Community Engagement & Impact

Building True, Lasting Collaborations with Source Communities

By Meredith Schweitzer

It’s well-documented by this point: museums are changing. No longer solely repositories of information and keepers of culturally important artifacts, museums today are taking on new roles and shaping revised definitions of …
Space for Civic Dialogue

By Jacqueline Stahlmann

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2020 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. A public education program at the Walker Art Center involving local artists invites community conversation on immigration …
Rising to the Challenge

By Mary Ellen Collins

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2020 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, museums are broadening their missions to serve community needs. Baking bread, …
Making the Abstract Real

By Nik Apostolides

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2020 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. The US Capitol Visitor Center engages student audiences near and far in civics education. If—to quote the title of a …
Redefining ‘American’

By Nancy Bercaw and Patricia Arteaga

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2020 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. A collection initiative at the National Museum of American History gives voice to undocumented immigrant activism. On …
Civics in Action

By Tony Pennay

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2020 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. How can museums nurture the next generation of citizen-leaders? “Why does it even matter?” As a middle school history …
Get Out the Vote

By Sean Kelley

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2020 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. This article is the perspective of the author and does not serve as formal legal advice. It’s always recommended to …
Pandemic-Friendly Ideas for Welcoming Immigrants and Refugees to Your Community

By Joseph O'Neill

Welcoming Week is an annual event from Welcoming America that seeks to unite recent immigrants and refugees with longer residents in communities. Along with other organizations of all stripes, museums have been involved for years, hosting …
Outside > Inside: Outdoor Exhibitions in the Era of COVID and Black Lives Matter

By Michael Epstein

A doctor friend recently shared a social media post listing a five-point coronavirus plan: Masks Close bars Socially distance Test & isolate Outside > inside Like her, it was matter-of-fact, succinct, and assured. But the “Outside …
Postcard Power! How Museums Can Support the Community through a Social Connecting Campaign

By Erica Harmon

Earlier this year, as quarantine fell upon the US, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and its satellite contemporary art space the Momentary—both located in Bentonville, Arkansas—wanted to determine how best to help our region’s …