Racism, Place, and Space: White Sanctuaries, U.S. Museums, and Maintaining the Status Quo

The Art Institute of Chicago – a nationally recognized museum – as a white sanctuary, i.e., a white institutional space within a racialized social system that serves to reassure whites of their dominant position in society. The purpose of this paper is to highlight how museums create and mantain white spaces within the greater context of being an institution for the general public.