Health

Content Warnings in Museums and Galleries: Taking a Proactive Approach

By Jackie Armstrong

I began writing and speaking about the need for trauma-informed practices in museums several years ago, and while I haven’t seen any big changes in the time since, I have seen small shifts happening that make me hopeful. I’m noticing more …
Mental Health for All

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is an excerpt from TrendsWatch: Museums as Community Infrastructure. The full report is available as a free PDF download. “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” — Glenn Close, …
A Guided Wellness Workshop for Taking Care of Yourself Before Your Communities

By Janet Tillman

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to join the AAM team for two wellness sessions in the lead-up to May’s Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo. Given the meeting’s wellness-focused theme, “Thriving Museums, Healthy Communities,” the team …
Supporting Staff Well-being in a Partisan Time

By American Alliance of Museums

Growing partisan tensions and increasing public tendencies to engage in hostility and rudeness are adding to the stress faced by museums’ frontline staff. How can museums protect staff, equip them to deal with bad behavior, and …
Climate Action Heroes: How National Children’s Museum Is Empowering the Next Generation of Climate Innovators

By Meredith Hamme & Paige Childs

African American students walking out of school to march for equal rights in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. Eight-year-old activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins climbing out of her wheelchair and up the steps of the US Capitol to support the …
Supporting the Mental Health of Museum Staff Tipsheet

By Ann Fortescue

The American Alliance of Museums offers the following guidance from Ann Fortescue, Executive Director, International Museum of Art & Science. It is adapted from a blog post and subsequent roundtable discussion she led on the topic at …
B.U.I.L.D.-ing Empathy: A Framework for Reinvigorating Your Workplace

By Ashley Witherspoon

One of the throughlines of my career in social services has been witnessing the power of empathy. I first discovered this power as an undergraduate criminal justice major, when I completed a field placement at a local juvenile detention …
3 Trauma-Informed Practices for Museums to Follow

By Jackie Armstrong

Earlier this year, I presented at MuseumNext’s Museums, Health, and Wellbeing Summit about what we risk by not integrating trauma-informed practices and values into our work. In my talk, I chose to use reflective prompts and storytelling …
Let’s Talk About It at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery

By Brent Carmack, Shannon Quist, and Laura Vilaret-Tuma

Working with community partners, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery has started a mental health conversation that has led to ongoing p…
Supporting the Mental Health of Museum Staff

By Ann Fortescue

I’ve been in close communication with some of the museum directors using CFM resources—including TrendsWatch reports and the AAM Strategic Foresight Toolkit—to inform their planning and management. Today, Ann Fortescue, Executive Director …