As the world recently watched in horror at the aggressive destruction of ancient Assyrian monuments and artifacts; as audiences witnessed "die-ins" to address concern about violent encounters between young African-American men and the police, such as those held at here at Bowdoin College and in early March at Armory Show in New York; as readers mourned the deaths of Charlie Hebdo reporters over offense taken at editorial cartoons; the power of visual culture repeatedly reasserts itself as a vital part of our contemporary political discourse. In so contemplating the meaning of monuments and the vivid impact of the visual, an important opportunity presents itself to rethink the role of museums today. No longer does the model of an ecumenical temple to the past serve our interests. Instead, the contemporary museum offers the opportunity to welcome new audiences, to become a site of debate and engagement, to grapple with the images and the ideas and attitudes that shape contemporary culture.

On April 9^th, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art has the welcome opportunity to host Ford W. Bell, President of the American Alliance of Museums, to address the question of the Twenty-First Century Museum. We welcome your responses, your questions, and your observations about the call to action museums must be poised to answer today and in the future.  more