Queering Community Through Intergenerational Arts Experiences in the Museum
Eli Burke, Education Director, Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, Harrison Orr, Artist, Educator, and Researcher, and Carissa DiCindio, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Art & Visual Culture Education, University of Arizona
This article focuses on the experiences of participants in an intergenerational arts program for LGBTQIA+ youth and elders at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson called Stay Gold. Using preliminary findings from in-depth interviews with participants of the program, we consider how programs, such as this one, help museums become more accessible for marginalized audiences and how participants make personal and social connections through intergenerational arts experiences.
“I think it’s really special when you’re with this group… who is also LGBTQ and these varying ages to disperse and just explore and it’s been in the kind of in-between the line moments I’ve really appreciated. You kind of come up next to somebody and look at the art and you’re not really talking, but you’re totally talking and I don’t know that I or other folks have had many opportunities to have that kind of communication, that sort of dialogue in a museum space with another person who you either identify with or you understand that there’s a sense of safety around.” (Discussion participant, personal communication, February 4, 2020) (1)
Stay Gold is an intergenerational LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Agender/Ally) (2) arts program. Participants meet weekly in a contemporary art museum and engage in activities and projects that aim to foster connections across generations and help combat the loneliness and isolation that disproportionately affects the LGBTQIA+ community. Through learning more about the experiences of participants in the program Stay Gold at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson (MOCA), we emphasize the broader topic of intergenerational learning in an art museum for LGBTQIA+ participants to better understand how programs that focus on shared experiences, communication, and themes relevant to these groups can create an inclusive environment for marginalized audiences. Although we have previously written of the intergenerational connections formed through this program from our positions as facilitators (Burke & DiCindio, 2019), we are now looking to the voices of the participants to better understand the types of connections that they make through their participation with this program, indicated by the quote that begins this article.
This program was created to bring younger and older LGBTQIA+ generations together. LGBTQIA+ individuals who are middle-aged and older are at higher risk of becoming “chronically lonely” compared to other members of the same age bracket (Anderson & Thayer, 2018). The way we connect, communicate, and create community has become increasingly dependent on technology in recent years. (3) This has left many in older generations feeling disconnected to society due to lack of experience and understanding of these technologies. Although LGBTQIA+ youth have had much greater access to and education of evolving systems of communication, they may also experience higher rates of loneliness than others their age. Social media can amplify these feelings because youth spend less time in person with each other and more time in unmediated online spaces where they are more likely to be bullied and harassed (“Out Online,” 2013). When people who fall between the ages or “youth” and “elder” began signing up we realized our community as a whole was in need of connection with one another and we expanded the scope of the program.
The community built through this program is multidirectional so that one generation is not responsible for teaching another generation, and individuals work together to learn about works of art and artmaking techniques (Burke & DiCindio, 2019; Cortellesi, Harpley, & Kernan, 2018). It was important to us to create a collaborative atmosphere where participants and facilitators felt comfortable in sharing their experiences together and across generations. LGBTQIA+ people spend a lot of our time and energy adapting to a world not built for us. We often focus a lot of emotional energy on negotiating between our own identities and the presented limitations of the spaces we inhabit. By inviting this specific group into the museum space, we can remove the ongoing labor of navigating how our LGBTQIA+ identities may or may not fit into the classroom space.
Cultural institutions can offer a space where people from different generations and backgrounds build social connections (McNulty, 2020), and for this program, the contemporary art museum provides a wonderful setting for inspiration, dialogues, and forums for dialogues on social issues and personal stories. This article provides resources cultivated through research to spark inspiration and conversations for museum educators who are considering developing programming to reach marginalized members of the community, especially intergenerational audiences. It is important to note here that this program is also facilitated by members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Our educational experiences as LGBTQIA+ people have often been in classrooms where we are the outsiders. We always have to consider our identities in these spaces and it takes energy and focus away from learning. Having facilitators identify as LGBTQIA+ removes this element and creates an environment in which participants can focus on learning and connecting rather than navigating the challenges of their identity within the group dynamic. To achieve this level of comfort for our participants, we continue to collaborate solely with teaching artists who identify as LGBTQIA+, many of whom are Stay Gold participants themselves.
Background
Stay Gold began as a class project in an Art and Visual Culture Education (AVCE) graduate course at the University of Arizona (UA) taught by Carissa DiCindio in 2017. Students in the class worked with Chelsea Farrar, Curator of Community Engagement at the University of Arizona Museum of Art (UAMA), to design a program that would expand on a program for LGBTQIA+ youth, Mapping Q (“Mapping Q,” n.d.). Students came up with a plan to connect youth from Mapping Q with seniors from another program, the Latona Project (“Latona Project — ‘LGBTQ Senior Identity in the Art Museum,’” 2016).
