Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dr. Shana Cinquimani
Second Advisor
Dr. Molly Kelly
Third Advisor
Dr. Caitlin Black
Abstract
Our Own, My Own: Experiences with Art is a two in one thesis project investigating dialogically based programming within art museums and how those programs can contribute to the making of art museums into civically engaged third spaces. Part one of this project included research into how dialogically based art museum programs are currently operating within the United States. The goal was to investigate pedagogical practices and forms of dialogue in use as well as their impact on participants' experiences. To accomplish this goal, I attended seven art museums within the region of New England at which I participated in ten dialogically based programs. I also conducted sixteen in depth interviews with New England based (and additionally two from Los Angeles, California) art museum educators/public program directors. I then took all I learned from these observational and conversational experiences and used the data to create my own pedagogical practice intended to be utilized within art museum gallery spaces alongside existing pedagogies. This pedagogy is called Inter-Visitor Open Interpretive Dialogue (IVOID). It encourages participants to openly discuss their perspectives around and experiences with an art object with their fellow group participants. The goal is to encourage participants to work the muscle of conversing across differing perspectives as well as make evident to them that the art museum is a space where these conversations can take place.
Recommended Citation
Towle, Kaleisha, "Our Own, My Own: Expereinces with Art" (2026). Masters Theses. 1530.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1530
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.