AAM Urges Museums To Embrace White House Summer Of Service
The Obama administration is calling on all Americans to commit themselves to a summer of service, and AAM is urging museums to answer.
The new White House service and volunteer initiative ─ to be launched by President Obama at a major event on June 22 ─ is designed to harness the American spirit of collaboration and community to address some of the country’s pressing problems, ranging from economic recovery to education to the environment. The core of the effort is in urging average citizens to volunteer their time and talent; museums ─ and other public service and civic organizations ─ are urged to assist the administration in raising awareness on volunteer opportunities in towns and cities nationwide.
“AAM is 100% behind the administration’s initiative of service,” said AAM president Ford W. Bell. “Since museums are essential parts of the nation’s educational and civic infrastructure, we are in a unique position to provide engaged volunteers with the opportunity to have a real impact in their communities.”
Museums are urged to list their volunteer opportunities at a Web site established as the clearinghouse for the initiative, at www.serve.gov.
Museums have always relied on the generosity of their local supporters to meet both the needs of the institution and of the community at large,” Bell continued. “We are confident that our field will respond energetically to the president’s call for service, to the benefit of citizens everywhere.”
Following its launch on June 22, the service initiative will continue through the summer, culminating in a day of remembrance on September 11th. The administration expects to devote specific weeks to the areas of education, the environment and other challenges confronting the country. The effort is being coordinated by the federal Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).
From the Lexington green to the food bank down the street, volunteerism is part of the essence of what it means to be an American,” said Bell. “It is in our DNA. This initiative will enable that spirit to re-emerge and, at the same time, will facilitate average citizens forging new ties with their neighbors and their communities.
This summer of service will also help museums solidify their ties with their local patrons and officials, dramatically demonstrating the value museums bring to their locales. The administration’s plan is to make this a high-profile initiaitive, with sustained publicity on the various projects undertaken by communities large and small.
Participating museums are encouraged to publicize their activities. Click here for a template of a press release that may help in this effort.
New Task Force on University Collections
AAM was invited to collaborate with the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries, the College Art Association, the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and the Kress Foundation on a new task force to address the disturbing trend of selling collections from academic museums as a short-sighted response to the current economic downturn.
Representatives from these organizations’ staff, board and membership are working to confront and challenge such decisions. The task force convened for the first time at the AAM Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in May and again in mid-June during the AAMD conference in Toronto.
Members of the task force have been talking to individuals associated with higher education associations and academic accreditation programs and college and university presidents. They are developing a statement for forthcoming public release about the integral role of academic museums to the mission of the university. The goal is to publish this statement with the help of the Kress Foundation in the Chronicle of Higher Education. A petition is now available online. Join efforts in support of university museums andsign on.
