BCI Preview: Art, Whiteness, and Empire

Test-drive one of BCI’s core course modules with Art, Whiteness, and Empire, a standalone preview of our larger course of the same name, as well as our introductory course Anti-racist Approaches to Art Museums Today.

Designed as an accessible entry point, this self-paced module introduces the historical foundations of racial inequity in art institutions while equipping learners with critical frameworks for understanding how museums continue to shape power, exclusion, and representation today.


What You Will Learn

My goal with the test-drive module was to offer a focused entry point into the larger questions that shape anti-racist museum practice by examining how art museums developed through histories of whiteness, empire, and exclusion.

This module is intentionally concise, but it is also rigorous and deeply substantive. It is designed to introduce you to the critical frameworks at the heart of the full course while guiding you through key historical and conceptual foundations in a way that is both accessible and immediately useful.

By the end, you will have a stronger understanding of how these structures continue to shape the field today—and a clearer sense of how the larger course can help you think and work differently within it.

Curriculum

  Introduction
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Historical Context - Art, Whiteness, & Empire
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Conclusion & Future Directions
Available in days
days after you enroll

Your Instructor

With over ten years of experience as a curator, educator, and activist in the cultural sector, Dr. Kelli Morgan is widely known as a leader in progressive museum practice whose work develops and advances anti-racist approaches to art curation, fundraising, and community engagement. She regularly trains staff and emerging curators at institutions worldwide. She is a leading and influential voice in championing museum practices that are safer for and more responsible to individuals and communities of color.

As the facilitator of Art, Whiteness, & Empire, Dr. Morgan brings a wealth of knowledge and an unwavering commitment to the transformation of art spaces into more reflective and inclusive environments. Her passion for education is rooted in the belief that people have the potential to serve as powerful platforms for anti-racist advocacy and societal change. In each session, she aims to empower her students with the tools and perspectives necessary to effect positive change in the ways art is presented and interpreted, ensuring that diverse voices and narratives are honored within museum walls.

Choose a Pricing Option






Featured Courses


BCI has a full suite of courses to meet you exactly where you are in your practice.


ANTI-RACIST APPROACHES TO ART MUSEUMS TODAY

As expectations regarding the social responsibilities of art museums change, training students how to be anti-discriminatory in their professional practice becomes ever more crucial. This course is an introductory seminar to anti-racist curatorial practice. As such, students will explore various aspects of museum history, art history, collection management, object interpretation, fundraising, exhibition design, cataloging, community engagement and more to analyze the ways in which museums have functioned as cultural repositories of colonization and continue to exist as institutions rooted in imperialist histories and practices. 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.

Kelli Morgan

Kelli Morgan

$1,600

ART, WHITENESS, & EMPIRE

Examining the role of whiteness as a driving force behind European colonization, this course delves into how Western art museums evolved as cultural extensions of imperialism and colonialism. It critically investigates how this legacy shapes contemporary challenges within museums. Central to the course are the definitions of whiteness, colonization, and race, along with their specific roles in shaping museum collections, exhibitions, interpretive frameworks, the art market, and institutional policies regarding staff and visitors. Additionally, the course explores anti-racism, tracing its roots in Indigenous and Black intellectual traditions, and equips students with the tools to apply these frameworks to contemporary museum practices.

Kelli Morgan

Kelli Morgan

$1,600

PRACTICING EQUITY: INCLUSIVE CURATION AND THE ETHICS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Practicing Equity is an interactive seminar designed for emerging curators, artists, and cultural workers committed to building inclusive, community-centered art practices. The series integrates foundational texts from Black Feminists scholars and curators, alongside the various community-centered exhibitions, to connect critical theory with actionable professional practice. Each session engages participants in collective reflection, dialogue, and project-based exercises that emphasize art as a catalyst for social change and community empowerment. Rooted in the Black Curatorial Institute’s Community Impact and Connection to Practice core pillars, this curriculum encourages participants to see curatorial work as both an ethical responsibility and a transformative form of care.

Kelli Morgan

Kelli Morgan

$500