Bridges Through the Artworld

This thesis explores various modes of experiencing art through the realms of the traditional museum and alternative museums/art organizations. The history of the museum is deeply entrenched in segregated and colonialist pasts, particularly in private and public displays of looted objects from around the world. In addition, museums have historically spotlighted and catered to white, European-based, male artists and audiences. These legacies have created a divide within the art world, particularly in how these traditional structures have excluded and alienated communities that have been marginalized (women, people of color, queer, etc.). Through explorations within the traditional and alternative museums/organizations in the United States and abroad, interviews, bell hooks’ theorizations and personal narratives, this thesis explores how cultural workers are restoring these severed bridges between Black, Indigenous, and other people of color’s (BIPOC) communities and the art world. Many museum workers are renovating the traditionalist museum from the inside, diversifying the artwork shown, creating more outreach and inclusion programs, and calling for the support/reorganization of the board and trustees. Alongside these efforts, alternative organizations to the museum are doing the work that oftentimes cannot be done within the traditionalist structures due to their more rigid internal structuring -- giving them greater opportunities to work in tandem with the diverse communities that they represent. Though their foundations vary, both traditional and alternative art organizations have created strong bridges between the artworld and BIPOC communities by prioritizing paid fellowships for artists/art workers, studio space, education on navigating the art world, and accessibility for the community to join and see the art on display. Ultimately, the necessity for variance within art spaces, how they’re structured, who they cater to, and what they have on display is necessary in order to accurately represent the vast, diverse field of art.