Confronting our Whiteness: Our First Steps Toward Systemic Change

By: Stacey Mann, learning experience designer and interpretive strategist, Saralyn Rosenfield, Director of Learning & Engagement, Delaware Art Museum, and Amelia Wiggins, Manager of Gallery Learning & Interpretation, Delaware Art Museum

In Fall 2017 - Spring 2018, the Empathetic Museum ran a series of Workshops for the Delaware Art Museum as they invested in a museum-wide training for their staff and docents ramping up to a series of special exhibitions and programs reflecting on 1968 and the occupation of Wilmington by the National Guard.

These sessions have opened dialogue within the institution and inspired deep reflection by staff on their practices and efforts to be a more inclusive space for the community.

Find the article here on Medium.com.

"To truly become an inclusive, welcoming, and relevant institution to all of Wilmington’s communities, we needed to go beyond tokenistic staff hires and one-off cultural programs. We needed to fundamentally change our internal practice by first acknowledging our limited perspective and our deficits as a predominately White institution (2). By starting with institutional self-examination, we were able to begin the process of changing the way we looked and acted across the institution and provide socially just and equitable service to our entire community."

Photos taken during the Empathetic Museum workshops with members of EM and the Delaware Art Museum staff.