The art museum as activist: A case study

Abstract

How do art museums illuminate patriarchal ideologies for the general public? In this article I share my experiences with critical pedagogies developed for the exhibition Like Betzy (2019–2020) by Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum (Northern Norway Art Museum). The art museum intervened in its exhibition and monuments in public spaces to attract engagement with local communities, critically question, and instigate dialogue and debate on the persistence of gender inequality. Using institutional critique as a theoretical and methodological framework, this analysis demonstrates a case of art museum activism. Additionally, I address the implications of transgression in the art museum's normative modus operandi. Although this case study is specific to a local context, I argue that monuments can serve as a site for public vulnerability, a place where museums step beyond their walls and outside their echo chambers to incite positive social justice-oriented changes in communities.