2019 – Page 8 – American Alliance of Museums

Mystic Chords of Memory: Writing workshops as museum creative aging programs

By Bill Tramposch

Nearly a career ago, I visited a mentor and friend at the historical society he directed on a Saturday afternoon. As we sat in his office chatting, I heard a phone ring in the society’s library a long way down a cavernous hall. It rang and …
Day 2: Settling In

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is the second installment of “My World 2019” a fictional diary I wrote in 2008 to explore the scenario created by the Institute for the Future for their Massive Multiplayer Online Forecasting game Superstruct. I’m …
Museopunks Episode 39: A new definition of “museum”?

By Suse Anderson and Ed Rodley

The season for existential crises continued this past month when the International Council of Museums (ICOM) announced that a working group had proposed a new definition for museums and that said definition would be voted on at the ICOM …
Join Us for Museums Advocacy Day 2020 and Funding Status Update

By American Alliance of Museums

Advocacy Alert – October 9, 2019 Join Us for Museums Advocacy Day 2020 In this Alliance Advocacy Alert: Museums Advocacy Day 2020 Registration Now Open! FY 2020 Funding Status Update Museums Advocacy Day 2020 Registration Now Open! …
Using the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers as a Catalyst for Change

By Trevor Jones

Who visits our museums? What are their motivations, and what do they expect from the experience? Alternatively, who is not visiting, and why not? These are critical questions for the future of individual museums, and for the entire field. …
Doing More with More: Investing in Earned Income

By Judy Gradwohl

As the saying goes, “it takes money to make money.” Often museums feel they can’t risk their slim financial margin on speculative ventures, but not taking such risks comes with a cost as well—the cost of lost opportunities. In today’s …
Andrew Plumley Joins American Alliance of Museums as Director of Inclusion

By Cecelia Walls

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 7, 2019 — ARLINGTON, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, has named Andrew Plumley as director of inclusion. In this role, …
You’re Doing What?!: A rebel performance artist goes through his mid-life crisis

By Guillermo Gómez-Peña

Yes, even performance artists grow old! Here is an insightful look into the heart of one of America’s most dynamic contemporary artists, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, as he hits the ripe old age of sixty-three! (Note: I happen to have the …
2019 Museum Publications Design Competition Winner: Painting the Floating World

By American Alliance of Museums

AAM’s annual Museum Publications Design Competition recognizes superior execution and ingenuity in the graphic design of museum publications. A panel of graphic designers, museum professionals, and publishers chooses winners for …
My story, Part 1 (October 7, 2019)

By Elizabeth Merritt

When CFM launched in 2008, one of our first capers was recruiting museum people into Superstruct, the Institute for the Future’s Massive Multi-player Online Forecasting game. Over the course of three months, 7000 players transported …