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Collecteurs: Social Responsibility and Accessible Art

By Evrim Oralkan

Regular readers of this blog know that I’m always on the hunt for museum-like organizations that live just slightly outside the traditional museum sphere. Such business can illuminate public demand, explore new business models, and test …
Trading Labor for Food

By Elizabeth Merritt

As I revisit my “diary of the future” from a decade ago, I find myself examining how my speculative vision of 2019 has converged with or diverged from reality. Some of my stories were, unfortunately, spot on. Anti-immigrant …
When a Private Museum Has Massive Public Support

By Alexandra Nicholis Coon

Even before the 2008 financial collapse only 56 percent of museums received support from local government, and that funding made up about 10 percent of their overall operating budget. The most recent financial analysis by Grantmakers in …
From For-Profit to Nonprofit: Evolution of the International Spy Museum

By Elizabeth Merritt

Next up in my exploration of museum business models, a conversation with Tamara Christian, president of the International Spy Museum. The Spy Museum is the first museum I’ve found that has operated as both a for-profit and a nonprofit …
In Which Penny and Frank Wash Up at the Villa

By Elizabeth Merritt

The best part of futuring is inviting other folks to play along. For the fifth entry in my 2008 diary of the future, I recruited my real-life companions to contribute to the plot, and they jumped in with gusto. (Thank you Penny!) We …
(Co)Working in a Museum

By Cindy Foley

In a 2017 post on this blog, Tui Te Hau, the director of the Te Papa museum’s Mahuki innovation accelerator, offered some advice for museums considering starting their own coworking spaces. In today’s post Cindy Foley, Executive Deputy …
My Story Part 4: How to Get Trapped in a Tuscan Villa

By Elizabeth Merritt

Ten years ago, when I wrote my fictional diary of 2019, I used the scenario created by the Institute for the Future for the Superstruct forecasting game as a lens through which to reexamine my daily life. On the way to work, I’d …
When Museum Neighbors Include Neighbors without Homes

By Melissa Prycer

TrendsWatch 2019 draws attention to the rising rates of homelessness across the world, including the U.S., and profiles the work of several museums working specifically with and for people experiencing housing insecurity. But many museums, …
Day 3: A Visit from the Authorities

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is the third installment of a “diary of the future” I wrote a decade ago, exploring what the world might be like in 2019. My story takes place in a scenario created by the Institute for the Future for their Superstruct forecasting …
Two Scoops: The Museum of Ice Cream

By Elizabeth Merritt

A recent discussion thread on Museum Junction debated whether the Museum of Ice Cream really counts as a museum. I’m interested in why they choose to self-identify as a museum, and what value that has contributed to their brand. …