From art to doing 'their part'
US museums provide a vital community service by acting as polling sites
In New York, where more than 1 million people have flocked to polling sites since early voting opened on 24 October, thousands of people have braved hours-long queues at the Brooklyn Museum to cast their vote for the next US president. Dozens of museums across the country have retooled their lobbies to accommodate voters on election day, and many have also developed key initiatives and quick curatorial decisions to affirm citizens in doing their civic duty.
Ed Ruscha's Our Flag. Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum For example, at the Brooklyn Museum, voters were greeted by Ed Ruscha’s Our Flag (2017)—a work showing a windswept and torn US flag that “invokes the precarious nature of democracy”, a museum spokeswoman says. “The enduring symbol of American pride and patriotism, frayed and tattered, presents a striking statement on our fraught political moment, providing a provocative backdrop and a powerful symbol.”
Ahead of the election, the museum also endorsed several programmes and public resources to “empower citizens to exercise their right to vote”, according to a spokeswoman, including supporting the artist-led initiative Plan Your Vote.
Ann Philbin, the director of the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, which is acting as a voting site for the third time, argues that museums “are the new town centres, community hubs and meetings halls, and it is critical to our mission to be a place where people can participate in democracy”. She adds, “We expect to see a big turnout on election day and are honoured to be a part of this process.”— Gabriella Angelieti, Nov. 3, 2020
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the The Art Newspaper website.
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