Center for the Future of Museums Blog

The Center for the Future of Museums Blog shares musings on the future of museums and society.

Get more resources from the Center for the Future of Museums.

Explore all Publications from the Alliance.

Explore the AAM Resource Library by topic, and further filter by subtopic or resource types to find what matters most to you!

“Decolonizing is Literally Unsettling”: Repatriation of Nonprofit Land and Assets

By Elizabeth Merritt

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

By Judy Gradwohl

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”

By Elizabeth Merritt

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

By Elizabeth Merritt

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

By Elizabeth Merritt

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

By Elizabeth Merritt

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?

By Elizabeth Merritt

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 …
Reinventing Museums: Pandemic Disruption as an Opportunity for Change

By Elizabeth Merritt

Looking for some good things in a terrible time, people have pointed out that air pollution plummeted as the world locked down, sea turtles are nesting undisturbed, managers are realizing telecommuting actually increases productivity, and …
How to Stay Informed While Staying Sane

By Elizabeth Merritt

Note: This post was updated on October 28, 2024. I sometimes joke that my animal avatar is a Whale Shark, because it’s my job to trawl the ocean of news every day, filtering masses of content in search of nutritious bits to share with the …
Museums as Catalysts for Climate Action

By Elizabeth Merritt

Editor’s note: Right now global attention is focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and protests around the world ignited by the murder of George Floyd (one of the latest in a long string of deaths linked to police violence in the US). …