Excerpts from our recent interview with Lori Fogarty, Executive Director, Oakland Museum of California:
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 "We have been on a continuous and conscientious journey toward being an empathetic organization for the past ten years – In the past decade, our major first step was the reinstallation of all of our collection galleries of Art, History and Natural Sciences (90,000 square feet in total) with the explicit goal to create welcoming, accessible, and relevant experiences for our very diverse audience. More recently, we have embraced programming that is designed to be responsive to urgent, vital issues – often with direct Oakland connections, but with broader national implications, and often highlighting current topics within their compelling historical contexts. This approach was most in evidence with our recent major exhibition, "All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50," linking the founding of the Black Panther Party in Oakland in 1966 with current issues of racial inequity and Black Lives Matter."

Here, OMCA exemplifies Civic Vision and Institutional Empathy as they prescribe an empathetic identity for the museum, and highlight individuals seen in the Oakland community through museum exhibition. They embody the voice of their community by interviewing and incorporating real individuals connected to their collection, modeling an Institutional Body Language. As with any museum shift, the museum faced some tough decisions and challenges regarding this new gallery upheaval:

"This journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Early on, with the reinstallation of our galleries, we definitely had some staff resistance to our approaches and had to make difficult decisions about leadership for these projects – including replacing some key positions. At this point, I believe our staff knows what they’re signing up for when they join the Museum and most of the nay-sayers are no longer employed here, either by their own choice or with encouragement for them to find a better fit. Having true employee commitment to this kind of work is essential and that definitely means making some hard decisions."

OMCA has also become an advocate for their community as they show Timeliness and Sustainability by reacting to political changes that directly impact their visitor:

"Beyond temporary exhibitions, our Gallery of California History has many moments linking current issues with historical moments. Most notably, we recently reinstalled the section of the gallery devoted to the Japanese American internment when a specific ethnic group was singled out for persecution, and have linked this tragic moment in our nation’s history with Trump’s call for a “Muslim Ban.” Similarly, we have a section of the gallery titled “History Now” where we linked the Syrian Refugee Crisis to the refugee crisis that took place in the wake of the fall of the Ottoman Empire close to 100 years ago. In this same space, we recently made links between the Dakota Access Pipeline and the genocide of Native people in California."

OMCA links their collection to topics that directly impact their visitors. The process of highlighting these sensitive historical facts while connecting them to Oakland and the museum collection places importance on our actions as U.S citizens, while bringing awareness to these issues that affect people within their community. OMCA utilizes “Soft Power” in exhibition and display by providing questions for visitors to consider on the nature of the exhibition and the world’s social climate; questions that link previous historical instances to contemporary political actions. This quality in a cultural institution is imperative. It informs visitors that the institution accepts its community, accepts diversity, and will be a supporter of and for them.

Lori expressed to us how she works with the Oakland community to better serve them through museum efforts. She illustrates core messaging that the museum stands by, and how she implements that in physical expression throughout the museum:

"One of the real hallmarks of OMCA’s work is direct engagement of communities in all aspects of our exhibitions and programming. We often think of our work with communities in the spectrum of three 'C’s' – consultation, collaboration, and co-creation. We are always consulting with community members and leaders as well as with visitors as we test and prototype ideas. For the Black Panthers exhibition, we consulted with dozens of former Black Panthers, writers, artists, scholars, law enforcement representatives and current activists and community leaders.

On the co-creation spectrum, we presented an exhibition last summer called, 'Oakland…I want you to know,' which focused on issues of gentrification in a rapidly transforming neighborhood in Oakland. This exhibition was completely co-created with community members and organizations, facilitated by a social practice artist, Chris Treggiari. The visitor responsive was, again, truly remarkable. One visitor responded:

'I like this exhibit. It’s very Oakland-centric and I live here. We are members of this  community. I like to see other people’s opinions…I’m proud I live here. I chose to live here because of the diversity and the different kinds of things you can find here. I’ve been here for years and it’s changed a lot. I feel a lot of the community – the pain and pride – in this exhibit.'

So, our visitors themselves respond with empathy."

By providing this information to the public, the Oakland Museum of California becomes a vital institution for truth, discussion, engagement, learning and acceptance of diversity. We believe this institution exhibits a Community Resonance that makes it an integral part of the community it serves: past and present peoples, and again highlights Oakland individuals and their stories. Lori also acknowledges the challenges associated with taking a stance on local hot-button issue.

