Taking the fear out of inquiry-based teaching in the museum

After five years and 166 episodes with listeners in 91 countries, this is the final episode of The Art Engager - for now, at least. For this last conversation, I wanted a guest who felt right not just for the occasion, but for the moment the whole sector is living through. Someone who has spent nearly two decades asking the questions most of us might find too uncomfortable or too speculative to sit with: what does the future hold for museums, and what do we need to do now to be ready for it? My guest is Elizabeth Merritt, Vice President for Strategic Foresight at the American Alliance of Museums and founding director of the Center for the Future of Museums. In this conversation we look back at how the operating environment for museums has changed since the Center began in 2008. We explore the assumptions being tested right now around leadership, philanthropy, and the stability of the nonprofit sector. And we look ahead to what museums need to build - and why, ultimately, museums matter. Listen to find out what's in store for the future of museums; why after five years this feels like the right time to pause; and a proper thank you to everyone who has made this podcast what it is. The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Mentioned in this episode Episode 158: The Art Engager x NEMO: Who Cares? Museums, Wellbeing and Resilience: https://podcast.artengager.com/episode/who-cares-museums-wellbeing-and-resilience/ Episode 143: Uncertainty: Finding wonder in not knowing with Maggie Jackson: https://podcast.artengager.com/episode/uncertainty-finding-wonder-in-not-knowing/ Designing and Facilitating Slow Looking - starts June 10 2026: https://thinkingmuseum.com/designing-and-facilitating-slow-looking/ Every Single Episode of The Art Engager podcast: https://thinkingmuseum.com/every-single-episode-of-the-art-engager-podcast/ Links for Elizabeth Merritt, CFM and AAM CFM aam-us.org/topic/center-for-the-future-of-museums/ Back catalog of TrendsWatch reports aam-us.org/trendswatch Dispatches from the Future of Museums (a weekly roundup of recent news stories illuminating trends and events shaping society, technology, economics, the environment, and policy) aam-us.org/dispatches 2026 AAM Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. Philadelphia, PA May 20-23 https://annualmeeting.aam-us.org/ Show Links: Pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/ Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager Curated newsletter: https://thinkingmuseum.com/newsletter/ Adventures in (Slow) Looking on Substack: https://adventuresinslowlooking.substack.com/ Free resources: https://thinkingmuseum.com/the-thinking-museum-approach/resources/

In March 2026, I travelled to Atlanta for the National Convening on Art and Social Connection, a two-day event hosted by the High Museum of Art. It brought together people from the arts, public health, research, aging, social services and policy to explore one big question: how can engagement with visual art help combat loneliness and build more connected communities? In this special episode, I take you inside the convening and share what I heard, what I learned, and what I think it means for those of us working in museums and cultural spaces. I carried three questions with me to Atlanta. What does it actually take to do this work well? How do we build the evidence that it works? And how do we make sure the wider world hears about it? Listen to the episode for where those questions led me. The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/ Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager Curated newsletter: https://thinkingmuseum.com/newsletter/ Adventures in (Slow) Looking on Substack: https://adventuresinslowlooking.substack.com/ Free resources: https://thinkingmuseum.com/the-thinking-museum-approach/resources/ Mentioned in this episode The High Museum of Art: https://high.org The Museums That Helped Power Atlanta’s Rise Are Still Pushing Ahead: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/arts/atlanta-museums.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bVA.UEVq.IQUdMdoYDuWI&smid=url-share Oasis at the High Museum of Art: https://high.org/event-category/for-adults/oasis/ Art Story: How the High is Engaging Mindfulness with Art at Oasis: https://medium.com/high-museum-of-art/art-story-how-the-high-is-engaging-mindfulness-with-art-at-oasis-8b3592f5f876 Art After Loss at the High Museum of Art: https://high.org/art-after-loss/ Art After Loss: Creating Space for Grief, Connection, and Reflection: https://medium.com/high-museum-of-art/art-after-loss-creating-space-for-grief-connection-and-reflection-7ab2a1113643 TimeSlips: https://www.timeslips.org Meet Me at MoMA: https://www.moma.org/visit/accessibility/meetme/ LSU Museum of Art: https://www.lsumoa.org Two prompts to sit with For me, social connection looks like… One thing I can do next is…

