Happy Earth Day! This week’s Roundup shares stories about conflict resolution, conference museum going, the Science March, Native American art and Antoni Gaudí.

1. I caught up with a lot of inspiring colleagues at the Museums and the Web conference in Cleveland this week. The convening’s keynote Tim Phillips is a pioneer in the field of conflict resolution and co-founder of Beyond Conflict. Using methods learned from his organization’s global efforts, Phillips has worked with several museums to engage lessons learned in sharing experiences and improving understanding in our polarized society through inclusivity.

Beyond Conflict

Beyond Conflict assists leaders in divided societies struggling with conflict, reconciliation and societal change by facilitating direct contact with individuals who have navigated similar challenges in other settings. Our powerful methodology of shared experience is grounded in two core principles: that people can learn from each other and that people can change.

2. One of the best things about conference travel is visiting museums in the host city. (If you’re headed to the AAM Annual Meeting in a few weeks, St. Louis has tons of opportunities.) In Cleveland I had the treat of visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Museum of Art. At the art museum, conference attendees had a blast trying out the newly renovated ArtLens Studio gallery.

ArtLens Studio

On June 16, 2016 the Cleveland Museum of Art opened the doors to the ArtLens Studio, a completely re-imagined expansion of the museum’s original Studio Play. Studio Play, which opened in December 2012, was a space for young kids and families to de-stress and engage with high-touch, screen-free activities.

3. Scientists and science advocates all over the world are marching in support of science on Earth Day. Amongst debate in the scientific community about how to respond to the political issues affecting science findings and inquiry, this article talks to several museum professionals and about why they will or won’t be marching.

Who’s Marching for Science-and Why? Here Are 15 Answers

While science and its impacts on beliefs and our world will always be the subject of debate, in general it has been accepted that the scientists themselves should largely stay on the sidelines. The recent election has triggered a reevaluation of this norm.

4. Chip Colwell, Senior Curator of Anthropology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, offers his perspective on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s plan to display a recent gift of Native American art in its American Wing. Colwell writes, “The Met’s decision isn’t important because it elevates Native art, but because it represents a museum’s acknowledgement of Western ethnocentrism – the false belief that Western art is inherently superior. A history of exclusion may finally be overcome.” What do you think?

Native American art hasn’t changed, but museums have | Apollo Magazine

A few weeks ago, the press swooned over the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s announcement of a historic change in institutional direction. Valerie and Charles Diker promised a gift of 91 Native American artworks to the Met.

5. A new museum will open later in 2017 dedicated to Catalan modernist and imaginative architect Antoni Gaudí in the first home he designed. Photos of the beautiful Casa Vicens building will have you dreaming of Barcelona travel plans!

First House Ever Designed by Gaudí to Open as a Museum in Barcelona

The father of Catalan Modernism, Antoni Gaudí, is finally getting his own museum in the newly renovated Casa Vicens. The building, Gaudí’s first house, is considered one of the first examples of Art Nouveau architecture and has been closed since 2015 while being refitted as a museum.

Happy weekend!

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