"I’ll acknowledge here, however, that some of our long-standing supporters and volunteers – who represent more "traditional" museum audiences – have raised questions about the topics of exhibitions, the perspectives they represent, and our focus on hyper local issues. I’ve had a number of people ask me: "Are we a museum or a community center?" And my answer is – YES! We remain dedicated to our collections, to serious research and scholarship for our exhibitions, and to presenting outstanding artwork and artifacts – AND to placing the community at the center of the experience. It’s just that our definition of "community" has changed to be much more inclusive and to reflect a commitment to equity. For some more traditional supporters, however, this can almost been seen as our diminishment of our commitment to "their" community. It is a constant balancing act that requires nuance, humility and, hopefully, generosity."

We also asked Lori how reality aligned with her initial expectations for this new approach, and she responded that the overwhelming response from visitors was to welcome the connections and to embrace the opportunity to participate and add their own voices. 

"For example, in the History Now exhibit section related to Native rights and sovereignty, we ask the question: "How is what happened at Standing Rock different – or the same – as what happened in the 1800s?" This question not only elicits responses from our visitors, but also ignites conversations on post-it-notes and index cards between them. Similarly, the section in the History Gallery on the Great Depression asks a series of questions related to income inequality, organized labor, workers’ rights – and the power of art to create empathy – to which our visitors enter into whole conversations on the walls of the gallery."

In this, OMCA provides opportunities for visitor engagement, discussion and contemplation. Museum acknowledgement and instigation is key. OMCA is an “Anchor Institution”, as it has become a safe space for visitors, and even encourages visitors to explore their opinions publicly and with one another. It also provides a literal safe space to share with the community:

"While OMCA has developed and presented dozens of programs and initiatives that I would consider to embody empathy, I believe these initiatives are more profound than ever before, and certainly feel very different to me today than they did even a few months ago. To be precise, the change took place on November 8th, 2016. Our community is hungry now for places to come together, to celebrate diversity, and to have our faith in humanity restored. We produce a weekly evening festival – Friday Nights @ OMCA – that attracts thousands of people to the Museum each and every Friday night with food trucks, live music, family activities, and a full range of programming.  I had a visitor tell me after the election that our Friday Nights feel like an act of revolution.

We were excited to learn recently of the work of the Erie Art Museum and their program Old Songs New Opportunities—a program that harnesses the talents of former refugees to share traditional songs in childcare centers. We were fortunate to communicate with Director of Education & Folk Art, Kelly Armor, who explained the timeliness and community resonance of the program as well as the program’s alignment with institutional goals:
 
“In 2003 the Erie Art Museum was designated a Regional Folk Art Support Center by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. This state-wide program designates particular non-profits in different regions of PA to provide basic infrastructure for traditional arts, basic fieldwork in identifying artists in one’s region, and assisting folk artists in perpetuating their traditions and creating more community access to folk art. As I got to know the refugee community here, and my experience working with early childhood I saw that both groups could really benefit from each other: Child cares don’t have enough staff who will freely sing with children (most Americans don’t grow up with a traditional sense of song and they feel they can’t sing) and they also are hungry for authentic multicultural curriculum. Refugee women need jobs and a path to figure out their identity in their new home.”
 
We asked Kelly to tell us a little about the challenges and opportunities that the museum faced in sustaining the program after its initial launch. Cultural differences and facilitating genuine cross-cultural understanding proved challenging, but ultimately rewarding for participants and the institution. Also, taking on larger social issues allowed the museum to address deep-seated community needs while improving the community as a whole—and promoting diversity and inclusion.
 
“Some of the trainings we’ve had some tense moments because different cultures do things differently and there are misunderstandings and judgements. But we’ve been able to use those ‘teachable moments’ to really create true cross-cultural understanding…. One huge challenge is that Pennsylvania, over the past 10 years, has had a major initiative to professionalize the childcare workforce. This has been, on the whole, a good thing. Many childcare teachers are getting much more training and are becoming better teachers. There are now powerful financial incentives for childcares to hire professional staff. Unfortunately the state is very narrow in their definition of qualifications and it is completely measured by whether you have a degree. Despite best practices saying it is best to have staff diversity, because of these new programs, staff has become much less diverse, and it has been much harder for women from our program to get jobs.” 

​Kelly’s comments helped illuminate the importance of consistent, sustained efforts to meet community needs, and the payoffs from strong alignment between stated program goals and values, and other aspects of museum programming and training:
 
“Our program is not exhibit related, but we have used OSNO in a variety of public programming that has been very successful. We regularly use OSNO graduates to assist with teacher trainings. We build entire workshops around their songs, cuisine, clothing, and child-rearing traditions for childcare providers…. We also have OSNO grads help with teacher workshops for K-12 educators where we can go more deeply into history, culture, and pedagogy.”
 
