ABSTRACT
When museums are visited, the content of their exhibitions and programmes comes alive, and a conversation starts between the museum and its audiences. The truth is that their visitors are not reflecting the demographics of the places where the museums are located. Frequently, these groups who do not visit museums are commonly referred to as underrepresented, underserved, among other deficit-based terms. This chapter invites museums to reframe their discourse and start focusing on the assets and aspects that these communities own. It is an exercise of listening, observing, and building a bond with them. This exercise will allow museums to untap their strengths and consider theem communities ‘at-promise’. The potential visitors from these communities are the experts in how to connect better with them, and most likely they know how to improve the exhibits, programmes, and communications to connect closely with these communities. Therefore, building long-lasting and transformational partnerships is an urgent task for museums, which will require them to share, devolve, and/or relinquish power to the communities, and together have a sense of belonging and ownership of the museum and its content.
