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Revisiting the Future of Museums in the New Gilded Age
I recently reread a 2011 post by my former colleague Erik Ledbetter on the effect the “New Gilded Age” may have on museums. He wrote “The decline of the middle class and the reemergence of a true American plutocracy will … -
Why are we locking our data away from the public?
When I was researching TrendWatch2015 I sent out a call for examples of how museums struggle with the trend towards “openness” when it threatens traditional ways we have shared (or not shared) our data. Chris Norris, in the Division of … -
Monday Musing: A Radical Proposal on Student Debt
Student debt is a huge issue in our field, especially for emerging museum professionals. So this article caught my attention last week: No more student loans? Purdue University proposes selling shares of students’ future income. Purdue is … -
Call for Applications: Distance Learning Summit on Art Museums & Educational Innovation
Since CFM released Building the Future of Education: Museums and the Learning Ecosystem in 2014, I’ve been on the hunt for opportunities to help build the “vibrant learning grid” envisioned in that report. In this post, … -
Futurist Friday: All Too Human
To add to your TV viewing list: Humans, a new eight part series on AMC. (You can watch all eight episodes online if you have an account with any one of a number of providers.) The show is set is set in a “present day … -
Baby Steps Toward Tomorrow
In the next decade, museums will make a transformational shift from seeing “digitality” as an area of specialization, separate from and in addition to traditional means of doing their work, to digital as an inextricable element of their … -
Commercial Appropriation — 10 Museum Opportunities
I came across a report a few months ago that says digital ad spending in the US will total $58.6 billion and change this year—with nearly $13 million of this being spent by retailers. That story came to mind when I read the essay, below, … -
Global Dialogues: Reimagining the Museum
Today on the Blog, Madeline Vadkerty, the Alliance’s Senior Manager for International Programs is going to try her best to lure you to Buenos Aires. She’s pretty dang persuasive… My mission today is to convince you to join me at … -
Designing for Resilience
One of the themes CFM focuses on in TrendsWatch 2015 is the changing climate of risk facing museums. Fully a quarter of museums & related organizations in the IMLS MUDF database are located in coastal areas with high vulnerability … -
Futurist Friday: Economic “Ifs”
The Economist just released the 2015 edition of “The World If“– a companion to their annual compilation of predictions. I’m working through it today, and you can, too.The editors pose one of my favorite questions: …
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Museums & Public Opinion 2026 Report
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From Idea to Acceptance How to Submit a Winning Annual Meeting Session Proposal
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On-Demand Programs
In this interactive session, we’ll demystify the proposal review process and walk you …