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Towards a More Human-Centred Museum: A Narrative of an Imagined Visit to a Trauma-Aware Art Museum

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In this chapter, we—a group of museum educators, an art therapist, and an academic— came together to ask, “What might it look and feel like for a visitor to move through an idealised trauma-aware museum? ” In answer to this, we imagine Alex's (an invented character) visit to a fictional art museum where their experience is shaped by trauma-aware principles and practices. We use an approach we have named “Trauma- Aware Art Museum Education” (T-AAME) and apply it to Alex's museum visit through six principles: safety; empowerment, voice, and choice; collaboration and mutuality; trustworthiness and transparency; peer support; and cultural, historical, and gender issues. This chapter weaves together Alex's experience as a narrative, along with trauma-aware best practices as applied to museums and museum education.

Keywords: choice ; cultural, historical and gender issues ; empowerment ; museum education ; mutuality ; peer support ; safety ; trauma ; trauma-informed ; trustworthiness ; voice

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References

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References

  1. Acuff, J. B. , & Evans, L. (2014). Multiculturalism in art museums today. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Armstrong, J. , Evans, L. , Legari, S. , Palamara, A. , Tulgan Ostheimer, R. , & Wiskera, E. (2021). Weaving trauma awareness into museum education. Journal of Museum Education, 46(4), 454–466.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10598650.2021.1981045?utm_medium=email&utm_source=EmailStudio&utm_campaign=JOE09646_4170723
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Besterman, T. (2016). Crossing the line: Restitution and cultural equity. In L. Tythacott & K. Arvanitis (Eds.), Museums and restitution: New practices, new approaches (pp. 19–36). Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Evans, L. , Palamara, A. , Legari, S. , Tulgan Ostheimer, R. , & Wiskera, E. (2020, June 29). Trauma-aware art museum education: Principles and practices. Art Museum Teaching: A Forum for Reflecting on Practice. https://artmuseumteaching.com/2020/06/29/trauma-aware-art-museum-education-principles-practices339
  5. Fancourt, D. , & Finn, S. (2019). What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review. WHO Regional Office for Europe.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Feldman, D. B. (2014, June 6). Writing wrongs: Writing about trauma leads to better endings. PsychologyToday.https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/supersurvivors/201406/writing-wrongs-writing-about-trauma-leads-better-endings
  7. Ferguson, M. , & Renner, K. (2019). A museum without walls: Community collaboration in exhibitiondevelopment.MuseumScholar,2.https://articles.themuseumscholar.org/2019/05/01/tp_vol2fergusonrenner/
  8. Frank, A. W. (1997). The wounded storyteller: Body, illness, and ethics. University of Chicago Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Interlandi, J. (2014, May 22). A revolutionary approach to treating PTSD. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/a-revolutionary-approach-to-treating-ptsd.html
  10. Moore, D. S. (2020, May 3). Healing from addiction. The Compassionate Doctor. https://www.drsarahmoore.com/post/healing-from-addiction
  11. Roberts, L. C. (1999). From knowledge to narrative: Educators and the changing museum. Smithsonian Institution Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2014). SAMHSA's concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. https://www.samhsa.gov/resource/dbhis/samhsas-concept-trauma-guidance-trauma-informed-approach
  13. Tolley, R. (2020). A trauma-informed approach to library services. ALA Editions.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Treisman, K . (2021). A treasure box for creating trauma-informed organizations: A ready-to-use resource for trauma, adversity, and culturally informed, infused and responsive systems – Volumes I and II. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Weinberg, A. (2020). A culture of safety: Building a work environment where people can think, collaborate and innovate. Spoke & Wheel.341
     [Google Scholar]

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