New Paradigms for Teaching and Learning in Museums
Presenters
Nancy Jones
Executive Director of Learning and Interpretation, Detroit Institute of Arts
Jennifer Czajkowski
Director of Interpretative Programs, Detroit Institute of Arts
Friday, September 19, 2008, "Café DIA" in the museum (Flyer, PDF)
The Detroit Institute of Arts reopened in November 2007 after more than six years of construction aimed at a comprehensive redesign of and approach to exhibition spaces. The "New DIA" promotes new ways of looking at and thinking about art and, more broadly, the people, histories, and cultures of the world.
Nancy Jones and Jennifer Czajkowski oriented participants to the new visitor-centered approach to gallery installation, followed by escorted visits to the galleries. The reinstallation of the museum, which incorporates research on cognition and learning theory, is a benchmark of applying learner-centered practice in art museums that incorporates multiple technologies, types of media, and interpretive strategies. A bold reimagining of the museum, the New DIA is already being studied by other museums around the country as a model for an interrogative, interactive, and interdisciplinary experience.