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Better Than Imagined: How a Holocaust Museum Builds Trust and Community

By Rahim Thompson

There is a certain kind of experience people think they will have at a Holocaust museum. We understand. Most expectations stem from a narrow view of what is possible. But when you widen the lens and expand the imagination, you see: Imagine …
The Gen Z Guide to Civic Season

By Nia Mosby, Brooke Tran, and Camille Serrano

You may have heard of Civic Season, the annual civics-and-history learning sprint held between Juneteenth and the Fourth of July every summer. The program was created by, and is activated by, Made By Us, a network of more than four hundred …
Strategies for Building Community: Lessons from the “Gallery Guide Guide”

By Sydney Skelton Simon & Molleen Theodore

Hi! We are Sydney Skelton Simon, the Bradley Associate Curator of Academic Affairs, and Molleen Theodore, the Jane and Gerald Katcher Curator of Programs, at the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, CT. We are colleagues in the …
The Path to Director: A Q&A with Jay Xu of Asian Art Museum

By Adam Rozan

I lived in San Francisco for almost six years while working at the Oakland Museum of California, and during that time, I came to know and love the city’s Asian Art Museum. When I heard the recent news that its longtime director, Jay …
Demystifying Accreditation: Perspective from Peer Reviewers

By American Alliance of Museums

AAM accreditation comes with significant benefits, including national credibility, enhanced relationships with peers and supporters, and institutional sustainability. But what does the process of obtaining these benefits entail, and how do …
Breaking Down Visitation by Museum Type: A 2024 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story

By Susie Wilkening

This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2024 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the survey partners with individual museums to research …
Saying No: A Practical Guide

By Hilary Branch

Most of us in the museum field feel we have too much work and too little time. No matter how much we get done, our to-do lists never seem to get any shorter—only longer by leaps and bounds. Despite our heavy workloads, it’s hard to say no …
Innovations in Relevance: A Q&A with Stephen Reily of Remuseum

By Adam Rozan

I first learned about Stephen Reily when he was the director of Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, which at the time was making headlines for its Breonna Taylor-themed exhibition Promise, Witness, Remembrance. His name popped up …
Hope for the Future and Museums: Community and Family—A 2024 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story

By Susie Wilkening

This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2024 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the survey partners with individual museums to research …
Hope for the Future and Museums: Enthusiasm and Resistance—A 2024 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story

By Susie Wilkening

For many of us who work in the museum field, the idea of "hope" feels like a positive outcome of a museum visit, and thus worthy of cultivation. Fortunately, most museum-goers agree! As we saw in our introductory Data Story on hope, …