ABSTRACT

As art museums increasingly commit to socially engaged practices that require critical ways of engaging with artworks, collaborators, and visitors, what does gallery educators’ ongoing learning look like, and what motivates it? How does it inform or respond to change? Drawing on research with freelance gallery educators in Scotland, this article examines these questions within the overlapping contexts of the coronavirus pandemic and protests for racial justice in 2020. The tensions, challenges, and possibilities that emerged from participants’ stories reveal complex relationships between professional learning, freelancer realities, and the adaptability required across the profession. In fleshing out how such a significant and unstable moment shaped professional learning, I consider what the field of museum education can learn from freelancers’ experiences. Moving forward, how can we imagine futures that foster ongoing critical learning, sustained accountability, and collective wellbeing?

摘要

随着艺术博物馆越来越多地致力于社会参与实践，这些实践需要以批判的方式与艺术作品、合作者和参观者互动，画廊教育者的持续学习是什么样的，是什么激发了它？它如何通知或响应变化？本文借鉴与苏格兰自由画廊教育工作者的研究，在冠状病毒大流行和 2020 年种族正义抗议的重叠背景下研究了这些问题。参与者故事中出现的紧张局势、挑战和可能性揭示了专业学习之间的复杂关系，自由职业者的现实，以及整个行业所需的适应性。在详细说明如此重要且不稳定的时刻如何塑造专业学习时，我认为博物馆教育领域可以从自由职业者的经验中学到什么。展望未来，我们如何想象能够促进持续批判性学习、持续问责制和集体福祉的未来？