Voice/s in the Museum
Museums have a responsibility to tell culturally inclusive stories of art, facing both internal and external pressures in the process. How might interpretation practice address the complex expectations placed on museums today?
We are seeking contributions exploring the role of art museum interpretation in serving audiences, artists and institutions. Possible areas of focus include:
- Examining the current challenges involved in museum interpretation practice
- Considering the ethical, intellectual and financial justifications for new approaches to developing texts for exhibition and displays
- Providing case studies on emerging museum interpretation practice
- Mapping potential methodologies
We welcome reflections on how museums can strive for more equitable and balanced storytelling when discussing artists who have been historically excluded from mainstream art histories. We also invite contributions that consider how interpretation practices might attend to the needs of audience and to the well-being of museum staff.
Further areas for consideration are:
- The challenges of sharing interpretive authority with artists and communities
- Presenting histories of radicalism and protest in art institutions
- Approaches that centre multiple perspectives and voices, such as affinity viewings and ‘equity edits’
- Moving beyond assumptions about what audiences might want or need
- Recognising that those who shape museum narratives are themselves part of the audience
This call for papers emerged from workshops exploring the impact the exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power (2017–21) had on interpretation practice in the United States and the United Kingdom. These workshops formed part of the research project Inclusive Practice in the Art Museum: Writing for Audiences and Artists, funded by Terra Foundation for American Art.
Please send submissions via email, including your full name and affiliation, as well as those of any co-authors or contributors.
Deadline for submissions: 13 October 2025
Before submitting an article, we recommend reviewing past articles published in Tate Papers as well as consulting our submission guidelines. For more information on editorial policies and processes, such as peer review, see About Tate Papers.
Image: Romare Bearden, The Street 1964 (detail). © Estate of Romare Bearden / DACS 2025.
