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Seeking Self-Care Solutions, for COVID-19 and Beyond

By Reggie Lynch and Meriel Stokoe

Support Free COVID-19 Resources for the Field The current crisis is taking a distressing financial toll on cultural organizations, and AAM is no different. The Alliance Blog is supported by membership dues and donations. In these …
Earth Day during COVID-19: Green Tips for Closed Museums

By Joyce S. Lee

In 2020, Earth Day falls during a time when much of the coronavirus-stricken world is staying at home. Every part of the global community is impacted, and museums have been hit particularly hard. Meanwhile, we find ourselves living in a …
Introducing the Museum Distance Learning Repository

By Sarah Jencks

When our institutions shut their doors for the foreseeable future just over a month ago, museum educators did what they do best. That is to say, we pivoted. Across the continent—and around the world—those of us who spend our days designing …
What Does a Welcoming Online Collections Portal Look Like?

By Cassi Tucker

In late February 2020, the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University became the latest institution to launch an online collections portal, a feature that is increasingly expected of art museums. Built on our existing …
Supporting Teaching Artists with Creative Aging Trainings

By Sarah Drebelbis

In 2019, one hundred Minnesota teaching artists participated in two teaching artist trainings in creative aging, co-presented by Aroha Philanthropies and the Minnesota State Arts Board, in partnership with Lifetime Arts. Today on the blog, …
A Small Museum’s Rapid Response Collecting Project for COVID-19

By Anne Raymond

For historians, there is history in the making at any given moment. The life events, triumphs, and tragedies we experience and record help us define our ever-changing world for generations to come. So, when the coronavirus began affecting …
How Complexity Theory Can Help Decision-Making in Chaotic Times

By Jennifer Martin

You wouldn’t be wrong to call these times chaotic. But chaos, though not always life-threatening in the way of COVID-19, is not uncommon in our work. In November of 2011, I was a CEO leading the opening of a brand-new science center—new …
A Local Chairmaking Tradition Inspires Older Adults at John Michael Kohler Arts Center

By Claire Carlson

In 2018, twenty organizations enrolled in a special museum cohort of Aroha Philanthropies’ Seeding Vitality Arts program. With funding from Aroha, and training provided by Lifetime Arts, these museums are developing high-quality, intensive …
One Museum’s Plan to Keep Its Full Staff During COVID-19

By Joseph O'Neill

Like most sectors of the economy, the museum field is facing sharp losses in revenue and uncertainty about when they will be reversed. Many institutions have decided to lay off, furlough, or otherwise reduce the employment or pay of staff …
In Times Like These: Managing Museums Through Crises

By Christy S. Coleman

On March 23, I sent out a tweet thread to encourage museum peers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little did I know those simple tweets would resonate with so many. I wrote: Having led museums during significant national crises (9/11, Great …