Event title
- Co-production and Social Justice in Museums
Location
Date
Event facilitator
- Jon Sleigh (he/him)
- Jon is a learning officer, learning curator and author of the upcoming book What Are Museums For? (Bristol University Press, June 2024).
- Jon works freelance nationally as a specialist in fine art engagement with a diverse portfolio of arts institutions, museum and heritage sites across the UK.
- Clients include The National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, The National Archives, Historic Royal Palaces, Art Fund, V&A, Government Art Collection DCMS and the Arts Council Collection.
- Prior to this Jon worked for Birmingham Museums Trust / The Arts Collection in Round One of the acclaimed ACE National Partners Programme.
- Jon has built a strong reputation for innovation, applied ethics and delivery of projects reflecting inclusive futures. He has a passion for challenging and underrepresented narratives in art — co-producing with communities and bringing their lived experience to artworks for advocacy.
Event details
Participants will explore what it means to explicitly occupy museum spaces in social justice. Three central questions will guide the exploration
- How do museums safeguard themselves and others during this process?
- How does the institution change and respond to being part of social justice narratives?
- What does trust look like during this process?
The event will feature a panel which will share case studies on museums engaging with social justice through their collections and practice, aiming to create a space for sharing, rooted in care, emotion, and reflection.
Participants will discover how museums can use the power of collections in advocacy, activism and co-production. Participants will learn about practical examples of museum engagement which act as an emotional encounter in service of social justice initiatives.
Participants will further explore the role of museums in terms of challenging inequality — the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within society — and how museums can exercise their power towards challenging the status quo.
To find out more and register, potential participants can access Co-production and Social Justice in Museums.
Convened by Museums ID.