Night at the Museum

After visiting the Brooklyn Museum with Macaulay, I’m realizing that museums serve the very important purpose of bringing people together to understand art. In such a diverse city like New York, there are so many different people constantly interacting with each other, just like within the Macaulay community. During my experience at the Brooklyn museum, I was able to see this diverse blend of struggles and cultural values in person through art, and what made it better was my real world friends of so many backgrounds to experience them with me as well. Whether it was through composition or purpose, every piece was unique, and the differences within the people around me helped me understand the importance of diversity and different values in art. For these reasons, I think it is imperative that Macaulay students visit more museums and keep an open mind, taking into account both their own and other communities.

This reinforced my previous idea about museums, which is that they display information with the intent to display specific messages. I noticed how the layout of each section was different, with certain objects at the center. Also, I learned a lot about different cultures through the exhibits. I would encourage Macaulay students to visit more museums to appreciate history, and to have fun looking at different art forms.

I always viewed museums as unassuming, so I would attending one. This experience challenged this previous idea by offering me a group of people who were willing to share the ideas on the artwork . When they shared with me, I was able to see a different perspective other than what was given in the description. Additionally, as we continued to explore, I began to view artworks differently, without the opinions of others, by comparing them to the everyday things I see. I plan to apply this new ability the next time I view art.

I see myself and my community reflected in the Brooklyn Museum’s celebration of diversity and global perspectives. As someone who values learning about different cultures and connecting across backgrounds, I relate to the museum’s inclusive exhibitions that highlight underrepresented voices and stories from around the world. The museum’s blend of history, art, and social awareness mirrors the energy of New York itself, diverse, creative, and constantly evolving. It’s a place where people from all walks of life can see parts of their identity represented while also discovering new ways of understanding others.

Museums always seemed to be laid out by specific collections, where paintings are lined by ornate frames and artifacts are encased upon podiums. But after seeing the unconventional layout of the Brooklyn Museum, it changed my perspective on how works of historical or cultural significance are displayed. Whether it be the shelves of sculptures or a sea of white faces hung across from benches, these sequences were not based on time periods and not entirely on aesthetic but on the styles of art or meaning/intention of their respective creator. It was a fresh scene to witness in a different means of display.

Having previously worked in a smaller, local museum, my initial impression of this larger museum, especially focusing only on the fifth floor, was that it would be a quick visit. However, I was completely surprised by how expansive the floor was, revealing incredible pieces that just kept going. This experience truly challenged my assumptions about museum scale and reinforced how captivating diverse exhibitions can be. It was genuinely interesting to see all the unique pieces, and the sheer depth of the exhibits was amazing. I would definitely encourage all Macaulay students to explore different museums, as each one offers a uniquely enriching experience.