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The National Gallery of Art’s #MuseumFromHome Strategy: Social Media Gallery Tours

By Joseph O'Neill

Ever since last week’s rash of closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, museums have been working behind the scenes to set strategies for engaging the public through remote alternatives. Within days, two hashtags emerged on …
Quantifying a Commitment to Representation

By Matthew McLendon

I realized last summer that after twenty years in the museum field, I felt deeply frustrated. When I enrolled in my first museum studies classes in the late 1990s, there were audible and inspiring calls to increase diversity in museums. …
4 Tips for Effectively Reaching Visitors with Disabilities

By Dani Doughty

It’s been nearly three decades since the original Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was signed into law. Since the protective act was ratified, great strides have been made not just to prevent discrimination against people with …
The Illusion of Old Age

By Bill Tramposch

One of the lesser-known essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson is on the topic of old age, or rather the illusions surrounding and benefits of advanced years. Curiously, in 1862 he was describing attributes of aging that scientists have since …
13 Tips for Working Remotely

By The Independent Museum Professionals Network

With the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation in the US and elsewhere, museums may begin allowing employees to work from home. For those new to this type of work life, the Independent Museum Professionals Network compiled this list of tips …
A Community Museum’s Plan to Document Gentrification

By Sarah Zenaida Gould, PhD

This past November, I attended Reimagining the Museum: Conference of the Americas, held in Oaxaca, Mexico. Part of my excitement about attending the conference was that Latin America, and especially Oaxaca, is known for its community …
Simplifying Creative Aging

By Bill Tramposch

“What’s creative aging?” is a question that usually comes fast on the heels of mentioning the term. I have tried to explain it so many times that, for economy’s sake, I’ve developed ways to explain it with the fewest descriptors possible. …
Why We’re Covering the Opioid Crisis at the Indiana State Museum

By Cathy Ferree

As museums look to the future, it is paramount that we stay relevant to our visitors and continue to meet their needs. Instead of only serving as stewards of the past, museums can put history in context and look to the future and tackle …
Silent No More: The new Lucy Burns Museum speaks to the centennial of suffrage

By Karin McKie

Suffragists are recorded as the first in US history to use silence as protest, calling themselves “Silent Sentinels.” US suffragists (rather than British suffragettes) were also the first to picket the White House. They stood in front of …
Nature Inspires Lessons in Self-Confidence for Creative Agers at a Florida Botanical Garden

By Jennifer Reed

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 …