​For many native San Diegans, class field trips to museums such as the Museum of Man or the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park often meant listening to heroic tales about Spanish explorers and friars who established the state’s first mission. The brutal treatment of indigenous peoples, however, was hardly touched upon.
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In recent years, however, a number of museums around the country, as well as in Balboa Park, have embarked upon journeys to “decolonize” both their collections and their messaging. Locally, this means changing not only how the story of San Diego’s past is told, but also who tells it. The San Diego Museum of Man in particular has been at the fore. Last year, it established the position of Director of Decolonizing Initiatives, which is currently held by Jaclyn Roessel. These actions and hires aim to identify colonizing practices in each of its departments and create a strategic plan for museum-wide decolonization. 

​The first Friday of each month is a special day for the arts in Phoenix.  Art galleries remain open late into the night, and city streets give way to artisans, food trucks, and performers.  Thousands of people – young and old – gather to enjoy, support, and appreciate the arts.  As we do most First Fridays, my daughter and I are on the Artlink Trolley, which connects the arts districts of Phoenix. We arrive at the Heard Museum and it has never been more evident that the mission we set out to achieve nearly three years ago with the museum – to engage new audiences and celebrate contemporary Native American artwork – has been accomplished.  The entry court is packed with visitors who’ve come to see the new exhibit Dear Listener by Nicholas Galanin, an artist the New York Times called a “standout,” while the music of experimental hip-hop group Shabazz Palaces echoes from inside.  The vibrant, celebratory spirit of First Friday and the Heard Museum are in full harmony.

The Cincinnati Art Museum has received a $500,000 grant to renovate and reinstall it's Near East installation. 

The Infrastructure and Capacity-Building Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will fund a restoration project for the Near East collection of art and archaeological material.

The project will be a "complete re-envisioning" of the 2,800-square-foot gallery, known as the Hanna Wing.
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The majority of the collection has been in storage since 2004 due to lack of gallery space, the museum said.

​OGUNQUIT, ME.- The Ogunquit Museum of American Art debuted three new exhibitions in mid-July that celebrate creativity across media. 

On view in the Little Gallery, Bill Viola: The Fall Into Paradise is a digital cinema installation that renders the human experience in a dramatic wash of water, light, and sound. Viola’s work offers a meditation on the instance of transcendental and spiritual breakthrough, tracing the artist’s continuing search for consciousness and empirical knowledge through art. Viola is a leading American artist and pioneering figure in video and the moving image. This installation marks the artist’s first exhibition in Maine and its presentation – immediately next to the sea – promises a compelling and profound experience. The show, organized by the Ogunquit Museum of American Art with the important assistance of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, is generously supported by the Cliff House