What is necessary for museums to radically imagine what is possible, not only what has been done? Adjoa Jones de Almeida, Director of Education at the Brooklyn Museum, discusses the feeling of having to "step up" during a moment of transition for the museum. After beginning her career at the Brooklyn Museum at an entry level position, she hadn’t planned for a leadership role of this nature in her career trajectory. She shares how youth organizing and collectives have shaped the values that inform her leadership at a large encyclopedic museum. We also talk about organizational culture, how social movements change institutions, and the tricky nature of passion and work in a capitalist society.
After graduating from Brown University in 1995, Adjoa received a Fulbright scholarship to research community schools and cultural identity in Bahia, Brazil. In 1996 she moved to Brooklyn, NY where she worked as a high-school teacher at El Puente Academy for Peace & Justice, and helped to create Sista II Sista (SIIS), a women’s collective dedicated to supporting young women of color in developing personal and collective power. In 2005, she earned her Master’s from Teacher's College in International Education Development. From 2006-2013 she lived in Arembepe, Bahia where she co-founded a community based organization, Diáspora Solidária, committed to social & environmental justice, artistic expression and youth development. She began her work at the Brooklyn Museum in 2013.
Reading:
The Art of Social Justice: Behold the beautiful struggle! by Adjoa Jones de Almeida
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, Adjoa Jones de Almeida contributor
Responding to the Capitol Insurrection with Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell
Building a Community Museum with Chelsea Ridley and Jonathan Kelley
Bonus Episode: Welcoming Collaboration
Personal and Collective Grief with Diane Exavier
Our Need to Connect with Mayra Cecilia Palafox
Storytelling Through Exhibits with Jackie Peterson
Economic Development at the Border with Cristina Garza
Docents as Educators with Stephanie Samera
What Does Success Look Like? with Anabel Roque Rodríguez
Live from MESC's Annual Institute with Elena Muslar
The Cost of Making It with PJ Gubatina Policarpio
Aligning Your Work and Practice with Stephanie Cunningham
Looking Back to Look Forward with Paulina Lopez
Advising First Generation College Students with Dr. Jody Dublin
Building Community with Young People with Vanessa Sanchez
Responsive and Caring Leadership with Veronica Alvarez
Community Organizing in Museums with Oliver Merino
Anti-Racist Museum Education Pedagogy with Alyssa Machida
Welcoming DACA Students as Museum Workers with Marimar Gutierrez
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
50 Tastes Of Gray
Dear Alice | Interior Design
Spider-Man Crawlspace Podcast
Pollyanna
Great Expectations
The Magnus Archives
The Moth