Open Forum

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

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Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
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Hi Alyssa, 

Content warnings are very, very common. Artists generally prefer them on the outside of the building, rather than attached to their individual work. You might want to check out my report which addresses this, and many related issues: https://freespeechcenter.universityofcalifornia.edu/fellows-21-22/werbel-research/

At the bottom of the page, you can download the report.

Good luck!

------------------------------
Amy Werbel PhD
Professor of the History of Art
Fashion Institute of Technology - State University of New York
New York NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Thank you so much for this resource, Amy! I am diving in. 

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Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-04-2023 08:45 AM
From: Amy Werbel
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi Alyssa, 

Content warnings are very, very common. Artists generally prefer them on the outside of the building, rather than attached to their individual work. You might want to check out my report which addresses this, and many related issues: https://freespeechcenter.universityofcalifornia.edu/fellows-21-22/werbel-research/

At the bottom of the page, you can download the report.

Good luck!

------------------------------
Amy Werbel PhD
Professor of the History of Art
Fashion Institute of Technology - State University of New York
New York NY

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Hi Alyssa, this was several years back but I remember visiting the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh for a historic photography exhibit which was located in its own gallery within the museum. There was a sign with a content warning on the outside of the gallery as well as smaller warnings right inside the gallery entryway - I thought it was a good practice! 

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Ashlee Lanier
Asheville NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Thank you for this share, Ashlee.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-04-2023 09:21 AM
From: Ashlee Lanier
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi Alyssa, this was several years back but I remember visiting the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh for a historic photography exhibit which was located in its own gallery within the museum. There was a sign with a content warning on the outside of the gallery as well as smaller warnings right inside the gallery entryway - I thought it was a good practice! 

------------------------------
Ashlee Lanier
Asheville NC

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

I'll echo Ashlee's sentiment. We do ours just outside the gallery on a freestanding stanchion topper as you enter, so it can't be missed. So far we've only used it in rare cases. Cases with unusual violence or particular kinds of nudity, sexual nudity.

------------------------------
Matthew Isble
Exhibit Designer & Founder of MuseumTrade.org
misble@crockerartmuseum.org
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento CA
misble@crockerartmuseum.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Thank you, Matthew! I am wondering if you would be willing to share how do you deem content to have unusual violence? And also, what is the particular types of nudity & sexual nudity that begs a content warning? I am asking because I am curious if you follow a protocol. Thank you again!

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-04-2023 11:01 AM
From: Matthew Isble
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

I'll echo Ashlee's sentiment. We do ours just outside the gallery on a freestanding stanchion topper as you enter, so it can't be missed. So far we've only used it in rare cases. Cases with unusual violence or particular kinds of nudity, sexual nudity.

------------------------------
Matthew Isble
Exhibit Designer & Founder of MuseumTrade.org
misble@crockerartmuseum.org
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento CA
misble@crockerartmuseum.org

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

The only warning for violence that I can remember was for a Gttfried Helwein show (https://www.helnwein.com). Imagine portraits of bandaged and/or blooded children. Ultimately it's all subjective, there is no protocol per se. If in doubt, put out a sign. There's not a whole lot of downside. I can't think of an example of sexual nudity at the moment. As an example when we don't set a warning - We had a Twinka retrospective and there was no warning for that (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/twinka/). Sorry, "subjective" isn't a whole lot to go off of, but I think you know it when you see it. And worst case, you don't put out a sign on Friday and you change your mind on Monday morning. Adapt and keep moving. I hope that helps?

------------------------------
Matthew Isble
Exhibit Designer & Founder of MuseumTrade.org
misble@crockerartmuseum.org
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento CA
misble@crockerartmuseum.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-04-2023 12:18 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Thank you, Matthew! I am wondering if you would be willing to share how do you deem content to have unusual violence? And also, what is the particular types of nudity & sexual nudity that begs a content warning? I am asking because I am curious if you follow a protocol. Thank you again!

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA

Original Message:
Sent: 04-04-2023 11:01 AM
From: Matthew Isble
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

I'll echo Ashlee's sentiment. We do ours just outside the gallery on a freestanding stanchion topper as you enter, so it can't be missed. So far we've only used it in rare cases. Cases with unusual violence or particular kinds of nudity, sexual nudity.

------------------------------
Matthew Isble
Exhibit Designer & Founder of MuseumTrade.org
misble@crockerartmuseum.org
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento CA
misble@crockerartmuseum.org

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

A couple of years ago, there was a twitter thread that addressed this. It has examples and a thoughtful reflection on phrasing.

When we have an exhibit which contains content we believe needs a content note, we have it on a sign at the front of the gallery. For example, we hosted an exhibit of art that depicted the artist's experience of childhood sexual and physical abuse and we created a content note in consultation with counseling professionals. We placed it on a banner stand outside the gallery because it was such a difficult show. 

------------------------------
Lynn Bethke
Collections Manager
Museum of Culture and Environment - Central Washington University
Ellensburg WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Hi Alyssa,

Content warning placement and prevalence may depend on the type of content you're warning about, or the type of museum you're working with. It's becoming more and more common for museums (especially anthropology-based museums) to feature content warnings for human remains. These are often repeated in several locations: at the front of an exhibit, at the door to a gallery within an exhibit, and prominently on a given case. Some museums also feature a content warning for human remains at the admissions desk, as there are varying levels of cultural sensitivity and some visitors may be fine avoiding a room or pathway while others may not want to be in a building that contains human remains at all.

Some museums will place disclaimers/content warnings with displays or online galleries of ethnographic photos to indicate that they were often staged by Western anthropologists. I've also seen language warning that photos contain images of deceased individuals, which is important to know for some visitors from various Indigenous communities. Many anthropology collections also have a disclaimer/content warning prominently placed on online collections websites indicating that legacy records often used language to describe other cultures or communities that may be inappropriate or inaccurate today.

I've also seen content warnings for sexual content (very rarely and usually only for very explicit, intentionally sexualized content; not for nude figures in non-sexual positions, for example) at the exhibit or gallery level, and for extreme violence (e.g., the SI NMAAHC has a gallery-level warning before graphic photos from lynchings).

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Lauren Cooper
Exhibition Interpretation Specialist
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
San Marino, CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------

Hi Alyssa, 
We were just working through this recently, too, with a video work by Kara Walker that we did not want to overly define or confine with a warning, but which included imagery such as racialized violence and sex that we did feel was important to let visitors know about before they encountered it. I found Margaret Middleton's approach very helpful, and we ended up placing a label in the gallery. https://www.margaretmiddleton.com/post/museums-and-content-warnings. Thanks for opening up the discussion, 

Emily

------------------------------
Emily Potter-Ndiaye
Dwight and Kirsten Poler and Andrew W. Mellon Head of Education and Curator of Academic Programs
Mead Art Museum, Amherst College
Amherst MA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2023 02:49 PM
From: Alyssa Pizarro
Subject: Content Warning in Museums

Hi! Do others share content warnings in their museums, and if yes, is it by exhibit or is it overall for full museum content?
As an equity + inclusion manager, I am wanting to honor the diverse lens and ages of attendees AND am cognizant of whose comfort I am centering, so wondering if others have a process/ procedure that they are willing to share.

------------------------------
Alyssa Pizarro
Sr. Mgr Equity + Inclusion
Seattle WA
------------------------------