como respeto como la información experta y la precisión en el lenguaje. No propagues lenguaje intolerante al conectar la pandemia con un país o personas específicas. Comparte tus propias actividades para niños y familias en casa, o los links de otras instituciones. Comparte links de organizaciones que estén transmitiendo música, teatro u otras actividades de educación artística en línea. Resonancia en la comunidad: Practica la responsabilidad cívica y mantén el contacto con los aliados de tu comunidad para que puedan luchar juntos por los asuntos locales. Ten cuidad y trabaja en contra de las inequidades raciales, económicas y de género que sean resultado de esta pandemia. Oportunidad y sostenibilidad: Como Nina Simon sugiere en su texto sobre la situación actual, piensa cómo y documenta los esfuerzos que estás haciendo para mantener el contacto con tus públicos, así podrás continuar con algunos de éstos incluso ya terminada la crisis. Medidas de desempeño: Desarrolla, administra y comparte métodos para evaluar el impacto de tus esfuerzos. Como uno de nuestros miembros dijo: “Es un poco como la máscara de oxígeno; necesitamos asegurarnos de que estamos a salvo, pero entonces necesitamos empezar a pensar cómo podemos ayudar y servir a los que están a nuestro alrededor.” The Empathetic Museum (El Museo Empático): Janeen Bryant, Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Jim Cullen, Charlette Hove, Gretchen Jennings, Stacey Mann, Jackie Peterson, Nayeli Zepeda. |
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Why Empathy?
Visitor-centered. Civic-minded. Diverse. Inclusive. Welcoming. Responsive. Participatory. The qualities of 21st century museums are impossible without an inner core of institutional empathy: the intention of the museum to be, and be perceived as, deeply connected with its community. But how? Assuming an empathetic institutional stance has little to do with sentimentality or inappropriate emotionalism. Instead, just as empathetic individuals must have a clear sense of their own identities in order to perceive and respond effectively to the experience of others, the empathetic museum must have a clear vision of its role as a public institution within its community. From this vision flow process and policy decisions about every aspect of the museum- audience, staffing, collections, exhibitions and programming, social media, emergency responses - all the ways in which a museum engages with its community(ies). Institutional empathy must live at the core of our museum practice –exhibition and new media design; inclusive and diverse exhibition design and programming in terms of race, ethnicity, accessibility, and sexual orientation; immediate and effective responses to crises in the local community. |
THANK YOU!We are humbled by the inquiries and responses we've received from colleagues from around the globe who have found the Maturity Model a helpful tool for starting conversations and taking action within their institutions. If you have suggestions for how we can make this valuable tool even better, we want to hear from you!
Professional Development Workshops:Looking to spark concrete and actionable growth in your organization? Learn more about our workshops and contact us to schedule a conversation.
Updates & Publications
The Empathetic Museum:
A New Institutional Identity A reflection on the trajectory of recent EDI trends and what comes next for museums and cultural institutions. Now at Curator Journal Or, contact us to request a copy The Zeitgeist of Tyranny: What Should Museums Do? Gretchen Jennings has written a new article over at Museum Commons, asking museums to think about themselves in the broader democracy, echoing, "Do not obey in advance." AVAILABLE IN SPANISH
Our Maturity Model rubric and Instructions are now available in Spanish! Thanks to our newest Empathetic Museum member Nayeli Zepeda, Art Historian and specialist in museum education, and Editor, Daniela Ekdesman. To download, please contact us using our webform. |
Empathy: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2013)
