With growing emphasis on the social and cultural roles of today’s institutions, education and visitor experience is increasingly important for museum and exhibition professionals.

Four speakers will put forth their diverse experiences in the field and open up forum for discussion. Professor of Art History and Museum Studies Margaret Lindauer will present her research on the social, cultural, and curatorial implications of museums’ identification as educational institutions.

Senior Director of Education at the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) Brigid Globensky, interested in recent trends of education galleries that center on visitor experience, will use MAM’s Kohl Education Center as a case study to explore how such centers change visitors’ perceptions of art institutions.

Joe Becker, Professor Emeritus in UIC’s Department of Educational Psychology, and Georgina Valverde, Coordinator of Teacher Programs at the Art Institute of Chicago, will present a project that explores implications of using art’s explorative nature to lead pedagogic theory.