ABSTRACT

Art museums around the world play an integral role in the formation and preservation of collective identity and national belonging. As part of wider efforts for social change, these institutions are being challenged to decolonize and confront racism with renewed and sustained focus. As such, they are thinking more deeply about how they engage visitors with their collections. Within this context, this article considers how docents are uniquely positioned in the collective response to these calls for action. Drawing on strategies used in museum and teacher education pedagogy, it offers a renewed approach that emphasizes docent training’s capacity to create meaningful experiences that dismantle exclusionary national narratives operating within collections and exhibitions. This article responds to calls for art museums to multiply voices and become spaces for decolonization, and will resonate with other museums, galleries, and heritage institutions invested in ongoing critical learning amongst volunteer and professional educators alike.

摘要

世界各地的艺术博物馆在形成和保护集体身份和民族归属感方面发挥着不可或缺的作用。作为更广泛的社会变革努力的一部分，这些机构面临着非殖民化和以新的持续关注来对抗种族主义的挑战。因此，他们正在更深入地思考如何让参观者与他们的收藏品互动。在此背景下，本文考虑了讲解员如何在对这些行动呼吁的集体回应中处于独特的位置。借鉴博物馆和教师教育教学法中使用的策略，它提供了一种新的方法，强调讲解员培训创造有意义的体验的能力，以消除在收藏品和展览中运作的排他性国家叙事。