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Center for the Future of Museums Blog
The Center for the Future of Museums Blog shares musings on the future of museums and society.
For Your Radar: The National Association of Museum Schools
When invited to make a statement I’d like to be true in the future, I often offer a vision of America in which “any child can choose to go to school in a museum.” Today’s guest post by …
Where to Find the Future at #AAM2022
We are having a real, face-to-face conference! Boston, May 19-22. I, for one, look forward to seeing you all in person (at least from the mask up), and plan to revel in the informal …
To NFT or Not to NFT: The View from Two Museums
A few weeks ago I published a post on blockchain collectibles, offering a primer on NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and exploring some factors, notably alignment with mission and values, that …
Introducing the 2022 Edition of TrendsWatch
As a child, I fell in love with museums for the good they did for me: providing a place of wonder, exploration, refuge, and, as I aged into teen-dom, an opportunity for meaningful work as a …
Introducing Your Do-It-Yourself Toolkit for Strategic Foresight
Check it out. I made something for you ↑ I’ve been teaching strategic foresight to museum people for fourteen years now, travelling around the country to give talks and lead workshops, …
NFTs, Cryptocurrency, and Museum Practice
I am going to break a long silence to weigh in on the current conversation around NFTs, addressing four issues that have come up repeatedly in my conversations with people inside and …
What Does it Mean to Trust a Museum?
Last September, AAM released Museums and Trust 2021, a survey that measured how museums were performing during a time of record public distrust in a wide range of institutions, from news …
The Future of Museum Labor: Exploring the Latest COVID Impact Data
Last week the Alliance released the results of our most recent snapshot of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on US museums. We launched this series of surveys in June 2020, a little over …
STEAMing into Solvency: Integrating a Museum into the Public School System
The pandemic was an economic tsunami for museums, particularly those already experiencing financial stress. Relatively new museums, still getting their feet under themselves, were at …
Hiring Into Pathways for Advancement
What if every entry level museum job was designed to be the first rung in a career ladder for anyone who desires to climb? How could that change who wants to work in a museum, and whether …
In the Pandemic a New Museum Charter School is Born
Over the past two years, the pandemic has prompted museums to experiment with new products and services to meet the needs of their communities. Some of these experiments have turned out to …
Forecasting 2022, Part 3: Build Your Own Adventure
When I sat down to write the third entry in CFM’s scenario set for 2022, I struggled over what kind of story would most usefully round out the collection. Scenario one (A Third Year of …