The name was chosen by the students and inspired by a poem by Robert Frost (1923):
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Students were inspired by the poem’s ability to speak to the intergenerational aspect of this program by focusing on both loss of innocence and the cycle of life (Spacey, 2017). The poem appeared in S.E. Hinton’s novel, The Outsiders (1967), as well as the 1983 film adaptation of the same name. Hinton presents the poem from the perspective of youth as a reminder to look at the world through open and curious eyes (Burke & DiCindio, 2019).
The free program meets weekly on Tuesday evenings at MOCA for two hours during the fall and spring semesters for ten-weeks, and although registration is requested at the beginning, participants often bring new members at different points throughout the semester. The flexibility and organic nature of the program has been a big part of its success because participants can come whenever they are able, and facilitators can continually adjust the program based on their feedback. The gallery and artmaking activities are typically based on works of art that are exhibited at MOCA. These activities often include prompts for participants to create art together or talk with each other. For instance, pairs of participants might create a drawing together based on a theme in an exhibition in the galleries or work together on creating a zine based on an event in their lives. Facilitators try to get participants to talk with new members or people in the program they haven’t worked with before to help build social connections.
Eli Burke, Education Director at MOCA, had been a graduate student in the initial class that created the program, and continues to lead it at MOCA. In addition to the authors, who are also facilitators, he invites guest artists to lead sessions and bring in new voices and ideas to the planning process. Additionally, students in art museum education classes at UA have designed and implemented gallery activities for Stay Gold. In past seasons, facilitators generally introduced a new project every week or two. We received feedback from some participants that they would like to work on one project for the entire 10-week duration. We therefore developed a 10-week sequential skill-building project for the Spring 2020 season. Unfortunately, the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To remain connected with one another, we began a new 10-week program online that highlights the work of LGBTQIA+ contemporary artists while providing weekly artmaking prompts.
Methodology
We conducted two group interviews in person, before the current COVID-19 pandemic, at MOCA with interested Stay Gold participants to better understand the impact the program may have on their lives. There were five respondents in the first group and seven in the second. We were fortunate to have a total number of interviewees that reflected our typical weekly attendance consisting of twelve to twenty participants. Both focus groups represented the program’s wide spectrum of generations and LGBTQIA+ identities. Questions had been written beforehand to guide the conversations, but follow-up questions arose depending on the participants’ answers. Our focus group questions are included as an appendix at the end of this article. We discovered three consistent themes throughout the responses: community, learning through creating, and environment. Each of these themes includes various subcategories. These themes allow us to better understand the needs of our participants, as well as recognize specific ingredients that may be important for repeating the success of Stay Gold.
Community
The theme of community resonated throughout the discussions, but may have been most apparent when participants were asked to discuss their reasons for coming to Stay Gold, as well as to compare the program to other community or museum-based art workshops they previously participated in. While spaces designed specifically for the LGBTQIA+ people are needed, especially that focus on education and creativity, we choose to intentionally stress the value of the intergenerational aspect, as that is Stay Gold’s defining feature. The social aspect and the bonds forming between participants, rather than the artmaking itself, is the most common factor that keeps participants coming back. When asked if their needs were met at Stay Gold, a young adult responded with the following:
I think my needs are social and yes, it meets all, especially the intergenerational stuff, that’s a big thing in my life. And I feel like this program is a major anchor in my life in Tucson and in general for a lot of different communities. And I love bringing friends and then I see them bring friends and it just grows and grows over the weeks and years. That’s really cool. My needs are social. They’re totally met. I like being able to do creative stuff, but that’s probably not why I come. I like being in museums, around art and having the opportunity to do it, but that’s not why I come. (Discussion Participant, personal communication, February 4, 2020)
The majority of participants voiced similar notions, also adding that the LGBTQIA+ aspect of the program stood out from their previous experiences, allowing them to feel more comfortable and more connected to those around them. Several participants commented on the general lack of programming designed specifically for LGBTQIA+ people.
Learning Through Creating
Many participants discussed the value of Stay Gold as an educational program, an aspect that is enhanced by the growing sense of community. The theme of learning through creating emerged through making and sharing art, gallery experiences, and self-discovery. We were pleased to hear that Stay Gold, enables participants to learn something new about themselves through the acts of making and sharing. Some participants learned about their abilities, while others learned about their needs. A young adult discussed what they learned about their needs:
I kind of didn’t know that I needed to be around a queer community where I was kind of missing that for so long…. Being around just straight people in my everyday life… it’s kind of nice to have that and I didn’t really realize I was missing that. (Discussion Participant, personal communication, February 11, 2020)
This participant’s self-exploration overlapped directly with the theme of community. Other participants found the courage to try new things or the strength to let go of inhibitions. Some discovered a passion for making art. Artmaking creates openings for dialogue and a level of vulnerability in a space dedicated to solely LGBTQIA+ people.
