Trusting the Process: The Collaborative Journey to Reframing a Problematic Object
“Put it in storage.” “Replace it with something else.” “Put up a new label.” “Do nothing.” These were some of the solutions offered up when the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison began exploring how to confront …
What Does a Curator of Sustainability Do? A Q&A with Chris Hobbs
In recent years, sustainability has gone from a buzzword for museums to an action step, as our organizations increasingly confront and prepare for the adverse effects of climate change on their sites and, more importantly, their …
How to Retain Participants in Visitor Research Studies
Research and evaluation projects allow museums to engage their communities, visitors, and non-visitors in various ways, but without anyone to participate in them, we are left with only our protocols and questions. That’s why strong …
Elevating Sustainability Efforts in Museum Dining Operations
As museums encourage visitors to learn and think about what is possible, sustainability is no longer a behind-the-scenes activity. Beyond LEED-certified buildings and facilities operations, sustainability initiatives are taking center …
Museum Colleague Shoutouts for 2023
Last month we asked readers of our Field Notes newsletter to share their shoutouts for outstanding museum colleagues in honor of the new year. Here were some of the responses they shared: “Sarah Curran, Museum of Discovery and …
Different by Design: A New, Inclusive Framework for Accessible Museum Exhibitions
In January 2020, I authored a post for the Alliance Blog about speechless: different by design, an exhibition that I curated for the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The exhibition was an experiment—one …
The Museum System Upgrade: A Q&A with András Szántó
In the early days of COVID lockdowns, longtime cultural consultant and writer András Szántó began interviewing dozens of museum leaders around the world. As the pandemic simultaneously slowed down schedules and accelerated the field’s pace …
“Wait, What? Toddlers in an Art Museum?”
Caitlin Mock Wilson, a mother of two young children and a Clyfford Still Museum (CSM) member, often went to museums with her parents as a young child. When she had her own children, she said it “felt natural” that she would also bring them …
The Top Ten Museum Junction Threads of 2022
If you ever want to ask your museum peers a question, one of the best places to turn is Museum Junction, AAM’s open online discussion forum. Sometimes these questions are straightforward and easily answerable, by the person with the …
The Top Ten Alliance Blog Posts of 2022
Every year, people from across the field contribute to the Alliance Blog, and new topics come to the fore as the fieldwide conversation evolves. Revisiting the posts that were most read in a given year always reveals interesting insights …
