Preparing For Battle: Reflecting On the Election, NEMA, and the Upcoming Culture War

​Wednesday of last week, I found myself in Newport, Rhode Island for the New England Museum Association annual conference. The day before, as everyone is surely aware, Donald Trump was elected to a second term, and this fact truly hung over the conference like the Sword of Damocles. It was surreal to be in the US at this time, seeing the various ways that people were responding to the news and the implications that would bring. Some met it with a nervous laugh, taking the day as it comes; some cut their attendance short to process the news. Fears surrounding future funding were on the lips of the attendees. But one conversation I did not see much discussion around was that of the upcoming culture war. Now, it is very possible that I simply missed this conversation, having happened at one of the other lunch gatherings that I did not attend. But all the same, I believe it is gravely important that we consider what is approaching the field.
 
For the most part, museums have dodged the most ruthless elements of our current culture war. In previous culture wars, like those in the 1990s, museums often took centre stage and drew controversy for various exhibitions and programs. Nowadays, the battlefields have shifted to social media where anonymous accounts can spread their attacks far and wide. 

The protest outside the Corcoran Gallery after the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition "The Perfect Moment" was cancelled in 1990. Photo taken by Frank Herrera.

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