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Brits discuss the future of museums

By Philip Katz

Two new internet sightings remind me that the future of museums is a lively topic of debate in the United Kingdom. Vaughan Allen, director of the URBIS arts center in Manchester, looks at “the future of museums, galleries, citizenship and …
Opportunity for Engagement: Volunteer to Listen for the Future

By Elizabeth Merritt

Even before the 2008 founding of the Center for the Future of Museums, AAM was helping the field detect the winds of change through partnership with the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Listening Post Project. This project helps the nonprofit …
When Themes Collide: Newspapers, Gaming and Museums

By Elizabeth Merritt

Theme 1: Last spring James Chung of Reach Advisors hosted a conversation during the AAM meeting in Philadelphia exploring what museums can learn from the recent plight of the newspaper industry, and the collapse of their business model. …
Tomorrow’s News, Today: Museums without Walls

By Elizabeth Merritt

One of the assumptions that CFM questioned early on is that museums are necessarily tied to a particular place. I’ve speculated about whether and when a museum might want to migrate to a new city or community. On a more local scale, why …
Goin’ Mobile?

By Philip Katz

According to some predictions, “by 2020, mobile devices will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world.” And a forward guard of museums is already adapting to this coming reality, according to a new …
Economic Change and the Future of American Museums

By James Chung and Susie Wilkening

Guest blog by James Chung and Susie Wilkening, Reach Advisors Over the summer, James was asked to speak at the International Council of Museums meeting about the current economic turmoil and the impact on American museums. Primed by our …
Building a Self-Study Course in Futurism

By Elizabeth Merritt

One of CFM’s major goals is to encourage museum practitioners to think and plan for a longer time frame (longer, that is, than the usual one to three-year plan.) In our rapidly changing, uber-connected world a plan that looks good in the …
Blog to keep an eye on: MuseumDesignLab

By Elizabeth Merritt

This blog documents the work of 18 students at the Parsons School of Design who will spend the next semester forecasting the future of 6 NYC-based museums: The American Museum of Natural History, The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, …
Tomorrow’s News Today: The Evolution of Museum Photography Policies

By Elizabeth Merritt

Here’s an interesting item: This article talks about the decision of Seattle’s Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum to allow non-flash photography in their exhibits. One-off or trend? I think the latter—that this is an early …
Call for Papers: Involving Users in the Co-creation of Digital Knowledge

By Elizabeth Merritt

One of the trends being explored by CFM is the rising expectation on the part of users that museums provide avenues for them to contribute their opinions and expertise—to be co-creators, not just consumers. Some museums are harnessing …