WELCOME!!

Thank you for enrolling in the Black Curatorial Institute's (BCI) Introductory Course on Anti-Racist Approaches to Art Museum Praxis

As expectations regarding the social responsibilities of art museums change, training arts professionals how to be anti-discriminatory in their professional practices becomes ever more crucial. This course is an introductory seminar to anti-racist museum practice, designed as a gateway into our broader five-course certificate that focuses on the following areas:

• Art Museum History: Understanding how western art museums developed as cultural repositories of colonialism.
• Counter-Hegemonic Approaches: Learning how to identify traditional museum practices that are rooted in racist principles for points of potential rupture and transgression of institutional “norms.” Enabling students to better identify and overcome obstacles to their ideas & professional methodologies.
• Ethics and Equity: Approaching collection & exhibition development, and overall museum programming, with a critical lens that fully and tangibly engages target audiences. These learnings will present ethical and best practices for success in presenting projects that center historically marginalized communities.
• Connection to Practice: Experience practical and real-world applications through analyses of case studies and a practicum course that allows students to learn from experienced anti-racist curatorial practitioners.
• Community Impact: Engaging communities through curatorial approaches that position collective care within frameworks of social and racial equity. 

Note - The Certificate Program will launch in Spring 2025.



As such, students in this course will explore the general principles of the above areas & the basic aspects of anti-racist approaches to museum history, art history, collection management, curation, object interpretation, fundraising, exhibition design, cataloging, & community engagement.

The course is a radical reframing that considers what it means to see the functionality of whiteness as a system of possession, and how to employ various anti-racist, decolonial, and Black feminist methodologies to undo its cultural hegemony in the arts. Students will learn about the history of racism in art institutions, as well as current efforts and challenges to addressing and dismantling these oppressive systems. Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and virtual activities, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how art museums can serve as inclusive and welcoming spaces for all visitors.

Each module includes multiple lessons that contain a list of learning objectives specific to the topic and activities planned for its week. In addition to completing readings, watching video lectures and participating in class discussion (via the comment section underneath the course materials), students are expected to complete a series of short-term and long-term assignments throughout the duration of the course. Please take some time now to review the expectations and requirements for these assignments, and share any questions or concerns with the instructor. These module objectives are designed to promote student achievement in meeting the overall course objectives.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Recognize & examine the ways in which racism has been embedded in art museums.
• Apply strategies for promoting diversity and equity in museum spaces.
• Actively engage in anti-racist practices within the museum field.