Posts
Community Engagement & Impact
Looking Back to Move Forward: Examining Institutional Racism in Reprising “Afro-American Images 1971”
In February 1971, a newly formed Delaware organization, Aesthetic Dynamics Inc., presented its first major undertaking: an exhibition of over 130 works of art—drawings, prints, photographs, …
Community, connection and activism at the National Museum of African Art
Ngaire Blankenberg , the new director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art (), has been a consultant for museums and cultural destinations around the world. She draws on a …
Why Well-Being Is at the Heart of Museum Experiences
For nearly half a century, I have been thinking and theorizing about museum experiences—why people use museums, what they do during those experiences, and what they take away, including the …
The Top Ten Alliance Blog Posts of 2021
Though 2021 was a slightly more normal year than 2020, with mostly open museums gradually regaining visitors, the pandemic still loomed large and colored most conversations. On the Alliance …
Building a More Just and Equitable World: Introducing AAM’s 2022-2025 Strategic Framework
The museum field, like society at large, is at a pivotal moment of reflection and rebuilding. As the collective museum community, the choices we make in the coming months and years about …
After MAP, KidsPlay Children’s Museum Is Ready to Build Community Bridges
Through the Museum Assessment Program, museums gain perspective on how to improve core areas of their operations, with a combination of guided self-reflection and close consultation with an …
Applying Art History to Workplace Safety: Saving Lives and Growing Revenue at the Toledo Museum of Art
Over the course of its distinguished 120-year history of art education, the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) has offered classes that extend beyond simple drawing and painting into topics ranging …
How Philadelphia Cultural Institutions Embraced Collaboration to Address Opportunity Gaps
If there is a positive outcome of the pandemic’s impact on cultural institutions, it may be the willingness to ideate and take different approaches to our work to ensure that no one is …
With the Help of MAP, the Manassas Museum Met Its Changing Community’s Needs
Through the Museum Assessment Program, museums gain perspective on how to improve core areas of their operations, with a combination of guided self-reflection and close consultation with an …
After Condo Collapse, a Miami Museum Is Preserving the Memorial Wall
The Surfside Wall of Hope, a temporary memorial to the victims of the Champlain Towers collapse, is now coming down, but one South Florida institution is committed to its preservation. …
Picture of Health: How MFA, St. Petersburg, Reimagined the Museum Program as a Source of Wellness and Healing
As the Curator of Public Programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, my professional focus has always been the MFA’s public spaces, performing arts venue, and gardens—not the …