The art museum as a generative site: a case study of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Abstract

Art museums have long been catalysts for the creation of art. In them, artists engage in active dialogue with the present and the past, looking at what others have made. Encyclopedic art museums can especially serve as generative sites for creative engagement. With The Metropolitan Museum of Art as a case study, this chapter examines the recent re-emergence of artist-centered and artist-led programs in art museums as these relate to higher education, highlighting how these changes reflect shifts in the broader culture and developments in both artistic and academic practices. We argue that the aims of partnerships between the academy and the museum today have become much more multifaceted than in the early days of museums. Such collaborative relationships are now helping to build communities of practice and activating modes of participation and interaction that are not possible in the studio nor the classroom.