A Conversation on Interpreting American Art

People in Koret Auditorium at de Young museum

Koret Auditorium, San Francisco, 2023. Photograph by Gary Sexton. Image courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

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Over the past several years, interpretation has become a key focus within the museum field. Tasked with reviewing gallery labels and other narrative text through an equitable lens, interpretation specialists working in museums face a variety of challenges as they balance institutional voice, nuanced criticality, and accessibility for visitors. Join us for a conversation with Bay Area museum interpretation experts discussing their approaches to this work. 

Watch the livestream

People in Koret Auditorium at de Young museum


Featured speakers

  • Lisa Silberstein (she/her), manager of learning, experience, and programming in the area of experience development at the Oakland Museum of California
  • Erica Gangsei (she/they), director of interpretive media at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Moderated by Abram Jackson, director of interpretation at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco  

About the speakers

Lisa Silberstein (she/her) was born and raised in Oakland, has worked at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) since 2008, and is currently a manager of learning, experience, and programming in the area of experience development. Some of her recent projects have included Por el Pueblo: The Legacy and Influence of Malaquías Montoya, Angela Davis — Seize the Time, Hella Feminist, the Black Power section of the History Gallery, Queer California: Untold Stories, and All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50. Prior to OMCA, she worked at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and with a photography program for teens in Guatemala.

Erica Gangsei is director of interpretive media at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where she leads a small but mighty team in the strategy around and creation of educational resources such as: audio tours, podcasts, artist video interviews, animations, games, and interpretive galleries. She is also a sculptor who has exhibited widely and brings her first-hand experience with creative practice to her museum work. Prior to joining SFMOMA in 2006, Gangsei worked for the American Civil Liberties Union and in New York City politics, and she often works at the intersection of art and social justice.

Abram Jackson joined the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco as the Museums’ inaugural director of interpretation in June 2022, where he utilizes ethnic studies theories and DEIA practices in partnership with staff to incorporate more inclusive narratives into didactics. One of Jackson’s contributions to this effort is the interpretation partners program, which incorporates local voices into the interpretive framing for special exhibitions with themes connected to lived experiences of local and global communities. Jackson has 15 years of administrative and teaching experience at the high school and collegiate level and has taught at education programs for incarcerated people in California. 

About Lunder Institute @

Lunder Institute @, an initiative of the Colby College Museum of Art’s Lunder Institute for American Art, invites thought leaders at the nation’s most prominent art institutions to engage publicly with a single question: What is the state of American art? These convenings promote discourse leading toward innovation, new areas of exploration, and possible answers to questions around what American art is and what impacts its production, scholarship, and research.

About the Lunder Institute for American Art

A collaborative initiative of the Colby College Museum of Art, located in central Maine, the Lunder Institute for American Art supports innovative research and creative production that expands the boundaries of American art. The Lunder Institute invites visiting artists, scholars, and museum professionals to engage across disciplines with Colby faculty and students, the College’s network of institutional partners, leading experts, and other creative collaborators. Through fellowships, workshops, symposia, and incubator grants, the Lunder Institute amplifies marginalized voices, challenges convention, and provides a platform for generative dialogue through art and scholarship.

Ticket info

Free. Seating is limited and unassigned. Tickets for the discussion are distributed on a first-come first-served basis in front of the Koret Auditorium an hour before the program begins. This does not include admission to the museum. 

Sponsor

Lunder Institute @ the de Young museum was made possible through the support and partnership of the Lunder Institute for American Art, the Colby College Museum of Art.

Contact info

Public Programs
publicprograms@famsf.org
415.750.7694

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