Help Pioneer Better Measures of Museum Performance
What’s the best way to measure a museum’s success? And by “best,” I mean meaningful and sustainable. “Meaningful” in the form of metrics that will make a community feel it has been well served by the museum and demonstrate to funders and …
Emergency Response in the Face of Disasters
This is an excerpt from TrendsWatch: Museums as Community Infrastructure. The full report is available as a free PDF download. “There’s nothing like a jolly good disaster to get people to start doing something.” —Prince Charles America’s …
TrendsWatch: this year’s report as a free, accessible PDF with copious links
Heads up! The 2024 edition of CFM’s annual forecasting report is now available as a free PDF download. TrendsWatch: Navigating a Volatile Future explores how museums can adapt to the astounding pace of change in culture, climate, and …
Museums with a Future: Prioritizing Climate Resilience to Respond to a Changing World
This year’s TrendsWatch report spotlights the urgent need for humanity to curb our carbon emissions if we are to stave off the worst extremes of climate change. The term “existential threat” is, IMHO, overused, but in …
A Growing Backlash to DEI
Do you remember seeing this picture attempting to illustrate the difference between equality and equity? Now it also illustrates the latest battleground in the new culture wars. While a whopping 91 percent of Americans agree on the …
Consensual Curation and Our Common Future
The best thinking about potential futures explores the full span of the Cone of Plausibility. By expanding our understanding of what is possible, we expand our choices regarding what is preferable. Today on the blog, Tamara Serrao-Leiva, …
Join Me to Create a Future of Reparative Practice at AAM 2024
It’s 2044, and around the nation, and throughout the world, US museums are seen as valued stewards and honored partners in the critical work of supporting communities and preserving cultural heritage. In that future, we’ve worked through …
Your Guide to the Future at AAM 2024
Hello museum people—I hope to see you in Baltimore, MD, May 16-19 for the 2024 Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. There are always so many great sessions on the program that a common quandary for attendees is the difficulty of choosing between …
Racing into the Future with TrendsWatch 2024
It’s that time again! Check your mailbox for the 2024 edition of TrendsWatch, AAM’s annual forecasting report. Starting last year, we began publishing TrendsWatch as the Jan/Feb edition of Museum magazine. I am so pleased with this …
Uncovering Future Artifacts: Come Play
Museums sit at the balance point of past and future. Most often they apply their scholarship and curiosity to exploring things that have actually happened, but museums can flip that lens to peer forward in time to explore possibilities as …
