Decolonizing museum practice and strategies for creating inclusive museums are some the most discussed topics among museums professionals. As Colgate considers the future of museums at the university and their position within the curriculum and the larger Colgate experience, now is an opportune time to begin conversations among students, faculty, and staff about what it means to have thriving, inclusive, and socially conscious museums on campus.

Staff of the Longyear Museum of Anthropology and Picker Art Gallery will lead an open discussion on what museums can and should do to address colonial legacies, create cultures of inclusion, facilitate different ways of knowing, advance a social justice agenda, and cultivate museum spaces as sites for social action. Following the discussion, the facilitators will lead a visioning exercise on on the progression of new museum spaces and how members of our community want to see the Longyear and the Picker approach the issues raised. The outcome would be a draft list of recommendations to consider as we think about the future of museums at Colgate.