Abstract
This chapter focuses on the experiences of participants in an intergenerational art program for LGBTQIA+ audiences, which takes place at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson (MOCA). In this chapter, the authors outline the impetus and purpose of this program. They consider the impact that it has had on LGBTQIA+ individuals and the formation of an intergenerational community. From combating loneliness to creating connections across generations, this program invites individuals into the museum space who identify as LBTQIA+ but rarely have the opportunity to connect with one another. Facilitators and participants design projects and gallery activities that promote engagement through dialogue and art-making. As such, art provides connections that give participants opportunities to share and learn from one another. Contemporary art and the museum become sites for engagement. Gallery activities and art-making allow participants to experiment with a range of materials and learn new skills through humor, play, creative inquiry, and collaboration.
TopIntroduction
This chapter focuses on the experiences of participants in an intergenerational art program for LGBTQIA+ audiences1 called Stay Gold, which takes place at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson (MOCA). In this chapter, we outline the impetus for and purpose of this program. We consider the impact that it has had on LGBTQIA+ individuals and the formation of an intergenerational community. From combating loneliness to creating connections across generations, this program invites individuals into the museum space who similarly identify as LGBTQIA+ but rarely have the opportunity to connect with one another. Facilitators and participants design projects and gallery activities that promote engagement through dialogue and art making. As such, art provides connections that give participants opportunities to share and learn from one another. Contemporary art and the museum become sites for engagement. Gallery activities and art making allow participants to experiment with a range of materials and learn new skills through humor, play, creative inquiry, and collaboration.
Programs such as the one described here provide a place where community members from a variety of generations feel safe and can engage with each other. The LGBTQIA+ community can be compartmentalized due to generational, social, and personal factors. However, there are more similarities than differences between generations, and research has found that older and middle-aged adults can offer support to LGBTQIA+ youth, while youth can encourage elders to examine their multiple identities (Vaccaro, 2009). Creating a space where intergenerational connections can be made has illustrated the benefits of programs like Stay Gold. Participants value learning new skills and ways to give voice to experiences, emotions, and ideas through art, while at the same time making social connections and new friends and expanding chosen families through the process, without the added layer of navigating sexual and gender identities.
We include previous research on intergenerational learning, the value of contemporary art as a catalyst for community building, as well as research that highlights the issues faced within the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole. We consider the impact of this program through the perspectives of the participants and how personal and social connections shape their experiences. We discuss how we incorporated participants’ voices in the planning of each iteration of the program, changes we made as the program progressed, and successes and challenges in working with community audiences. Finally, we make suggestions for how these types of programs can be developed and implemented in a variety of art museums.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Case Study: The detailed or in-depth study of a phenomena or case.
Hermeneutics: The theory or methodology of interpretation.
Community: A group of individuals bonded by a common interest, goal, or identity who come together to support, care for, and learn from one another.
LGBTQIA+: An acronym stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Agender/Ally.
Queer: Queer can be used as a way to identify that falls outside the heteronormative and can sometimes hold political meaning. It can also be used as a verb, “to queer” something, which means to either read something through a queer lens or to create or change something in a way that falls outside a heteronormative way of operating or functioning. We acknowledge that others may use this term in other ways.
Intergenerational Learning: Refers to people of different age groups learning together and from each other.
Multivocality: The practice of incorporating multiple voices, as opposed to a singular or authoritative voice.
Phenomenology: The study of phenomena as it is experienced.
Contemporary Art: Literally meaning art of today, it refers to art created after modernism, starting in the late 1960s or early 1970s to present day.