Creating space to have challenging conversations about race and equity through art and community.
Committed to honesty, equity, and inclusion, the Mississippi Museum of Art engages art, artists, and participants in the critical work of reckoning with the past, connecting with each other in the present, and creating a future without division. Art sparks challenging conversations about race and equity, and the LGBTQ Fund of Mississippi is helping the Museum’s Center for Art and Public Exchange make that happen.
Staff Training and Community Mapping
Part of the LGBTQ Fund grant money will be used for staff training to bolster the Museum’s understanding of LGBTQ issues.
“[The training] is going to teach staff about things like gender identity, gender expression. We’re working on how to make the museum a more welcoming institution in terms of gender justice issues. As a cis-gender woman, I don’t have those deep connections to the LGBTQ community here. I have some, but I am very conscious of the fact that I am not the point of authority on what it means to be LGBTQ, especially in the rural south. We thought it was really important to bring people together who have training from a point of expertise and perspective. Invisible Histories Project will be leading that training and those activities, and we will be convening in groups of local people that are active in the LGBTQ community that will partner with us,” said Monique Davis, Managing Director of the Center for Art & Public Exchange and Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer.
The rest of the grant money will be going to a virtual community mapping activity. People will be able to map out events like where they had their first coming out conversations, where they voted for the first time, where they saw their first drag show.
“The community mapping activity will do two things: it will honor an often hidden history and perspective, and it will provide a platform to have agency. It will highlight a lived experience and hopefully build bridges of empathy with the majority cis-gender culture and deepen the understanding of those experiences,” said Davis.
Bridging Art and Social Justice
“Art has the power to change people, and art is a way to present different perspectives and opinions in a way that is non-threatening and doesn’t shame people. Art has the ability to move people into a different understanding and to shift people’s perspective, especially when you’re doing that in a community with other people,” said Davis.
“I’m hoping that what the LGBTQ community feels is welcome, and that they’re valued and seen and not ignored. We want to be in community and conversation with them. I’m hoping that this conversation is one that we can continue to have, and we will continue to share,” said Davis.
To get involved, sign up for the Mississippi Museum of Art’s email newsletter, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more, contact Monique Davis through email at mdavis@msmuseumart.org.