Gretchen Jennings of Museum Commons shares updates on the Empathetic Museum project, detailing conference presentations, web and social media presence, case studies, and recent collaborations. Learn more about how the Empathetic Museum Maturity Model was developed, and how you can begin to apply its principles to your own work as empathetic museum practice becomes increasingly more urgent and essential. Read Gretchen's post here and share your thoughts on Twitter (@gretchjenn, @EmpatheticMuse, #empatheticmuseum).
Given the recent election of Donald Trump, whose words and actions towards many groups of people have been so lacking in empathy, I think it is more important than ever for museums to model and embody empathetic practice and inclusiveness. As cultural institutions we have an obligation to preserve and enforce those aspects of our heritage that are tolerant, compassionate, and respectful of difference, and to work against, in an open way, our traditions of white privilege, racism, inequality, and oppression. |