Dr. Kim Keith, 47, lives in Tacoma Washington D.C., with her mother and is a museum curator and academic. Currently, she is curating Staying Power at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton.
BB: Why this career path?
KK: My love of museums began when I was 6 years old and I would visit the Tacoma Art Museum, which was next door to my mom's office. I would go in there and stare at the paintings and wonder why there weren't other kids in there, it was such a great place. I love working with young people, and I've always had an interest in craft practice, printmaking, weaving, felt making, jewellery making. I'm interested in process more so than product, and the interest in process lends itself to teaching. So my interests and passions add up to lots of things that are relevant to museums and museum education.
BB: What makes you so passionate about developing educational programmes that appeal to such a wide range of people ?
KK: I grew up in a low-income area and was part of the free lunch program at school. If it hadn't been for my mother, who was not only an excellent role model in terms of her work ethic and her outlook and values, but was always keen to get me involved with music and arts as a child, if not I could have been an at-risk youth.
I got into some trouble at school but it didn't lead me into juvenile detention, but it could have. So I relate to a lot of different types of people. When I did programs in juvenile detention I could relate to and empathize with the female offenders I worked with, and the same with young people living in public housing, and ethnic minorities. It's who I am and where I come from. A wide range of people that I create programs for are really just different parts of myself, if that makes sense. I develop programs that I would want someone to develop for me, and since I am somewhat outside of the museum's traditional demographic that translates to programs for marginalized and diverse audiences.