2021 – Page 18 – American Alliance of Museums

Your Guide to the Future at #AAM2021

By Elizabeth Merritt

I began publishing a “guide to the future” for each AAM annual meeting nearly a decade ago. This was, in part, a response to feedback from attendees (especially first-timers) that the conference was a bit overwhelming. To help attendees …
Looking Within: AAM’s Internal DEAI Work

By Andrew Plumley

Most of you reading this probably know about Facing Change, AAM’s multi-year initiative to increase the diversity of museum boards and ultimately create more diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive museum cultures. But alongside any …
Virtual Programs for Children—What Do Parents Want Now?

By Scott Burg & Claire Quimby, Rockman et al.

After of year of chaos, anguish, and reflection, the world is entering a new phase—perhaps “post-pandemic,” maybe the “new normal”—it will take a while to settle on the right label. Last year, the AAM Committee on Audience Research and …
Sign of the Times: Museums Become Vaccine Clinics

By Joseph O'Neill & Rachel Lee

After a year-plus of museums stepping far outside their comfort zones, becoming everything from food distributors to protest relief stations, the final frontier is upon us. Museums around the world have started to offer their spaces as …
Combatting Burnout in the Museum Sector

By Elizabeth Merritt

Last month the Alliance released the results of “Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on People in the Museum Field.” Respondents (the majority of who identified themselves as full-time or part-time museum staff) tell us that the pandemic has …
A New American Chapter for Frank Europe GmbH—the Producer of a One-of-a-Kind System for Museum-Quality Showcases

By Jonathan Evans

As the museum industry gradually emerges from the difficult challenges of the past year, Frank Europe GmbH is making a commitment to the vibrancy and resilience of the US cultural community with the establishment of Fra…
Inviting Engagement: Front-of-House Workers Become Online Content Creators

By Catherine Arias

After announcing our free admission initiative in January 2020, MOCA’s lobby was a bustling hive of activity. Visitor engagement staff welcomed attendees by scanning their tickets and orienting them to exhibitions, rules, and amenities. …
Inside Out, Outside In: A resilience model for museums offers strategies to address challenging realities.

By Anne W. Ackerson, Gail Anderson, and Dina A. Bailey

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2021 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. “For museums, the choice is either resilience or irrelevance. When museums see themselves not only as serving their community but …
Block By Block

By Maggie Hutcheson, and Nipuni Kuruppu

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2021 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. The Toronto Ward Museum is building more inclusive cities through storytelling, one neighborhood at a time. Spoken word migration …
Online and the Bottom Line

By Jared S. Scherer

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2021 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. The California Academy of Sciences focused on digital fundraising in the age of COVID-19. The pandemic’s impact on the museum …