The Right to the Museum: Race, Gender and Power in New York City’s Art Museums, 1966-1976
Caroline Wallace
Jul 2026 · Bloomsbury Publishing
Ebook
224
Pages
About this ebook
Who does the space of the museum really belong to? How can museums become sites of social change? What role can artists play in making museums more inclusive?
This book explores the ways in which New York City's art museums were actively reshaped and radically reimagined by artists in the 1960s and 70s. Through a messy array of protests – feminist sitins, theatrical performances, and placard waving pickets – artists asserted their authority over the institutions responsible for the display and collection of their work. But they also created their own; as neighborhood museums, artist projects and collective spaces. Presenting a rich history of spatial reclamation and appropriation, this book offers an innovative new reading of this intense period of artist-activism and museum making.
Each chapter focuses on a specific institution in New York, whilst making connections to urban movements for spatial justice. Drawn from archival research and new spatial readings of art activism, the book also charts the history of Black, Puerto Rican and feminist groups, and how institutions coopted their ideals to facilitate the expansion of museums in late capitalism.
At a time when museums are again sites of protest and politics, The Right to the Museum forms a crucial contribution to broader understanding of the history of museums, and the relationship between artists and society. In looking back, it recovers the potential of the museum as a site for social and political transformation.
This book explores the ways in which New York City's art museums were actively reshaped and radically reimagined by artists in the 1960s and 70s. Through a messy array of protests – feminist sitins, theatrical performances, and placard waving pickets – artists asserted their authority over the institutions responsible for the display and collection of their work. But they also created their own; as neighborhood museums, artist projects and collective spaces. Presenting a rich history of spatial reclamation and appropriation, this book offers an innovative new reading of this intense period of artist-activism and museum making.
Each chapter focuses on a specific institution in New York, whilst making connections to urban movements for spatial justice. Drawn from archival research and new spatial readings of art activism, the book also charts the history of Black, Puerto Rican and feminist groups, and how institutions coopted their ideals to facilitate the expansion of museums in late capitalism.
At a time when museums are again sites of protest and politics, The Right to the Museum forms a crucial contribution to broader understanding of the history of museums, and the relationship between artists and society. In looking back, it recovers the potential of the museum as a site for social and political transformation.
Who does the space of the museum really belong to? How can museums become sites of social change? What role can artists play in making museums more inclusive?
This book explores the ways in which New York City's art museums were actively reshaped and radically reimagined by artists in the 1960s ...
Discover more
About the author
Caroline Wallace is a Lecturer in Visual Art at La Trobe University, Australia.
Caroline Wallace is a Lecturer in Visual Art at La Trobe University, Australia.
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
