Voice/s in the Museum: launch and panel discussion

This event, which takes place both online and at Tate Modern, London, celebrates the launch of a special issue of Tate Papers that examines how interpretation addresses the complex expectations placed on museums today.

Voice/s in the Museum emerged from Inclusive Practice in the Art Museum: Writing for Audiences and Artists, a research project funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

To mark this special issue, the artist and academic Keith Piper and the museum workers and researchers Oriana E. Gonzales and Sam McGuire will reflect on how interpretation can serve artists, audiences and institutions.

The discussion will be chaired by David Dibosa, Director of Research & Interpretation at Tate. The panel will be followed by a drinks reception in the Corner Bar.

Voice/s in the Museum is funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

About the speakers
Oriana E. Gonzales is a storyteller and listener first and foremost. As an educator and interpretive writer at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, she oversees the inclusive interpretation program and develops the museum's interpretive writing frameworks. A born-and-raised New Yorker of second-generation Afro-Caribbean heritage, she focuses on whose perspectives shape what institutions say about art and history, and on how to build content systems that are honest about positionality and power. In 2025 she participated in the Inclusive Practice in the Art Museum: Writing for Audiences and Artists research convenings at Tate.

Sam McGuire is a writer, editor and curator specialising in histories of documentary photography and accessible stories of art. Recent and forthcoming publications and exhibitions include Great Women Photographers (2026), Kettle’s Yard Art and Artists (2026), Earthly Paradise: Radical Living in the UK at William Morris Gallery, London, and Francesca Odell: Coping With and Enjoying Life at Turner House, Ffoto Cymru. Sam has previously held roles in Learning and in Research and Interpretation at Tate and was an associate lecturer on the Curating the Art Museum MA at Courtauld Institute of Art, London. She is currently an ESRC-funded doctoral researcher at Cardiff University.

Keith Piper is a British-based visual artist. His creative practice responds to specific social and political issues, historical relationships and geographical sites. Adopting a research driven approach, and using a variety of media, his work has ranged from painting, through photography and installation to a use of digital media, video and computer-based interactivity. He is an Emeritus Professor of Fine Art at Middlesex University, London.