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An Investment in Our Collective Future: Building for Staff Advancement from the Inside Out

By Margaret Koch

With the worst of pandemic disruptions behind us (we hope) some museums are using this as an opportunity to rethink their operations, rather than simply rebounding to the previous norm. COVID amplified the inequities between stable and …
What Does It Mean to be Trustworthy?

By James Gardner

On September 30, the Alliance released Museums and Trust 2021, the latest research to measure public trust in US museums. It was reassuring, though not surprising, that the results confirm museums continue to be highly trusted. However, …
The Mind Behind the Myth: Navigating visitor reactions at Kew Palace

By Elizabeth Merritt

During the pandemic, museums supported the mental health of their communities in creative and generous ways. Some created outdoor art installations to boost the spirits of people in nursing homes and hospitals. Others provided online art …
Museum Staff as Disaster Service Workers

By Elizabeth Merritt

Last month I put out a call on Museum Junction for examples of museums helping their communities plan for and respond to disasters. Among the many exceptional stories submitted by respondents, one stood out by virtue of framing the issue …
Exploring Museums and Trust 2021

By Elizabeth Merritt

The 2019 edition of TrendsWatch took a deep dive into the topic of trust, summarizing the global “trust deficit” and its effect on society. The subject was of particular importance to museums because, as a sector, museums had bucked that …
Digital Migrants and Digital Nomads: Reshaping Museum Communities

By Elizabeth Merritt

Hello, this is Elizabeth. I’m trying to recover from my pandemic writing rut by drafting a short post each week, commenting on the news. (Kind of like the old CFM series “Monday Musing,” but who can tell which day is Monday anymore?) You …
A Self-care Practice: Spend Some Time in Utopia

By Elizabeth Merritt

“Utopia is born of the hunger for something better, but it relies on hope as the engine for imagining such a future.” –Marge Piercy The news has been pretty bleak for the past 18 months, and I struggle to find a few optimistic …
COVID Update—Fall 2021

By Elizabeth Merritt

I had hoped that by this fall COVID-19 would be receding in our rear view mirror, and we could turn our attention to the post-pandemic future. Unfortunately, my June update, which flagged the potential for the Delta variant of the virus to …
Pandemic Disruption as an Opportunity for Change: Intuit

By Elizabeth Merritt

A year ago, I wrote about how Venice is using their pandemic induced pause to rethink how they can create a better future of sustainable tourism rather than rebounding to the status quo of day-tripping hordes. Many museums are using the …
Same Storm, Different Boats

By Elizabeth Merritt

Sometimes, in the wake of disruptive events. the world acts like a rubber band, snapping back to its original shape. Other times, disruptions have a lasting impact—resetting our boundaries, reshaping our practice. It will take several …