The terms “stakeholder” and “stakeholder management” are frequently used by conservators of contemporary art and artifacts as a tool to reference people who have vested interests in the cultural heritage in our care particularly as the conservation field evolves toward value-based decision making. As the origin of the term “stakeholder” references a power dynamic, it may imply that we, the caretakers and owners of the cultural property, are deciding who to "include” (or “exclude”) in our stewardship of these items. However, these are typically not decisions that should be a conservator’s alone depending on the context of working in a museum, with a private collector, gallery or artist. When the term is used, what are we really expressing?
The history of the term "stakeholder" will serve as the foundation for a discussion about how we decide who to include, how to define invested communities, and whether alternative terms to reference these groups may be more applicable for the field of conservation. Case studies from public art and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum will highlight the benefits and challenges of community informed conservation decision-making.