Welcome to the Kera Collective Coffee Break!
Hi everyone! We are grateful to have you here. This kicks off our first-ever "coffee break" newsletter, where we'll share with you what our staff is reading and pondering each month, with a few "surprise & delights" along the way. Thank you for joining us! Grab your favorite mug, and dive on in.
July Coffee Break Picks
STEPHANIE’S PICK
Doing Evaluation in Service of Racial Equity
"This free three-part download from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is a must-read for evaluators working in the museum field. I was especially interested in the second part, Deepen Community Engagement, because as anyone working in museums right now knows, the words, "community engagement" are being used with great frequency and without much of a shared understanding of what it really means. This resource breaks down and operationalizes the words community and engagement in the context of evaluation."
EBONY’S PICK
Pausing, Reflection, and Action: Decolonizing Museum Practices
"In this article, Brandie Macdonald discusses how museums are both sites for community gatherings and records of pain for Black, Indigenous and Communities of Color. Macdonald considers how museums might begin to hold themselves accountable and enact anti-colonial and decolonial practices. She describes her museum's efforts to practice transparency and truth-telling with an online exhibit and physical, interpretive panels. In particular, I was interested in Macdonald’s discussion of “pausing,” an act of reflection, as a decolonial strategy."
LINA’S PICK
Museum Orientalism: East versus West in US American Museum Administration and Space, 1870-1910 (Part Two)
"The author is a great read for anyone who is a part of the museum industry—from curators to audiences. The article examines the ways that exhibitions are structured, and how certain decisions affirm orientalist thinking present in the academy and museum communities. Through a case study of the MET, the author offers an analysis of how, historically, museums have emphasized binaries of East vs. West. I recommend this for those who are committed to understanding decolonization and anti-imperialism."
What’s New At Kera?
We are humbled to begin a new project with the Mind and Life Institute, which brings science and contemplative wisdom together to create positive change in the world.
Amanda and Cathy are Omaha-bound this month! They are excited to attend the Visitor Studies Association's 34th annual conference from July 12-14 and see friends and colleagues in person for the first time in a long time!
Cathy recently had a blast meeting with students in the Evaluating Museum Learning class that is part of GW's Master's in Museum Education program. She shared some case studies of past Kera experience design research projects and answered students' questions about getting started with evaluation.
Moment of Wonder
"Over Memorial Day weekend I camped with friends near Ricketts Glen State Park in northern Pennsylvania. The park is known for the Falls Trail System which has 22 glens with massive waterfalls! I got lucky that we went right after it rained so the falls were really at their peak with lots of water rushing down. Feeling the mist on my face and hearing the rush of the falls was so relaxing and just what I needed to start off the summer."
— Cathy
