Community engagement work

Since beginning work at the Walters in February 2017, Hoobler has sought to forge connections with the Latino community and a broad range of patrons in Baltimore. This has led to record audiences for Day of the Dead festivals at the museum (up ~8%, to more than 1900 attendees in 2019), museum ad purchases in the Mundo Latino newspaper, and more consistent attendance at monthly meetings of the Latino Providers Network (local community organization focused on Baltimore and Maryland Latinos). 

Tours and Talks for Community Groups – Tours for school and social groups, including interns from the Smithsonian Latino Center, the Mi Espacio teen group from the CASA de Maryland (Latino and immigration advocacy-and-assistance organization), as well as to Latino Employee Resource Groups from PNC Bank and Exelon. 

Community Advisory Group – Forming a community advisory group of scholars and local community leaders to work on the installation of the permanent galleries of Art of the Americas, as well as other temporary exhibitions.

Land Acknowledgment – Working with museum leadership to write and edit a Land Acknowledgment statement for the Walters, to have it evaluated by community members, and to formulate a broader plan of engagement with Indigenous peoples of Baltimore. 

Ensuring access for scholars and engaged parties – Working with local professors to ensure access for university groups from Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), and other university group. Provided sound files and photographs from John Bourne's archive, dating to the 1940s, to Canadian scholar specializing in the culture of the Lacandón  Maya of Chiapas, Mexico. Also enabled access to the collection to interested parties outside of specific academic/museum researchers (Argentine researchers and enthusiasts of pre-Columbian Andean ceramics.)