How can art museums reach broader, more diverse audiences? In a new wave of activity, many cultural institutions have begun expanding their education offerings along with more community engagement and newly built facilities for lifelong learning, according to the award-winning museum architects at Cooper Robertson. 

This heightened focus on education has led Cooper Robertson designer Iris Kim and her colleagues to host three leading institutions to examine how they're tackling these topics. At 6:30pm on Wednesday, February 5th, Cooper Robertson presents the public talk, “Museum Education: Reframing Space, Equity and Access," with educators from the Storm King Art Center in New York and Manhattan’s New Museum and Studio Museum in Harlem, two museums where Cooper Robertson is engaged in major building projects. 

At Cooper Robertson’s office in Lower Manhattan, the group of experts will discuss their efforts in expanding learning programs to draw new and diverse patrons. They will also lay out broader opportunities for cultivating inclusive programming and diverse audiences, including young people and underrepresented groups.

“As architects and advisors working with a wide array of cultural groups,” says Cooper Robertson’s Kim, “our firm hopes to stimulate further dialogue and innovative ideas for bringing more inclusive audiences together to benefit from our shared cultural offerings.”

WHAT: Museum Education: Reframing Space, Equity and Access

Part II of Cooper Robertson Talk Series
WHO: Andrew An Westover, the New Museum
   Shanta Lawson, The Studio Museum in Harlem
   Victoria Lichtendorf, Storm King Art Center

           Chanice Hughes-Greenberg, Museum of the City of New York (moderator)
           Iris Kim, Cooper Robertson (convener / introductory remarks)

WHEN: Wednesday, February 5, 2020, 6:30pm

WHERE: Cooper Robertson, 123 William Street, New York, NY 10038

RSVP: Working press may attend. Contact alex@ccsullivan.com. More info here.

This talk is the second in the ongoing Cooper Robertson Talk Series, a succession of panel events focused on issues of diversity and inclusivity in the worlds of art museums, architectural education, and urban design. With a global portfolio of work for more than 45 museums, the firm is known for its longstanding strategic advisory roles with major institutions such as MoMA, and for its combination of thought leadership and technical expertise related to critical topics in museum design and planning — from universal design and flood mitigation, to studies on identifying future needs for academic museums. 

“Museum educators are at the forefront of tackling the challenges of reaching new and diverse audiences,” concludes Cooper Robertson’s Kim. "They are grappling with what it looks like to be an educator in the 21st Century, and even on where they fit into a museum’s physical program. The goal of this talk is to find constructive ways to discuss these challenges, and to learn how we as designers can create cultural spaces that work better for everyone.”

Additional detail about the February 5th event follows below, and further detail on the Cooper Robertson Talk Series will be available soon. 

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PANEL DISCUSSION: Museum Education: Reframing Space, Equity and Access
Part II of Cooper Robertson Talk Series

Art museums have increasingly become spaces of community engagement and learning, with a focus on diversifying and expanding audiences and engaging a broader public. This panel brings together leading museum educators for a shared exploration of how they are addressing these issues within their own institutions, as well as a discussion of the larger opportunities for diversity and inclusivity in the museum world. Convened and facilitated by leading museum architects Cooper Robertson, the event offers an opportunity for these expert educators to join in conversation with their peers and the audience — with an eye towards identifying strategies for engaging broader communities in the pursuit of enhanced public service, and a more equitable sharing of knowledge.

In this panel, each museum educator offers a short presentation, followed by a discussion between the panelists and moderator, and then a general Q&A with the audience.

Participants 
• Andrew An Westover, Keith Haring director of education and public engagement, the New Museum
• Shanta Lawson, education director, The Studio Museum in Harlem
• Victoria Lichtendorf, director of education and public programs, Storm King Art Center

• Chanice Hughes-Greenberg, senior manager, membership and annual fund, Museum of the City of New York (moderator)
• Iris Kim, designer, Cooper Robertson (convener / introductory remarks)


Registration here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/museum-education-reframing-space-equity-and-access-tickets-92083729915


Wednesday, February 5, 2020
6:30pm
Cooper Robertson
123 William Street, 27th floor, New York, NY 10038


Light refreshments will be served.


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About Cooper Robertson
Cooper Robertson is a leading architecture firm with a stunningly diverse body of work that is recognized nationally for design excellence with over 100 major awards. The firm’s projects integrate architecture and urban design at many scales, from buildings to public spaces to cities. Cooper Robertson is acknowledged as among the foremost museum planning and design firms in the country. The cultural practice is headed by Scott Newman FAIA, who has led an international field of over 45 museums through their reinvention and expansion, resulting in the highest standards for the display and preservation of the world’s most distinguished collections, and some of the world’s best museum architecture. The firm’s portfolio includes projects for the Museum of Modern Art, Gettysburg, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Yale Center for British Art, Monticello, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the J. Paul Getty Trust, and the new Gateway Arch Museum.