Abstract
Since the twentieth century, museums have faced stages of reinvention as pedagogical venues. Because beliefs among groups in terms of race, sexuality, and religiosity are contentious with political interests towards power for dominance, the complex museum world, representing various cultural ideologies, has become an important implication for public education. In this paper, I examine how museums handle different perspectives and controversial issues by resisting safe and “making-nice” exhibitions that only appeal to the “mainstream” audience. It is critical for museum leaders to analyze controversial art exhibitions and create strategies for approaching them while protecting the reputation of the museum. While examining some of the challenges museums have faced in hosting controversial exhibitions, this paper puts forth three reconceptualized roles of reinvented museums in association with the notion of pedagogical controversy: museums breaking down manipulative “museumification,” museum’s progressive positioning for freedom of expression, and the cross-generational curatorial voice of the museum. I also emphasize thorough preparation of controversial exhibitions and programs to generate creative dialogues and to protect museum reputation as public venues by discussing successful precedents.
Published Version
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