Dear readers,
 
Should museums address social issues?
Can they?
How?
 
I've been reading through the final report of the Philadelphia
Initiative for Cultural Pluralism and find the whole initiative and
subsequent conference fascinating.
 
For those of you that believe "Museums are not in the business of
social work", the organizing committee responds:
        "...that while there are many urban problems with which
        museums are unable to deal, [I'd like to know which ones]
        museums are indeed SOCIAL AGENCIES.
They are experts in "education","presentation, interpretation,
celebration of cultural pluralism" and "the promotion of community pride".
 
"Excellence & Equity asked:
        "How can museum professionals and trustees effect the lasting
        change needed to assure that museums are integral to the
        social fabric?"
 
How can museums play a larger role in the social fabric of the
community, if they will not deal with social issues?
        Community is defined as "non-majority categories...that have
        borne the brunt of discrimination by the American mainstream
        for long periods of time."
 
The social issues of importance in the Intiative included
"how to keep young people in school, how to train them for meaningful
work, the urgent need for job creation, as well as the battle against
violence and drugs and the struggle to improve housing and health services".
 
I'm hard pressed to find those social issues museums cannot in some way use
their resources to address.
Can museums play a role in the betterment of our cities?
Now that some museums have accepted that their messages are indeed
political, can museums move beyond accepting and reinforcing the status quo
to critically examining it?
 
Should museums deal with social issues?  If they cannot, how else can
they remain relevant?
If so, how should museums change their organizational structure, planning
steps, proceedures, and professional perspectives in order to
1) begin a dialogue with the community regarding the most prevalent issues
2) respond to these issues in a very inclusive way?
 
Please respond or suggest current literature on this topic if you like.
Thank you
Susan Pointe
Museum Studies
University of Toronto