When an Elite Museum Prioritizes Inclusion

The Live6 area is home to a robust cultural and creative community. And with an increase in development, there's opportunity for artists and institutions to tap into that energy to spur growth.

Some arts organizations in Orange County, CA have found creative ways to deal with Covid-19 closures by bringing their collections online, creating digital programming, and reaching out to new audiences. For example, the Muckenthaler Cultural Center hands out weekly art kits to kids and seniors and reports donation support from an entirely new group of donors. Others have taken the opportunity to create new content and bring their collections online to engage with those stuck at home of all ages. Not all have been able to withstand the Covid-related closures and many art galleries have closed down for good.

Nas Most uses artistic and cultural initiatives to combat loneliness among seniors. Over seven years, informal weekly meet-ups turned into formal painting and handicraft courses and membership grew from 30 to over 100 seniors. The association also organizes events to exhibit members’ works and partners with other groups to create and share podcasts, organize concerts, and offer other artistic events for seniors. Cultural exchanges with organizations in Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, and Serbia also help build social connections, which provide physical and mental health benefits for seniors.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Our Bridge in Bosnia provided services to seniors to combat social isolation. Despite having to shut down in-person classes due to the pandemic, both groups now use online art and music classes to reach people who are isolated and at risk of depression. The group joined with the Serbian association, Art Aparat, to offer singing, art, and handicraft classes by video. In person connections are preferred and missed, but the group adapted to changing circumstances to provide even more isolated seniors with social connections, and the partnership allows for cultural exchanges.

Dario Calmese’s Black Art Yearbook captures candid portraits of curators, collectors, dealers and other people who support the creation of black art. In this way, Calmese is making a historical record of an exciting moment as well as commemorating people that are often marginalized or erased by the creation of ‘official’ art history.

Buffalo’s Albright-Knox Art Gallery created the position of public art curator in 2014. Since then, a combination of public and private funding has created site-specific public art across the city bringing prominent artists to Buffalo as well as involving local artists and community members.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Arizona State University have teamed up to provide graduate students with a scholarship, an opportunity to work at LACMA, and a salary for that work. Furthermore, the program is aimed at people of color and has a goal of helping to diversify the curatorial profession.

California nonprofits are stepping up to provide young people with arts education opportunities in light of the lack of arts funding and programming at schools. In Seaside, the multicultural organization Palenke Arts offers classes in a variety of dance, visual arts, and a Spanish book club that are accessible to many ages.

The Spanish-Language Community Advisory Network works with a performing arts center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to bring in Latino audiences by showing culturally-relevant films, reducing language barriers, and even inviting the films’ cast and crew to the screenings.

The National Museum of Mexican Art’s Yollocalli Arts Reach provides space for young people to collaborate with each other, work with mentors, and gain exposure to different art forms and creative skills. Yollocalli serves Chicago’s youth in predominately Latino neighborhoods and focused on free art programming, mentorship, and career support. The programming emphasizes creativity as a tool for youth to learn to express their needs, share their ideas, and influence their environment. Nearly 3,000 teenagers and young adults have participated in Yollocalli’s programs with forty lead artists.