Labels for Everyone: A Toolkit for Art Museum Professionals to Draft Labels that Enhance Visitor Belonging

Authors:

• Sydney Kasper, Master of Arts in Museology
• Chair: Jessica Luke
• Crystal Hall
• Cynthia Levine
• Jason Porter

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Abstract:

Exhibit labels may seem like a minor piece of what makes a museum whole, but in reality, these words carry enormous weight. As has been well-documented, the presence of interpretive text is directly related to increased visitor engagement (Reitstätter, Galter, & Bakondi, 2022). This increased engagement is, in part, because the labels used in a museum don’t just describe objects—they set the tone for the museum experience, evoke deep thoughts and learning within visitors, and effectively indicate who is welcome within the museum. The goal of this thesis project was to create a comprehensive toolkit that serves as a guide for writing labels that foster a sense of belonging in visitors. The toolkit consists of a review of relevant literature that establishes the current impact of labels on belonging in art museums and the value of writing labels that foster a sense of belonging; strategies for writing those labels, including best practices, a checklist, and examples in practice; and, an evaluation of prototype labels in order to understand whether and how labels fostered a sense of belonging in visitors to the Seattle Art Museum. This toolkit ultimately aims to motivate art museums to align more closely with new museology principles of inclusion, thereby expanding their potential audiences to reach individuals who traditionally do not feel a sense of belonging in art museums.

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Project Deliverable:

Labels for Everyone: A Toolkit for Art Museum Professionals to Draft Labels that Enhance Visitor Belonging

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