After assessing program outcomes, Kelly’s team worked to strengthen stated goals and make positive outcomes more self-sustaining. Their experiences speak to the importance of tracking and responding to performance measures, and of allowing an initiative to grow and evolve in response to new opportunities, needs, and setbacks.
 
“American childcare teachers LOVED our workshops. We often filled them to capacity. They loved learning about the cultures and meeting the OSNO grads. But we discovered that it wasn’t fundamentally changing their teaching practice. They might have done a lesson that used material they got from the training, and they certainly became more empathetic towards their own students from other cultures, but no one was singing more. We distributed CDs so they could learn the songs to use with children, but instead, they’d just play the CD. So, we sent OSNO grads as song coaches into every single classroom of the three largest childcare providers in the county. They worked with over 300 teachers in over 100 classrooms at 30 sites.”
 
The reciprocity of OSNO speaks strongly to the Empathetic Museum Maturity Model. In particular, genuine collaborations help museums achieve greater community resonance and stronger alignment between mission and institutional body language.
 
“Public programs have included OSNO graduates presenting their songs at our Blues and Jazz festival, and hosting World Refugee Day celebrations annually, and working them into our monthly family program. Some of our graduates are amazing artists, and I’ve been able to help them get grants to pass their traditions to capable apprentices and to purchase supplies. Some of them we hire to assist with tours. They tell stories and sing songs that connect with current exhibits.”

Kelly’s responses also reflect the challenge of sustaining community responsiveness with available resources. The Empathetic Museum Maturity Model advocates community connection, collaborative spirit, and civic leadership—buoyed by a core of institutional empathy. The OSNO program provides a great example of how a core of empathy can guide museums through the challenges and opportunities of responding to community issues, and making change that endures. Kelly’s comments reveal how empathetic practice produces noticeable benefits even when the fullest outcomes are not realized right away:
 
“All the supervisors reported that the song coach visits got every one singing, and all of them said, unequivocally, that it made their centers happier places. Singing lightened the mood, and teachers were using much less punitive discipline measures because children’s social behavior was better. Despite this, it takes work, and many teachers have probably stopped singing as much. I wish we could visit everyone every 6 months or so to teach them new songs and continue encouraging them.”
 
OSNO facilitates empathy at all levels of the program as well as between individuals, institutions, and the broader community:
 
“I often describe OSNO as a job training and culture preservation project but it is all about empathy. One OSNO grad said that the OSNO songs are like little passports, they open up doors that were previously closed…. The same woman who said the songs are like passport, who is from Palestine said, ‘When I sing to you, you can’t hate me.’ These songs are charming and disarming and now more than ever, we need both to be charmed and disarmed!”
 
OSNO also elevates the status of refugee and immigrant communities and enriches the non-refugee community, demonstrating institutional body language that champions diversity and cross-cultural understanding:
 
“Also, American teachers really respond to the OSNO song coaches as people. They have said to the OSNO grads, ‘I like learning the songs, but it really becomes meaningful knowing you.’ I remember one OSNO song coach describing life in a refugee camp and explained that the child that patiently waits in line will not get any food. She said she worked hard with refugee children to teach them to wait in line, but she did it gently as she understood that the child was simply using survival skills learned in the camp. I’ve heard lots of teachers retelling that story — it had a huge impact on them.” 
 
Finally, in a recent post on the Center for the Future of Museums blog, John Vanco, Director of the Erie Art Museum, explained how the program benefits the institution, the participants, and the community, and bridges a critical service gap in the community:
 
“We do it because no other institution in our region is treating refugees as the cultural assets that they are. We do it because we’ve literally seen the lives of refugees change when they get jobs that honor their talents…. We have benefited from this work as well. We can boast excellent relationships with our refugee community, the social service agencies that serve them, and scores of child care programs. These relationships have generated new collaborations and an increase in tours. Former refugees and early childhood teachers who never would have considered visiting the museum are now part of our regular audience.”
 
Old Songs New Opportunities recently released a CD of 35 songs collected as part of the job training and sung in both the native languages and in English. Learn more here.
 
If you would like to recommend your own museum, or know of another institution engaged in empathetic practice, please contact us here. We want to know about your work! Watch this space for new honorees.
 
Learn more about OSNO:
Video by childcare partner about why they do the program: https://youtu.be/Wqx0cr3-T9w
Video about the teacher’s perspective on using OSNO songs: https://youtu.be/g6wmz9v_3e8

​​Museum Commons blogger Gretchen Jennings and other Empathetic Museum colleagues write in response to Museum Geek blogger Suse Cairns' question: Can institutions be empathetic? 
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​See the full post here.
What are your questions or thoughts on the issues raised by Suse and Gretchen? Join the conversation: @gretchjenn, @EmpatheticMuse, #empatheticmuseum.