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Content Warnings in Museums and Galleries: Taking a Proactive Approach

By Jackie Armstrong

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 happening that make me hopeful. I’m noticing more …
Creating Inclusive Tours: Five Strategies for Engaging English Learning Visitors in Museums

By Yuna Dranichnikova

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 myself, I prefer to get ahead of the questions and ask …
Every Museum Needs a Civic Strategy. Here’s How to Find Yours.

By Sarah Jencks

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 is certainly not always the case—it feels …
Robust Research, Healthy Communities

By Carys Kunze

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 to see how presenters would connect the …
The Greater Good: A Q&A with Author Sandy Skees on Purpose

By Adam Rozan

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 have to read it, as I did with Sandy Skees’s …
What Can Museums Learn from the Connected Learning Framework?

By Joseph O'Neill

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 self-expression, technical exploration, and human …
Museum as Living Room: A Q&A with Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts’ Victoria Ramirez

By Adam Rozan

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 part, after reading Ray Oldenburg’s The Great Good …
What Works for Building Audiences? Let’s Review the Data.

By Joseph O'Neill

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 partial return of their visitors—an average of 71 …
How to Transform a Volunteer Program in Six Steps

By Joseph O'Neill

Dive into the theme of The Next Era of Volunteerism at The Museum Summit this October! Are you taking a second look at your museum’s volunteer program? Maybe you’re struggling with flagging recruitment and retention, questioning how the …
A Guided Wellness Workshop for Taking Care of Yourself Before Your Communities

By Janet Tillman

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, “Thriving Museums, Healthy Communities,” the team …