Hmmm... Questions, anyone?
We love to ask questions.
Questions help us find clarity, push us to reconsider our assumptions, and open up the possibility for something new to emerge. This month all of our coffee break picks start with a question.
Coincidence? We think not.
September Coffee Break Picks
EMILY’S PICK
What Should an L.G.B.T.Q. Museum Be? Approaches Vary.
"This article made me think of how museums address histories and identities that are still actively being formed. The author, Tom Faber, compares the approaches of museums across the world that present L.G.B.T.Q. history and objects and grapples with issues within and outside the L.G.B.T.Q. community. So many museums historically ‘deal in the past’ that it also brings to mind interesting questions of how they engage with and respond to contemporary issues as they happen."
KATIE’S PICK
Why Do Rich People Love Quiet?
"When I came across this article, I immediately thought of museums as places I often associate with quiet and started to reflect on the values and systems that foster that environment. The author, Xochitl Gonzalez, presents a deeply personal commentary on the relationship between sound and joy, community, gentrification, power, and control. Although the article isn’t about museums specifically, it made me think: How can museums function as spaces that welcome and support a spectrum of experiences and preferences, sonic and otherwise?"
HANNAH’S PICK
Perfectly Valid Reasons to Visit Museums
"I appreciated the implied question in this tweet from Tom Hopkins, ‘Why do people visit museums?’ Together with the many thoughtful responses, the thread captures well all the various ways audiences value museum spaces–yes, to learn and look and experience, but also to enjoy a coffee or get out of the heat. An excellent reminder for museums to consider how they might welcome all types of visitors (I particularly enjoyed this anecdote from @rhiannonlit who went to Soane Museum years ago on an ‘awkward sort-of-date’ Being in a public space made her feel safe, and while the date didn’t go well, her relationship with the museum continues!)."
What’s New At Kera?
Hannah presented her research on whiteness at the 2022 Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Region I Virtual Conference in August! She presented with her sister, an ASL interpreter, and another interpreter, Heather Hanson. The name of the session was Let’s Call It What It Is: Naming + Dismantling White Supremacist Culture In Our Work. You can visit the website here.
It’s back to class for Amanda and Katie this fall! They will be training in R, a free statistical software. R for the Rest of Us is offering a special learning cohort for the Visitor Studies Association. Currently, Kera Collective and many other researchers use SPSS for statistical analysis. Transitioning to R will help us pass along the savings to our clients! Interested in learning R yourself? There are still opportunities to register and join the learning cohort!
Check out our August Insights on our Learning Hub. In this month’s Learning Hub, Katie writes about the complexity and nuance revealed through qualitative data, and Hannah writes about her own transition from museum education to museum research and consulting.
Moment of Wonder
"The Lahore Museum’s architecture is fascinating. It stands in the old colonial area, Mall Road, where British colonizers used to roam, closed off from the rest of Lahore, Pakistan. Its foundation as a colonial institution stands stark, but its design stood out to me, juxtaposing old British architecture. Although most of the original collection has been looted, I loved visiting this museum and seeing how the current exhibits create an understanding of the city of Lahore.”
—Taken by Lina, Summer 2022
