Open Call: 'Nourish' at The Delaware Contemporary highlights museums as safe spaces
Museums today have the potential to play a vital role in boosting the health of cities and local communities by delivering valuable places for people to come together to socialize, explore new cultural channels, and build stronger connections with their local community.
Historically, this has not been the case. In my 30-year career in museums, I have seen art museums struggle to eradicate the stigma of elitism by adopting missions that seek to be educational, inclusive, comfortable and welcoming.
But the inception from which today’s institutions have evolved — places dedicated solely to the display and care of organized collections of fine art that only represents a small segment of the population — continues to cast suspicion among potential visitors.
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At The Delaware Contemporary there are no barriers to access — our space is free of admission and welcome to all. However, an open door does not always mean people walk through it.
The perceived function of an art museum as a space for viewing valuable objects and providing potential cultural enlightenment remains prevalent. The optics of contemporary art museums as welcoming or as spaces for social connection is not inherent. Yet, the work being made by contemporary artists is a reflection of our society; it is rich with visual and intellectual prompts that support dialogue and provide an ideal context for a multitude of engagement opportunities.
Museum spaces have the capacity to aid in the transformation of communities. They are in a unique position to address a growing demand for more durable and lasting links between places and experiences.
Beyond a venue for those seeking to develop their educational and cultural expertise, many art museums offer flexible spaces that appeal to a broad audience such as shops and retail or cafes and restaurants. The Delaware Contemporary is actively taking those experiences further to make our museum a safe space by expanding its use for a multitude of socially relevant activities.
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This past spring, each of our seven galleries featured a unique exhibition through which TDC critically examined an aspect of “nourishment” to consider the connections between our basic human needs, and the impact that nourishment can have from an individual perspective to that of an entire community.
Collectively, the suite of exhibitions around the topic of nourish showcased artists who prompted visitors to think about our relationship with community, our shared environment, food production and distribution, and our caregivers and mothers.
To deepen the connection between these concepts and our visitors, friends and neighbors, we partnered with organizations that share our values and commitment to exploring new methods for awareness. Altogether, we worked with 18 partner organizations to reimagine how museums might engage conversation and provoke action. These partnerships allowed TDC to provide a foundation that supported a deep dive into the possibilities for positioning museums as safe social spaces, while providing awareness and advocacy for the essential work being done in our community.
With the following collaborators, including AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware, Children’s and Family First, Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence, Delaware Historical Society, Delaware Nature Society, Delaware Urban Greens, Discover Financial Services, Do Care Doula Foundation, Inc., Food Bank of Delaware, Friendship House, Haircuts4Homeless, Harper's Heart, Jewish Family Services, Quality Insights, Sunday Breakfast Mission, YW18CA Tri-County Area, The Delaware Contemporary presented four key programs generously supported by Discover, JP Morgan Chase, News4Women and WSFS.
Starting the season off exploring how our community and neighborhood are personally ingrained, "Nourishing Our Community'' was styled as an open house to support artistic and creative practice with bringing a mobile food pantry to address food insecurity.
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"Nourish to Flourish'' welcomed persons currently experiencing housing insecurity to gather together for a day of art, food and access to selfcare.
“Doing the right thing and volunteerism are two of our core values. Our employees demonstrate their commitment to these values by devoting their time, effort, and spirit to making a difference in our communities,'' said Natalie Di Sabatino, community affairs, Discover.
“At Discover, we know that helping to gain brighter financial futures requires a strong foundation to build upon. Our employees volunteered with The Delaware Contemporary for their 'Nourish to Flourish' event to help address the personal needs of persons experiencing homelessness, which included an afternoon feast in the galleries and is complemented by a range of free services such as haircuts, nails and a clothing giveaway.”
Presented on Earth Day, "Nourishing Our Shared World: Guns to Gardens,'' challenged the dialogue that guns play in our community to examine how we might transform items that end lives into efforts that nourish and sustain lives. The program featured a live demonstration that transformed gun parts into ink for artistic purposes; a community mural painting; gardening, and a plant exchange. This program continues to June 11 and will feature another transformation of gun parts to garden tools at TDC’s West Street Festival.
“Museums are not only showcases for art in communities, they are also safe spaces — safe spaces for creativity, safe spaces for diversity of thought, and safe spaces for people to spend time. When we begin to think about museums as social hubs, we can see how many different ways they can be experienced,” said Traci Manza Murphy, executive director, Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence.
Our final program in the Nourish series, "Nourishing Nourishers'' celebrated Black maternal health through a diaper and baby wipe bank, brunch for new and expecting mothers, and a resource fair to provide easy access for support services to participants on topics including pregnancy, childbirth and the raising of young children in Delaware.
"This was an amazing collaboration between two caring organizations. I am proud that we pulled together through the power of service to impact the community!" said Giovanna A. Andrews, founder & CEO, Harper's Heart.
For The Delaware Contemporary, these programs ignited a series of essential conversations; conversations on the inequities experienced by so many neighbors, conversations on what makes a space safe for all, conversations on how the consumption of art can promote emotional growth not just intellectual growth, and lastly, conversations on how art museums can and should play a pivotal role in supporting the needs of our community through collaboration.
Leslie Shaffer is executive director of The Delaware Contemporary
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: The Delaware Contemporary highlights museums as safe spaces for all
