“What Does It Matter Where My Body Happens to Be?” A Personal View of Online Art Museum Tours

Abstract

When the pandemic temporarily closed U.S. museums in March 2020, it also halted on-site museum tours. Some museums responded by developing or expanding their virtual programs, including online tours. The author, an in-gallery docent at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, trained during the pandemic to give virtual tours. Comparing in-person with computer-mediated art museum tours, she acknowledges that virtual tours are an essential part of museum outreach and education, enabling those who are unable to travel to an art museum to strengthen their critical thinking skills and learn more about American art and culture. But she also advocates for in-person museum-going, arguing that our bodies play a key role in viewing art objects and in experiencing their spatial locations.

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