E11, Pt 2: Close observation, empathy and compassion with Bonnie Pitman, Director of Art-Brain Innovation at UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
Release Date: 11/10/2023
Winter Announcement
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
Hello Friends! We are taking a little break for the winter, working up some new offerings for you, and lining up some exciting episodes! Our first digital offering is almost ready for you! It’s the 5-Step process I’ve used when facilitating teams to design personalized ways to build more trust, encourage vulnerability and lead with compassion. We've created a robust, visual guide to help your teams follow those same 5 Steps. The guide helps you and your team identify resistances and barriers to voicing your own authentic voice, and then build actions and practices to support...
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E12: Feminist Design, Built Environment & Inclusion with Nourhan Bassam, Urban Design Innovator in Gender-responsive spaces
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
When designing spaces, why is a feminist lens important? What might egalitarian social spaces look and feel like? How might museums, parks and cities be designed differently to include the needs of women, caregivers and girls? Historically, a male-centric perspective has been dominant in the design of spaces - particularly cities - which has led to a series of decisions and standards with long-term consequences on the experiences of others, including women and girls, people with diverse gender expressions, racial and ethnic minority groups, neurodivergent groups and other...
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E11, Pt 2: Close observation, empathy and compassion with Bonnie Pitman, Director of Art-Brain Innovation at UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
How does close observation lead to empathy and compassion? This week, we’re honored to hear from Bonnie Pitman, a national leader in education and the public engagement of art, who has been a thinker and a doer on the bleeding edge of arts education and engagement for 40 years. After a long career in art museums, Bonnie is now working on ways to cultivate empathy and compassion through viewing art. Her Power of Observation Framework™ was developed in part to guide medical students using a process of close observation leading to a sustainable practice of empathy and compassion...
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E11, Pt1: Close observation, empathy and compassion with Bonnie Pitman, Director of Art-Brain Innovation at UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
How does close observation lead to empathy and compassion? This week, we’re honored to hear from Bonnie Pitman, a national leader in education and the public engagement of art, who has been a thinker and a doer on the bleeding edge of arts education and engagement for 40 years. After a long career in art museums, Bonnie is now working on ways to cultivate empathy and compassion through viewing art. Her Power of Observation Framework™ was developed in part to guide medical students using a process of close observation leading to a sustainable practice of empathy and...
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E10: Trauma-informed Digital Design with Melissa Eggleston and Carol F Scott, PhD
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
What does a trauma-informed digital experience look like? Or, better said, what does it feel like? Why is trauma-informed design particularly important for today’s digital experiences? We hear answers to these questions and more this week from Melissa Eggleston and Carol F Scott, PhD - the women behind Trauma-informedTech.com. Melissa is an expert in user-experience design and research with a focus on inclusive, trauma-informed technology and design. Carol is a social worker and social welfare expert whose training intersects law, social work, psychology, human-computer interaction...
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E9: Embracing Bias with Dr Nicole Ortiz, Learning and Belonging Manager, Denver Zoo
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
We know we all have biases - it’s our brain’s way of speeding up decision-making and keeping us safe. We also know these quick decisions and snap judgments often don’t reflect today’s real world challenges and dangers. Destigmatizing bias is an important step toward acknowledging and then interrupting bias, but how might that work, exactly? And how might we help our report-tos, leaders and teammates sit with, challenge and unravel their own biases so we might all be better designers and create better, more equitable experiences for our visitors and audiences. This...
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E8: Feminine Exhibit Design with Margaret Middleton, Independent Exhibit Designer
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
I ran across the concept of Feminine Exhibit Design when doing some post-conference research - and it perked my ears right up! What is feminine exhibit design? And, why is it important? has been focusing on these questions for several years now, and spent a little time with me to discuss. Margaret is a thought leader in the inclusive design space, designer of playful, enriching learning experiences, and speaker and consultant advocating for inclusive museum practices. In this week’s episode, Margaret shares their thoughts on why Feminine Design principles are a critical aspect...
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MuseumX Podcast: Summer Announcement
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
- Summer Break Announcement - I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, taking things a bit slower, getting rest and having some fun! Here at Dig In UX and MuseumX podcast - we are wrapping up a few large consulting projects, and I’m trying to take things a bit more slowly this summer, so we are moving into a little podcast break. We'll be spending some of this break time this time lining up episodes with cool new guests! Later this summer you can look forward to episodes that dig into topics such as trauma-informed digital design, inspiring creativity, feminine design, facilitating hard...
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E6: Tables are Turned! Nicole interviews Stefanie, Part 2
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
PART 2 of 2 This week - the tables are turned! If you wanted to learn a bit more about me - here’s your chance. One of my favorite people, who is also a former neighbor and former museum colleague, interviews me! Nicole has the curiosity bug as badly as I do, so she’s one of my favorite people to explore ideas, make connections and generally chat with. She’s awesome. In the episode, you’ll first hear Nicole tell the silly and fun story of how we met and became friends - it’s pretty good. Vintage Stef stuff. We then talk about my professional path from anthropology to digital UX...
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E6 Tables are turned! Nicole interviews Stefanie, Part 1
MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good
This week - the tables are turned! If you wanted to learn a bit more about me - here’s your chance. One of my favorite people, who is also a former neighbor and former museum colleague, interviews me! Nicole has the curiosity bug as badly as I do, so she’s one of my favorite people to explore ideas, make connections and generally chat with. She’s awesome. In the episode, you’ll first hear Nicole tell the silly and fun story of how we met and became friends - it’s pretty good. Vintage Stef stuff. We then talk about my professional path from anthropology to digital UX research and...
info_outlineHow does close observation lead to empathy and compassion? This week, we’re honored to hear from Bonnie Pitman, a national leader in education and the public engagement of art, who has been a thinker and a doer on the bleeding edge of arts education and engagement for 40 years.
After a long career in art museums, Bonnie is now working on ways to cultivate empathy and compassion through viewing art. Her Power of Observation Framework™ was developed in part to guide medical students using a process of close observation leading to a sustainable practice of empathy and compassion for their patients. In this episode, we hear multiple examples of how the Framework may be applied, as well as its uses in museum spaces.
Through this work, Bonnie has also created a daily practice to "Do Something New", which invites the exploration and celebration of making an ordinary day extraordinary while dealing with her own chronic illness.
Links to resources discussed in the episode
1990s watershed report: Excellence and Equity: Education and the Public Dimension of Museums
Book: Igniting the Power of Art
The Power of Observation™ - lecture
The Power of Observation™ - framework
UT Dallas - Center for Brain Health
Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at UT Dallas
JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, Pharma Art—Abstract Medication in the Work of Beverly Fishman
Sharon Salzberg, Bonnie’s teacher for loving kindness meditation
Do Something New - Instagram @BonniePitman