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Content Warnings in Museums and Galleries: Taking a Proactive Approach
I began writing and speaking about the need for trauma-informed practices in museums several years ago, and while I haven’t seen any big changes in the time since, I have seen small shifts …
Creating Inclusive Tours: Five Strategies for Engaging English Learning Visitors in Museums
If working at a big art museum taught me one thing, it is how unexpectedly diverse visitor groups can be, both culturally and linguistically. As a museum educator with a thick accent …
Every Museum Needs a Civic Strategy. Here’s How to Find Yours.
In a recent New York Times article, landscape architect and MacArthur Grant winner Walter Hood described museums as “the new civic spaces, where honest conversations can be had.” While this …
Robust Research, Healthy Communities
Attending this year’s AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, one of my priorities was to take in some of the rich variety of research-related sessions on offer. I was particularly interested …
The Greater Good: A Q&A with Author Sandy Skees on Purpose
If you know me and follow this series, you probably know about my obsession with purpose and its power to make good organizations great. When I come across a book or article on purpose, I …
What Can Museums Learn from the Connected Learning Framework?
How would you try to convince a naysayer of the value of arts education? Maybe you would plead for the value of these subjects in their own right, citing the mind-expanding powers of …
Museum as Living Room: A Q&A with Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts’ Victoria Ramirez
I believe museums matter because they serve as vital community spaces, where we can meet, mingle, work, learn, study, daydream, and everything in between. I came to this realization, in …
What Works for Building Audiences? Let’s Review the Data.
One of the biggest issues museums face right now is diminished attendance. Years after most pandemic-induced closures have lifted, the majority of institutions have still seen only a …
How to Transform a Volunteer Program in Six Steps
Are you taking a second look at your museum’s volunteer program? Maybe you’re struggling with flagging recruitment and retention, questioning how the diversity of your corps aligns with …
A Guided Wellness Workshop for Taking Care of Yourself Before Your Communities
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to join the AAM team for two wellness sessions in the lead-up to May’s Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo. Given the meeting’s wellness-focused theme, …
Reframing the Collection: How a Literary Catalog Experiment Brought New Voices to Interpretation
The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art (Stanley) is part of the arts ecosystem at the country’s premier university for the study of creative writing. As a curatorial team, we have …
The Pains and Pleasures of Being a First-Generation Museum Person
Every few months or so, there’s a family gathering. From a birthday celebration to a family cookout, my family never seems to have a shortage of reasons to gather. At the time of this …