The predicament of diversity : multiculturalism in practice at the art museum

Mainstream cultural institutions such as museums are increasingly called upon to increase their accessibility to culturally diverse communities and audiences, including migrant groups who do not generally visit museums. This essay discusses the challenges experienced by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the largest art museum in Sydney, Australia, in mounting an exhibition of Buddhist art in 2001, and in its efforts to use the exhibition as a vehicle for drawing new audiences in, especially Asian Buddhist groups. The case study raises important questions about possibilities and limits of engaging cultural diversity in the art museum. The biases inherent in the operations of the art museum, especially its non-negotiable reliance on a Western concept of ‘art’, are at the heart of the predicament of diversity for art museum practice.