New School

The New School will use the grant to establish an ongoing national training program to explore best practices for museums to use in opening public dialogue on civic issues. The program will cultivate 150 new museum trainees who will collaboratively design, implement, and evaluate an exhibit to travel nationally, web platform, and public dialogue strategies related to the history of a contested issue of shared concern, such as immigration or mass incarceration. The school aims to use this program as a test run for new strategies in the use of museums as effective catalysts for civic engagement. A goal and byproduct of the project is the creation of a national network of students, faculty, and museum staff that are experienced and interested in using museums for the purpose of civic participation.