The Art Institute of Chicago

Introduction and AcknowledgmentsAuthor(s): James N. WoodSource: Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies, Vol. 29, No. 1, Museum Education at TheArt Institute of Chicago (2003), p. 5Published by: The Art Institute of ChicagoStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4113024 .

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Introduction and Acknowledgments

A museum comes alive when it is filled with the pub- lic for which it was built. It is altogether appropri-

ate, then, that an issue of Museum Studies should at long last be devoted to the history of how the museum has

interpreted its holdings and exhibitions to its audiences. The four essays in this special publication investigate

how the Art Institute, founded in 1879 at the center of one of the nation's most dynamic cities, has understood and

responded to the particular needs and interests of a com-

munity that has developed in as complex and diverse a way as the museum's collection itself. Authors have immersed

themselves in archival documents and images, oral ac-

counts, and American museum history in the widest

sense, working to chart the many ways in which the Art

Institute has sought to help viewers more fully experience the objects within its walls. In her introductory essay, Danielle Rice, Director of Program at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, sets the stage by reminding us that educa- tion exists not at the periphery, but at the very center of museum work, and that it dramatizes the sometimes

uneasy combination of responsibilities that lies at the heart of the institutions we serve. In the articles that fol-

low, art historian and educator Sylvia Rhor; Museum Studies editor Gregory Nosan; and Robert Eskridge, the Woman's Board Endowed Executive Director of Museum

Education at the Art Institute delve into the ways in which

the Art Institute has approached its educational mission

for the past 124 years. While each essay tells its own story, each also shows how the museum has reshaped its role as a

center of public education in response to both the charac-

ter of its audiences and larger shifts in American culture.

These contributors' combined efforts have resulted in a

publication that we hope will serve as a model of its kind

for years to come. The more we understand our institu-

tional and professional past, the closer we come to achiev-

ing that considered self-awareness which can inform our

current work for the better.

Many staff in the museum's departments of Archives,

Graphic Design and Communication Services, Imaging, Museum Education, and Publications worked hard to

bring this ambitious project to 2ompletion, and we owe

them a great debt of thanks. We offer our deepest gratitude, however, to the Woman's Board of The Art Institute of

Chicago, which demonstrated its ongoing support of

museum education by funding this publication, which also

celebrates the organization's fiftieth anniversary. While the

Woman's Board's singular dedication to developing and

sustaining educational programs over the past half century is written about here, it is also exemplified by the efforts of

the many longtime board members who graciously dedi-

cated their time and labor to this project. As this issue of Museum Studies goes to press, the Art

Institute is set to take another defining step in its history, in the shape of a bold, new wing designed by the renowned

architect Renzo Piano. One of the primary purposes of

this structure is to improve and expand our educational

facilities, and to make the Art Institute an increasingly accessible and attractive center of learning for audiences of

all ages. As plans move forward, this issue of Museum

Studies will both remind us of our significant accomplish- ments in carrying out our educational mission in the past, and help us sustain our clarity of purpose in the future.

James N. Wood

Director and President

The Art Institute of Chicago

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