Creating superficial divisions between groups of people limits a holistic experience of what it means to be part of a larger community. We wish to attend to the multi-faceted, complex, and dynamic parts of ourselves without feeling like outsiders. We wish to expand what it means to be “young” or “old” and how we all contain layers of self that need care and attention. By connecting across generations, we encourage the members of the group to challenge their misconceptions about one another, to remain open, and ultimately aim to create moments of vulnerability and empathy through our shared experiences. In short, despite when we experienced what we experienced in our lives as LGBTQIA+ people, there are many intersections around what we experienced, regardless of age. Youth begin to recognize the burden our older generation has carried and the older generation can begin to see how our youth are carrying that torch and continuing to push boundaries and challenge the norm. When asked about the impact of intergenerational collaboration one older participant replied:
I feel a part of a larger community than I ever would have imagined. I always felt that I lost something somewhere. Like ambition to do creativity, both dance, both using my hands in other ways, trying different modes of expression (Discussion Participant, personal communication, February 4, 2020).
In focusing on what gaps may exist in our communities, in this case, generational gaps, a greater sense of community can be cultivated, ultimately helping to combat those feelings of isolation and loneliness. LGBTQIA+ people often create what are called “chosen families.” This can be due to rejection and judgement from biological families or families of origin. Unfortunately, these families are often generationally compartmentalized, likely due to the lack of safe spaces available or created for these different generations to connect.
The intergenerational component was one that most of the participants felt was important. When asked how that affected their experience in Stay Gold, an older participant stated:
As far as intergenerational, this is the first time [in a museum program] I’ve acknowledged the people in the rooms. I usually focus, so tunnel vision. Whereas here I feel like I can actually be myself for once and not face criticism from other people for being myself. Being here with everyone else, younger and older, it’s really inspiring to know this creative need doesn’t go away at any age. It’s there for us and it’s there empowering different generations on different levels. I’m just happy to be a part of that (Discussion Participant, personal communication, February 4, 2020).
In connecting our intergenerational community we can bridge gaps in understanding between generations.
The Environment of the Contemporary Art Museum
Participants were asked to discuss the particular environment found at Stay Gold. Comments were made on the museum setting as a space for collaborative art making and learning. We were interested in the significance, if any, of the contemporary art museum in regards to the participants’ learning experiences. Several participants feel inspired by the artwork on display at MOCA Tucson. An elder participant commented on the freedom of artistic expression found there in comparison to more traditional classroom and museum environments where she has attended workshops. Another adult participant spoke fondly of the time we spent viewing art in the galleries, stating, “I thought it was a really great start just to look at the art… and talk about it” (Discussion Participant, personal communication, February 11, 2020). Some participants stated that they would participate in Stay Gold no matter where it was held, but felt that the contemporary art environment was especially conducive to the success of such a program.
Contemporary art has changed the way we think about materials and concepts. From the shift in what is considered a medium for artmaking to acknowledging the colonial framework and western focus the artworld was built upon, we can begin to see this shift. Loosening the grip of power on what we consider valid opens up possibilities for marginalized voices to be shared and heard. We see ourselves reflected within the contemporary art world, and we see it reflected both in the identity of the artists we explore and through the myriad number of visual or audio “languages” we can employ to express ourselves.
Conclusion
Stay Gold is queer. (4) It is always changing. It adapts to the needs of the group, which change based on who is participating. We acknowledge that even as individuals, our needs and desires are always changing and sometimes what we need is contradictory. This program is a non-judgmental safe space that allows for healing, connection, growth, education, creativity, and acknowledgement. It is holistic in that it attends to multiple aspects of both self and community.
Contemporary art becomes the tool with which we can achieve these goals. Museums have tremendous power in meaning-making for society, and they are made up of people who make decisions. How do the decisions you make in your institution ripple out into the world? Contemporary art is fertile ground for new ideas to emerge. What ideas are tended to? By continuously assessing the needs of the group, remaining flexible, eliminating as many barriers as possible, and offering a space that is specific to the identities of those who have been silenced, refused, and rejected, we elevate and celebrate each other through the critical and holistic lens of contemporary art.
Eli Burke (he/him + they/them)
As the Education Director at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, Eli provides leadership, direction, and coordination for the Museum’s education and public programs. He is currently a PhD student in Art and Visual Culture Education at the University of Arizona. Eli is also an artist and received his MFA in Studio Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he was a full-tuition Merit Scholarship recipient. His research focus is on the queer imaginary, the LGBTQIA+ community, intergenerational learning, access + equity, and public pedagogy.
