Changing the Game: Museum Research and the Politics of Inclusivity

Over the past two decades, the notion of a “discursive turn” has been shaping museum research all over the world. Instead of focusing on exhibitions as key “output,” museums now seem bent upon transforming themselves into networked organizations, which entails (co-)conducting research of all possible shapes and forms. In the theoretical discourse surrounding the aforementioned discursive turn, one finds a strong focus on institutional critique and antagonism, bringing counter-voices inside the museum. The museum criticizing itself from within has been a familiar description of the changes that were taking place. However, one might also argue that despite their potential for criticality and depth, these practices ultimately remained somewhat unchallenging and homogenous when it comes to both audience and outreach. Currently, a more radical turn towards diversity and inclusivity seems to be shaping our field. Not only in museums but across all of our institutions and social interactions, new and suppressed voices are demanding access, fundamental research, a rewriting of conventional narratives, and the deconstruction of the hegemonic powers that be. Is now the time when museums will actually begin to open up and museum research will finally liberate itself from the constraints of “preaching to the choir”? In this essay, I will discuss some core programs and programmatic trajectories that have been developed by the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, firstly in order to bridge the gap between the museum and the academic world (including peers and professionals), and secondly to implement a more radical and self-critical opening up of the museum in order to counter social inequity and broaden accessibility. It will become clear that fundamental changes on many levels in the organization are still necessary, and we must prepare ourselves for some fundamental shifts as well. Or, to put it more strongly, the move from a discursive to an inclusive turn may appear to be a foundational game changer.