I am a graduate student at the University of Oregon, preparing a Master's
Project on the museum's changing role in presenting objects in exhibits. I
am specificly interested in finding museums that have produced exhibits
that expose the exhibit development process to visitors in a
thought-provoking way. The best example of this that I have found so far
would be the "Mining the Museum" installation by Fred Wilson that was in
the Maryland Historical Society several years ago. I've also read that the
SI Museum of Natural History is attempting to revise some of their
colonialist, racist, or otherwise biased exhibits, and has met with some
resistance from the public for being too "PC". Has anyone else identified
these subtexts (political, racial, socio-economic etc. biases) in their
presentation (new or existing) of specific collections or objects AND
shared them with their visitors in an exhibit? Does anyone know of an
exhibit that educates the public regarding these dilemmas generally (an
exhibit about exhibits)?
Thanks for your help.
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