Skip to content

Weekly Roundup: Museums in the News 2/3/2017

Category: Alliance Blog
Museum Roundup Logo
Museum Roundup Logo

Enjoy your weekend with this week’s five picks for the Roundup. 

1. Black History Month in the U.S. is intended to honor, as President Ford stated in his 1976 address officially designating the month, the “too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.” February became the chosen month as it coincides with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Art Newspaper whets the appetite by highlighting a small selection of events and exhibitions celebrating African American history in the coming weeks.

How US museums are celebrating Black History Month, coast to coast

The Art Newspaper is the journal of record for the visual arts world, covering international news and events. Based in London and New York, the English-language publication is part of a network of titles founded by Umberto Allemandi with editions in Italian, French, Russian, Chinese and Greek.

2. Are you ready for a road trip? The National Trust for Historic Preservation wrote this story a few years ago, but it’s relevant to share as we kick off Black History Month. The author reminds us that “Black history pervades the senses at historic sites across the country where exhibits, collections, buildings, and the environment illuminate the lives of celebrated figures and provoke spirited conversation and debate.”

Five Historic Places Where Legends of Black History Left Their Mark | National Trust for Historic Preservation

By Andy Grabel, Manager, Public Affairs The 3/4-mile Carver Nature Trail reflect young George Washington Carver’s enthusiasm for the outdoors. It can be found on trails and plantations, in meeting houses and modest homes. Black history pervades the senses at historic sites across the country where exhibits, collections, buildings, and the environment illuminate the lives of celebrated figures and provoke spirited conversation and debate.

3. There have been strong responses across the country regarding the U.S. executive order banning immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. Many cultural organizations have issued statements and positions on the order, including AAM. Hyperallergic highlights some of these responses. How is your cultural institution responding?

Cultural Institutions and Organizations Condemn Trump’s Travel Ban

Following the January 27 executive order signed by President Trump that bans travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, several cultural institutions and groups have issued statements of solidarity with those immediately impacted in their community. Others, like the Getty, have emphasized the potentially severe impact on scholarly exchange, while Studio Libeskind stated that it is “actively boycotting companies that support the current administration’s policies.”

4. A new museum opened this week in Sarajevo offering insight into the unique experience of growing up in wartime. The War Childhood Museum displays personal belongings, stories and other ephemera of children who lived through war. Jasminko Halilovic, the museum’s founding director, believes it is the only museum of its kind in the world documenting the specific experience of children in conflict in this way.

Bosnia’s War Childhood Museum Opens in Sarajevo

“I remember that April morning when I saw a soldier parked in a tank outside my window.” So begins the story of Emina, who was aged nine and living in Sarajevo when the war broke out in 1992.

5. Let’s finish out this week with a note of museum resilience. Earlier this month Egypt’s Museum of Islamic Art re-opened to visitors for the first time since it was severely damaged from a bomb attack on the nearby Cairo police directorate. “Restoration experts were able to salvage all but 19 of the 179 damaged pieces and more than 4,400 exhibits are on display, including about 400 that are being shown for the first time.” Let’s take this spirit of renewal, perseverance, and support for cultural institutions into the weekend!

Egypt’s Museum of Islamic Art welcomes first visitors since 2014 bombing

CAIRO Egypt’s Museum of Islamic Art, home to one of the world’s most important collections of Islamic artefacts, is welcoming visitors for the first time since it was damaged in a car bombing three years ago.

Do you have a great museum story to share? Let us know in the comments!

Have a great weekend.

AAM Member-Only Content

AAM Members get exclusive access to premium digital content including:

  • Featured articles from Museum magazine
  • Access to more than 1,500 resource listings from the Resource Center
  • Tools, reports, and templates for equipping your work in museums
Log In

We're Sorry

Your current membership level does not allow you to access this content.

Upgrade Your Membership

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Field Notes!

Packed with stories and insights for museum people, Field Notes is delivered to your inbox every Monday. Once you've completed the form below, confirm your subscription in the email sent to you.

If you are a current AAM member, please sign-up using the email address associated with your account.

Are you a museum professional?

Are you a current AAM member?

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription, and please add communications@aam-us.org to your safe sender list.