Abstract
Language is central to art museum visitor engagement and art interpretation. For university art museums in the United States that primarily exist as teaching and research institutions, language is particularly important in the transference of knowledge and cross-cultural meaning making. Art museums in state universities, much like their national and independent counterparts, have increasingly served more diverse audiences as a by-product of globalization. Using the case study of The Palmer Museum of Art at The Pennsylvania State University as a contested site, I explore some of the barriers of access that museum language presents as a tool of cultural hegemony. When cultural institutions in service to the public perpetuate exclusionary semantic practices, who feels welcomed in these spaces? How do those who are deprived of a sense of belonging navigate these linguistic landscapes? Drawing from a Black feminist perspective, I employed a critical participatory pedagogy in collaboration with university students of color to recast meaning making in art interpretation for museum object labels. I argue that de-centering museum linguistic practices as an intervention of decolonial communication fosters inclusive audience experiences.
