On February 4, 2011, The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage convened a round-table discussion with Pablo Helguera, director of adult programs at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and Eungie Joo, the current director of art and cultural programs at Instituto Inhotim in Brumadinho, Brazil, formerly the Keith Haring Director and Curator of Education and Public Programs at the New Museum, New York. Both Helguera and Joo are known for their innovative programming, and they discussed the evolving state of museum education with our constituents. We wondered if the fact that they came to their jobs from other fields has enabled them to be more creative. The answer, clearly, was a resounding yes.
Part 1: Other Perspectives
Helguera and Joo discussed how their backgrounds—as an artist and curator respectively—have impacted their work as museum educators, and why cross-disciplinary thinking is important.
Part 2: Why Artists Are Starting Ad-Hoc Art Schools
Helguera and Joo speculated on why artists are founding ad-hoc art schools.
Part 3: It’s the Public Who Chooses You
“Sometimes the perception is that you get to choose your public. But it is also the public who chooses you.” — Pablo Helguera.
Part 4: Using Social Media
Helguera and Joo discussed how their museums utilize social media.
Part 5: Getting Curators to Care about their Audiences
“Many curators will never pay attention to who comes to see the show.” —Eungie Joo
The Museum Educator, Part 6: Crossing the Digital Divide
“With very simple means you can have a meaningful exchange with somebody.” —Pablo Helguera
Part 7: The Problem of an Audience
Helguera and Joo talked about why students in curatorial studies programs don’t think about issues of audience, and why this may or may not be a problem.
