Equity & Evaluation Practice in Cultural Organizations
This workshop was the second in a 3-part webinar series of the Cultural Research Network and American Evaluation Association’s Arts, Culture & Museums group.
It was held 6-8pm Tuesday 26 October (New York / Toronto); 3-5pm Wednesday 15 September (California); 11pm-1am Wednesday 15 September (London); 9am-11am Thursday 16 September (Sydney)
Series description: With unprecedented attention to equity issues throughout the culture sector, how can evaluation practices in cultural organizations be equitable as well as feasible and effective? How do evaluator/sponsor power relations, community participation, funding, and related issues shape evaluation designs and how results are interpreted, distributed, and used?
Equity & Evaluation Practice in Cultural Organizations will provide a platform for evaluators to work through these questions, and to collectively identify solutions to common problems of practice.
Session #2 examined the work of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, MI (USA) to build its evaluation capacity. Participants of this session will had the opportunity to discuss innovations in equitable evaluation, and how they can be sustained, in facilitated breakout groups.
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PRESENTATIONS
DISCUSSION
Notes from the breakout discussions
READINGS
- WestEd/The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Reflections on Applying Principles of Equitable Evaluation
- Expose Your Museum
- Institute of Museum and Library Services, Museums Empowered
- TCC Group, Equity and Evaluation: Models of How Equity Can and Does Impact Evaluation EquityPanel_Booklet_Final.pdf (tccgrp.com)
- We All Count, The Data Equity Framework https://weallcount.com/the-data-process/
- Equitable Evaluation Initiative, Equitable Evaluation Framework™ — Equitable Evaluation
Speakers
Jennifer Evans serves as Assistant Curator at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. After earning a degree in film and video studies from the University of Michigan, Jennifer joined the Wright Museum team as Special Projects Coordinator. At The Wright, she has created content for many projects, including The Struggle Against Slavery website, the exhibition Inspiring Minds: African Americans in Science and Technology, and the website, Making Tracks. Now, as Assistant Curator, she manages the Museum’s Wright Community Gallery, which showcases emerging and local artists. Jennifer is currently working toward a master’s degree in communications.
Jonathan Jones is a museum educator and Outreach coordinator for the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. For the past eight years, he has helped to create and implement educational programs about and around the African Diaspora for schools, corporations, and community groups. Having studied Political Science at Michigan State University and Applied Drama and Theatre for the Young at Eastern Michigan University, Jonathan is an avid advocate for marginalized, undeserved, and unheard communities. Often, he states that without knowing the past, you can’t fully operate in the present, and you therefore cannot fully excel into your future.
Sharmalene Mendis-Millard (she/her) is the Community Engagement Specialist for We All Count, founded by Heather Krause, which provides frameworks and tools to advance equity in data processes and products. A mixed-methods geographer by training, she has worked for several interdisciplinary research centres focused on advancing community well-being and social justice through community partnerships, program evaluations, and learning opportunities. Sharmalene is passionate about the not-for-profit sector, supporting it as a volunteer, Board member, and employee. Her teaching, training, and coaching applies an equity lens and centres marginalized and vulnerable populations. Sharmalene also values translating technical content into appealing formats for diverse audiences.