Harrison Orr (he/him)
Harrison Orr is an artist, educator, and researcher based in Tucson, Arizona. He currently works with the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson and The Drawing Studio. He has co-facilitated three seasons of Stay Gold since Spring 2019. Harrison holds a BFA in Media Arts and an MA in Art & Visual Culture Education from the University of Arizona. His research interests include LGBTQ+ inclusion in museum and community-based art education, the experiences of LGBTQ+ art educators, intergenerational learning, and the formation of creative communities.
Carissa DiCindio (she/her)
Carissa DiCindio is Assistant Professor, Art and Visual Culture Education, at the University of Arizona. Prior to this position, she was the Curator of Education at the Georgia Museum of Art. She has been in the field of art museum education for over 15 years. Her research focuses on peer learning in museums and working with university museum audiences. Her work relies heavily on collaborative relationships with community partners and art museum educators that connect to research, classroom experiences for students in her courses, and service that benefits the community and the field.
Footnotes
(1) All responses by participants in this article are anonymous. This research study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), following the requirements for conducting research with human subjects at the University of Arizona. This oversight protects human subjects participating in research to make sure that the study is implemented ethically.
(2) We choose to use the acronym LGBTQIA+ because it intentionally includes identities held by the members in our group. Often the acronym is LGBTQ. We have intersex members who expressed their feelings of being excluded in our community and so it feels important to be intentional in adding intersex to this acronym, especially since there is still a lot of silencing and erasure of intersex people and bodies. Some particpants refer to themselves as queer, which can often hold political meaning.
(3) The current pandemic and necessary shift to an online format to keep our community connected has complicated issues of digital engagement. We have learned more about the needs of our community through this shift. While the group is not held in person at this time, the mediated online space allows for connection without the bullying, as youth are more likely to be bullied and harassed in online spaces (“Out Online,” 2013). This illustrates the need for spaces both online and in person exclusively for LGBTQIA+ people and their allies.
(4) “Queer” as in how it operates and the focus of the program which fall outside of the heteronormative experience of museum education programs. “Queer” as in intentionally altering our intentions and approach to serve the specific needs of the LGBTQIA+ community.
References
Anderson, G.O. & Thayer, C. (2018). Loneliness and Social Connections: A National Survey of Adults 45 and Older. Retrieved from: https://www.aarp.org/research/topics/life/info-2018/loneliness-social-connections.html?CMP=RDRCT-PRI-HOMFAM-073118
Burke, E. & DiCindio, C. (2019) Staying gold: How a group of university students created intergenerational connections through art museum programming. The International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education 2: 59–68.
Cortellesi, G., Harpley, J., & Kernan, M. (2018). Intergenerational learning: A tool for building and transforming cultural heritage. In A. M. Labrador & N. A. Silberman (Eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Public Heritage Theory and Practice. Oxford: Oxford Handbooks Online.
GLSEN. (2013) Out Online: The Experiences of LGBT Youth on the Internet. Retrieved from: https://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/Out%20Online%20FINAL.pdf
Latona Project — ‘LGBTQ Senior Identity in the Art Museum’. (2016) Retrieved from https://uanews.arizona.edu/calendar/72101-latona-project-lgbtq-senior-identity-art-museum
Mapping Q. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://artmuseum.arizona.edu/mapping-q
McNulty, R. (2020). Culture as Animator of Intergenerational Gathering Places. Retrieved from: https://aese.psu.edu/extension/intergenerational/articles/intergenerational-contact-zones/culture-arts-center
Medley, Grace, et al. Sexual Orientation and Estimates of Adult Substance Use and Mental Health: Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. 2016, www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-SexualOrientation-2015/NSDUH-SexualOrientation-2015/NSDUH-SexualOrientation-2015.htm.
Appendix
The following questions were asked in the group interviews:
· Describe any museum studio programs you have participated in other than Stay Gold.
· How has your participation in Stay Gold differed from those experiences? How are these experiences similar?
· What needs do you hope to be fulfilled by a museum studio program?
· Does participation in Stay Gold meet those needs?
· Does the contemporary art museum setting contribute to the uniqueness of Stay Gold?
· Do you feel a sense of belonging when participating in Stay Gold?
· How does intergenerational collaboration impact your Stay Gold experience?
· What is a positive or negative memory from the sessions of Stay Gold that has stuck with you? What is it about this memory that makes it stand out?
· How long have you participated in Stay Gold?
· What do you hope to get out of this experience?
· Would you participate in this program if it was held outside of the art museum?
· Why did you initially begin attending Stay Gold?
· Are your reasons for attending now the same as they were initially?
· What would you change about this program if you could?
· Do facilitators play a role in your interest in this program or is it more about the activities? What about other participants?
