The Incluseum
An interview with Rose Paquet & Aletheia Whittman
By Maya Muñoz-Tobón
The Incluseum is a project based in Seattle, Washington seeking to encourage social inclusion in museums.
What does Incluseum mean?
“Incluseum” is a blend of two words: Inclusion and Museum and captures our mission to encourage social inclusion in museums. A friend suggested this name and we thought it was perfect for referring to complicated matters in a more playful and light-hearted manner ... although we believe our work is important, we wanted to avoid sounding too somber or stuffy. The Incluseum represents our dream museum, one in which issues of social inclusion are central and shape the future standard for museums.
Could you tell me what motivated you to start the Incluseum blog?
Over the last few years, we’ve had a growing awareness of the fact that museums, although public in nature, mainly serve a non-diverse population (i.e., white, well-educated, middle- to upper-class individuals). We see this unequal access to museum resources as problematic, because it is detrimental to the idea of museums existing for the public good and potentially reinforces patterns of exclusion and disadvantage in society.
This realization was compounded by our graduate studies in Museology at the University of Washington. For our respective Master’s thesis topics, each of us examined new strategies for museum inclusion of individuals experiencing homelessness (Rose) and local communities when they are largely comprised of residents who have low income status and/or are people of color (Aletheia). We discovered that although examples of socially inclusive practices in museums exist, they are not always easy to find. It occurred to us that perhaps the compilation, documentation, and exchange of inclusive museum projects was an area that needed to be strengthened.
How do you see your role in the Incluseum blog?
We view our role as facilitators and coordinators of dialogue that seeks to serve people from within the museum field, as well as academics and those doing direct service work in our communities. Specifically, we invite guest bloggers to share their work and expertise addressing issues of social inclusion. We also seek ways to create real-time conversations through discussion groups in the community and at conferences (or similar events).
Who have you noticed participates and contributes to the blog more often?
Our initial readership emerged from our connections with people in museum related professions and academic programs. Our readership has grown to now encompass people from all over the world and of diverse backgrounds. We are currently trying to collect concrete data about this audience in order to better connect with the interests and needs of our readers. If you visit our blog, be sure to tell us what you think and share your ideas or projects with us!
How does the Incluseum participate in offline projects and initiatives?
We don’t currently have a set programming schedule and respond to opportunities as they arise. For example, through recent partnership with Seattle’s Emerging Museum Professional group, we hosted a discussion group on how museums are currently addressing issues of race, racism, and privilege and how they can better do so in the future. For us, this was an inaugural discussion. We are in the process of forming an advisory group to help us kickstart an ongoing series of discussions that would explore these issues more in depth.
What do you see in the near future for the Incluseum blog?
In the future, we wish to broaden the scope of our posts to include, for example, more on the inclusion of those in our communities that are LGBTQ, indigenous, and/or immigrant. We are also interested in hosting posts on gender issues and the greater inclusion and empowerment of youth. Additionally, we are looking to connect with organizations doing direct service work with these various groups to both learn from them and investigate opportunities to bridge museums to the work they do.
Anything else you want Quickest Flipest to know about the ins and outs of Incluseum?
Read it, tell your friends, and feel free to tell us how the Incluseum could help you build community around issues of social inclusion. We are always interested in hosting the writing, research, examples, and commentary of people doing socially inclusive work.
