Marge Ainsley

Got to Brooklyn Museum around 6.30pm for their Target First Saturdays and everything was already in full swing (and had been since 5pm). Families, senior citizens, teenagers, young couples, tots – every kind of demographic were all enjoying a planned (free) programme of arts activities, tours, and live music – as well as the exhibitions and collections themselves (also free for the night, usually $10 adult entry). The main foyer area was packed out with with visitors dancing and listening to the music from Emeline Michel which was delivered in partnership with Carnegie Hall as part of their Neighbourhood Concert Series.

The place felt immediately friendly and welcoming.

But this wasn’t about Brooklyn Museum being a ‘gig venue’; it was all about sharing the art, the collections, the building, with the community. It felt like people ‘owned’ the museum, with ‘visitors’ actively moving between all the different activities on offer; taking a break by sitting on the floor, next to a Rodin, or Degas – discussing what they liked and didn’t like about the exhibitions on display with their friends or family. The galleries were absolutely heaving, and the education rooms were full of families making clay creations.

I’ve never seen so many different types of visitor within one museum, participating in the same kinds of activities. I’ve also never seen as many visitors trying to get in an elevator (and up and down the stairs).

I went on a sign-language interpreted tour from curator Catherine Morris around the Kiki Smith exhibition. Thirty tickets went on sale an hour beforehand for this tour, which I queued up for but didn’t manage to get by the time I got to the front. I wondered how this worked for sign language users - they may not have been able to get a ticket in priority over hearing visitors…and this was the only sign language interpreted event of the evening. There may have been a system I didn’t notice. I suppose there has to be some system in place in order to be fair - there was a vast demand from visitors wanting to attend everything. I certainly can’t think of a better way to keep things fair…However, even with this system in place, people (including me!) still decided to be naughty and tagged along behind the group – so I got to see how the interpreted talks worked. Unfortunately my ASL isn’t as good as my BSL but this was a good session.

The next talk I attended was ‘Young Voices’ given by a Student Guide – Catherine had met some of these guides the week before I arrived, as part of her work shadowing. She told me that the students start their programme of training in October, and have various sessions from museum staff to understand more about the collection and learning methods. They then develop their own tours with support from staff. The guide on this tour did really well and I thought it was a great idea to get young people trained up and actively involved in curatorial tours – she really gave her own perspective which was refreshing. I wondered if we may be able to run something along these lines as part of our training with young people during Stories of the World (Global Threads)….

The finale of the evening was the ‘dance party’ that started at 9pm, in the most amazing hall, the ‘Beaux-Arts Court’ on the 3^rd floor. The dance floor is surrounded by Degas, Monet and other paintings which were ‘barriered’ off as per photo (advisory caution: curators look away now). The theme for this particular Target First Saturday was about celebrating women – so the evening continued with DJ Mary Mac on the decks. Absolutely brilliant tunes…and I thought maybe everyone had emptied out of the galleries for the dancing. Totally wrong - a quick trip around found loads of people, of all ages, looking at the works – and actively discussing them in groups between themselves. This was also happening with the works alongside the dance floor, with the music still blasting.

This is an established event, and I’d be keen to know how quickly it built up a following – and obviously trusted status within the community (and with curatorial staff!). Word of mouth will no doubtedly have had a big influence. A man in the coat queue was explaining on the phone to his friend about where he’d been, how amazing it was, and how he just had to be there next month…

Wish I could have bottled everything I witnessed tonight and take it back home to share with colleagues at UK museums and galleries. There was a real buzz about the place – I’ve never experienced anything quite like it.

A great way to end my trip. Home bound…