“Learning in Public”, per un vero “museo attivista”. Il caso di Scaffold al Walker Art Center

Scaffold (2012) is (was) a monumental installation in wood and iron that denounces (denounced) the injustice of the death penalty in the United States of America, as well as the racism of the federal judicial system. The work, created by artist Sam Durant (Seattle, 1961), was a great success in Kassel at Documenta 13. However, when it was acquired by the Walker Art Centre in Minneapolis, it aroused the indignation of the local Dakota community, who demanded its removal, judging it offensive to the traumatic memory of past death sentences and persistent racism in the present. A mediation process was therefore established between the parties, with Durant ceding the intellectual property rights of the installation to the Dakota people in order to dismantle it. This aspect, which has not yet been sufficiently investigated by critics, is identified as a significant turning point in the controversy, where, within the museum itself, attention shifted from the work to its enjoyment, highlighting the importance of welcoming native communities not only as an audience, but also involving them directly in cultural policies. This research considers the Scaffold case as a successful example of cultural mediation, highlighting new perspectives and participatory approaches that both artists and museums must take into account if they wish to engage in a concrete process of transformative justice, which cannot be reduced to the purchase and exhibition of an “activist” work, problematising the position of alliance with regard to the rights of marginalised communities.