Fatigue and Resilience Resources
You may be grappling with the stress created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the prospect of prolonged uncertainty about the outcome of next week’s election, and 2020 generally. I certainly am, as are my colleagues at the Alliance. To help …
Downsizing Our Museum in the Face of a Pandemic
According to the Alliance’s first COVID snapshot of museum operations, conducted this past summer, one-third of US museums expected to lose over 40 percent of their annual operating income this year. Forty one percent anticipate having to …
Tales from Campus: how a collections-based seminar went virtual
All museums have had their worlds turned upside-down in the past year, but college and university museums and galleries face a specific set of challenges. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, as this academic year began only 27 …
“Decolonizing is Literally Unsettling”: Repatriation of Nonprofit Land and Assets
On July 16, 2020, the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (NACF) and the Yale Union (YU) announced that YU would transfer its land and building in Portland, Oregon, to NACF. The historic building will become the headquarters of the NACF …
Why We’re Staying Closed
Many museums are struggling with when, and whether, to open, reclose, and reopen. These enormously difficult decisions may determine whether the organization survives the current crisis. After experiencing the first two stages of this …
“My Primary School is at the Museum…During the Pandemic”
One challenge facing communities around the globe is providing safe spaces where children can continue their education as normally as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK, Labour party leader Keir Starmer recently called for …
Open Source Solidarity: Starting a Mutual Aid Fund at Your Museum
Earlier this month, I wrote about the role self-organized mutual aid groups are playing in our nation’s response to the financial damage inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Today on the blog, staff from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, …
Mutual Aid in a Time of Crisis
The upheavals of 2020 are drawing more attention to a venerable form of community self-help: mutual aid societies. These self-organized support groups arose in the eighteenth century as a way for communities to provide their members with …
Chris Newell: First Wabanaki Leader of the Abbe Museum
Ian Elsner describes Museum Archipelago (@museum_go on Twitter) as “a tiny podcast guiding you through the rocky landscape of museums.” As a devoted follower of the podcast, I was delighted when Ian recently interviewed Chris Newell, the …
“Pay As You Stay” – an alternative pricing model for museums?
This year’s TrendsWatch cites buy-ahead pricing as one tool for enhancing revenue and managing attendance. In today’s guest post, Managing Director Tom Schoessler tells us how the Weserburg Museum tried flipping that model, charging …