What does it take to guide visitors through histories that are genuinely contested and emotionally charged? In this episode, I'm joined by Brandon Dillard, Director of Historic Interpretation and Audience Engagement at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, and Kelsie Paul, Director of Learning and Visitor Experience at the Frick Pittsburgh, to explore how both institutions have reimagined their guided experiences in response to the complicated legacies of their central historical figures. We talk about the long evolution of interpretation at Monticello, from the site's earliest tours to the integration of slavery and the story of Sally Hemings into the core narrative. Kelsie shares the process behind the Frick's "Gilded, Not Golden" tour - a ground-up redesign of Clayton's 30-year-old house tour that involved consultants, an advisory board, difficult internal conversations and a willingness to start from scratch. We also dig into what it means to support guides doing this work: hiring for empathy, investing in training, facilitating ongoing dialogue, and empowering guides to be facilitators rather than lecturers. And we reflect on the civic role of historic sites in a polarised moment, including how Monticello is approaching the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Whether you're working at a historic house, leading tours in any kind of museum or cultural space, or thinking about how to hold space for complexity in your guided programmes, I think you'll find a great deal to take away from this conversation. The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Support on Patreon Episode Links: LinkedIn Kelsie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsie-paul-39561b199/ Frick website: www.thefrickpittsburgh.org Frick Instagram: @frickpittsburgh Recent article on Clayton: https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/places-we-love-clayton/ LinkedIn Brandon: www.linkedin.com/in/brandonmdillard Monticello website: https://www.monticello.org/ Monticello Instagram: @tjmonticello Show Links: Pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/ Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager Curated newsletter: https://thinkingmuseum.com/newsletter/ Adventures in (Slow) Looking on Substack: https://adventuresinslowlooking.substack.com/ Free resources: https://thinkingmuseum.com/the-thinking-museum-approach/resources/

In this episode Claire Bown is joined by Dr Beth Daley, novelist, creative writing tutor and editorial advisor at Europeana, to explore how digital cultural heritage collections can become starting points for storytelling, exploration and creative engagement. Europeana brings together millions of artworks, objects, photographs, films, texts and archival materials from museums, libraries and archives across Europe. But access alone is not enough. Beth shares how the platform invites people to move from browsing to creating through prompts, activities, and collaborative spaces. This episode will resonate with anyone working in museums, galleries or cultural institutions who is interested in using digital collections as a starting point for storytelling, creative engagement and new ways of working with cultural heritage. The Art Engager is written and presented by Claire Bown. Editing is by Matt Jacobs and Claire Bown. Music by Richard Bown. Episode Links: Dr Beth Daley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-daley-a032b537/ https://www.europeana.eu/ https://pro.europeana.eu/post/join-our-events-for-writers-and-get-creative-with-cultural-heritage - this one covers all our activities including the following: https://pro.europeana.eu/event/europeana-writers-room-monthly-creative-writing-workshops - Europeana Writers' Room registration https://www.europeana.eu/en/stories/six-ways-to-play-with-europeana-story-dice - Europeana story dice https://pro.europeana.eu/page/seven-tips-for-digital-storytelling - in 16 languages https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-daley-a032b537/ - my LinkedIn profile https://bethdaley.substack.com/ - my Substack page Europeana's social media: https://www.facebook.com/Europeana https://bsky.app/profile/europeana.bsky.social https://www.linkedin.com/company/europeana https://www.instagram.com/europeana_eu/ Show Links: ✨ Pick up a copy of my book, The Art Engager, for step-by-step guidance on creating meaningful, interactive guided experiences https://www.theartengager.com/ Buy it here on Amazon.com: https://tinyurl.com/buytheartengager Curated newsletter: https://thinkingmuseum.com/newsletter/ Adventures in (Slow) Looking on Substack: https://adventuresinslowlooking.substack.com/ Free resources: https://thinkingmuseum.com/the-thinking-museum-approach/resources/

In this episode Claire Bown is joined by Georgia Close and Harriet Body from the National Gallery of Australia, alongside Naomi Zouwer from the University of Canberra, to explore how the gallery co-designed its Creative Learning approach. The conversation traces an 18-month process of articulating a shared pedagogical framework shaped by national context, cultural responsibility, and First Nations-led principles. Rather than adopting an existing model, the team worked through workshops, observation, interviews and iterative “campaigns” to develop a cohesive, values-led approach. A key commitment was centring the artist’s voice, placing artist intention in conversation with students’ existing knowledge. From this, the team developed a Creative Learning strategy planning tool that supports inquiry-led, multimodal, embodied and reflective practice. Across the episode, they explore: How to develop a context-specific learning approach rather than importing a model What it means in practice to centre the artist’s voice How small, iterative “campaigns” can embed reflective practice in a team How multimodality and embodiment deepen engagement beyond discussion Why joy is understood as a serious pedagogical commitment What co-design and participatory action research look like inside a museum setting