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Community Engagement & Impact
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 …
From Preservation to Participation: The Journey of Sandy Spring Museum
Many museums think that serving the needs of more ethnically diverse constituents will lose them “traditional” audience and supporters, but at Sandy Spring Museum (SSM), we’ve found just …
These Museums Helped Welcome Immigrants and Refugees to their Community, and Yours Can Too!
Welcoming America’s annual Welcoming Week enlists organizations around the country to welcome new immigrants and refugees into their new communities. This year, AAM is a national partner of …
Designing for Engagement: Five Steps for Co-Creating Exhibits and Programs with Your Communities
Museums are changing how they interact with the communities they serve, adopting practices that are more inclusive and engaging for all. One of the practices they are increasingly turning …
A Deeper Model of Community Co-Creation
Museums often talk about reaching out to communities, or co-creating with community members, for an exhibition or project. But often in these cases, the formula is lopsided in favor the …