An Intergenerational “School of Drag” Connects LGBTQIA+ Youth and Elders
Last year, 20 organizations enrolled in a special museum cohort of Aroha Philanthropies’ Seeding Vitality Arts program. With funding from Aroha, and training provided by Lifetime Arts, these museums are developing high quality, …
Financial Sustainability Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Prepared Remarks of Laura L. Lott President & CEO of the American Alliance of Museums Opening General Session of the 2019 Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo May 20, 2019 Good morning and welcome to the 2019 AAM Annual Meeting, the largest …
Ageism is All Around Us
Greetings! This is my second blog as Aroha Fellow for Museums and Creative Aging, and I begin by reiterating my invitation to meet colleagues who share an interest in creative aging during the 2019 AAM Annual Meeting in New Orleans this …
Hiring Tips to Create Value and Inclusion for all Disciplines in Museums
There are qualified and diverse candidates out there who may not be aware that museums are a sustainable career option for them—it’s our job as a field to recruit and retain this virtually untapped market. One important way to achieve this …
Join the Conversation on Museums and Creative Aging
Calling all kindred spirits! Museums and the field of “creative aging” have a wonderful future together. As Aroha Fellow for Museums and Creative Aging for the next two years, I would like to explain clearly the intents of our …
The Mission-Driven Café: When doing the wrong thing is the right thing to do
Ask most museum directors, restaurant consultants, and other knowledgeable folks and they will tell you: “Hire an outside food-service company to run your café.” Well, that makes perfect sense—that is what most museums choose to do. The …
Introducing our Aroha Fellow for Museums & Creative Aging
I am pleased to announce that, with support from Aroha Philanthropies, the Alliance is launching an initiative to explore how museums can engage with the rapidly-growing field of creative aging. Our new Aroha Fellow for Museums and …
Four Things I Learned When I Started Thinking about Museum Accessibility
I first started working with the Disabilities community in 2011. Over the years, I’ve worked with individuals of all ages in their homes, at their jobs, and in their communities. The state I live in, Rhode Island, has had to …
A Totally Inclusive Museum
At the conclusion of a long and productive workshop about inclusion, a museum employee asked: ”How will we know when we have reached our goal of being fully inclusive?” It was a great question, but I’m not sure anyone liked the answer. …
Museums Should Take Notes from Black Panther and Beyoncé: How to engage visitors in difficult discussions using popular media
These days, when museums make it into popular conversation it’s a cause for celebration in the community. As we face increasing competition for leisure time and new challenges in audience engagement due to emerging technologies and …
