Do you identify as an LGBTQIA+BIPOC individual? If so, consider submitting a blog post proposal to the Museum Education Roundtable’s blog, Museum Visions, in order to continue pushing the field toward greater equity for museum professionals. Tied to the current issue of the Journal of Museum Education, this open call’s theme is “Queering the Museum.” This invitation is intended to give opportunities to those LGBTQIA+BIPOC individuals in the field whose voices have been historically underrepresented, to help promote pay equity, and support museum practitioners and their writing. 

Authors will be asked to submit a 100-word synopsis of their intended blog post by January 18, 2021. Selected authors will be contacted by the Communications Team of the MER Board of Directors and will be awarded a $375 honoraria (a blog post should be between 1,000-1,500 words at around $0.25 per word) & one-year membership to the Journal of Museum Education.

Eligibility

Museum professionals whose voices have been historically underrepresented, with a particular focus on those who identify as LGBTQIA  and Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color.

Open through January 18: Queering the Museum

This issue is about examining and reimagining the structure of museums and institutions to create more equitable experiences. Following is a snippet of guest editor Danielle Bennett’s introduction below, to give you a sense of what this issue of the JME will cover:

“Queering is not the same as queer inclusion. It is a tool for reconsidering the structures of the institution and asking if museums can create better, more equitable experiences for all, both those inside the institution and those outside it. It works in solidarity with other social justice movements and epistemological paradigms. It leverages queer values and methods to destabilize institutional identities in the hopes of finding different ways of understanding a museum’s mission and goals. It does not define the goals or the end point. Queering an institution encourages the discovery of new ways of knowing information and reflecting on the values and goals of an institution to create something different. It seeks to alter institutions through dismantling categories and structures and through leveraging emotions such as vulnerability, just anger, pride, and desire.” – Danielle Bennett, ‘New Tools for a New Time’, guest editor introduction to Queering the Museum

To submit: Fill out this form, which includes a request for a 100-word synopsis. Selected papers will be contacted by the Communications Team of the MER Board of Directors.

MER Equity Statement: MER is committed to the core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. We believe that as an organization, we have a professional responsibility to address the intersecting histories of oppression and resistance that shape hierarchies of privilege and power related to race, gender identity, class, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, ability and national origin and their role in museum education. We are committed to serving as advocates for these values to the wider field and through the Journal of Museum Education.