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Pandemic Disruption as an Opportunity for Change: Intuit
A year ago, I wrote about how Venice is using their pandemic induced pause to rethink how they can create a better future of sustainable tourism rather than rebounding to the status quo of …
Same Storm, Different Boats
Sometimes, in the wake of disruptive events. the world acts like a rubber band, snapping back to its original shape. Other times, disruptions have a lasting impact—resetting our boundaries, …
Hindsight is 2020: What We Learned About Leadership in a Crisis
At the height of the pandemic, as so many aspects of our professional and personal lives hung in the balance and emotions fluctuated between despair and hope, effective leadership surfaced …
Rethinking Our Human Resources Practices to Build a More Equitable Museum
Less than three weeks after COVID forced museums around the globe to close their doors last year, an article by Arundhati Roy in The Financial Times titled “The Pandemic is a Portal” …
Strengthening Our Core: How Defining Shared Values Can Revitalize Teams
All aquariums, zoos, and museums have core values—beliefs, philosophies, and principles that drive the organization. These values support the organization’s vision, shape its culture, and …
Running with Scissors (and a Mask!): COVID-19 Responses at Old Salem Museums & Gardens
Just as flexible buildings can withstand hurricane-force winds and earthquakes, flexible institutions can withstand monumental challenges like a global pandemic. Because of our four years …
Virtual Internships Are Here to Stay—and That’s a Good Thing
Amid the challenges of 2020, one of the most successful learning experiences for me was pivoting to a 100 percent remote internship program at the National Gallery of Art. When I began …
How the National Air and Space Museum Took Volunteering Virtual
A mother and her spaceship-loving children, ages five and seven, arrive at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center using their timed tickets. As they enter the museum, unsure where to turn first, a …
MSN Conversation #3: Making the Future Museum We Want
View a recording of “MSN Conversation #3: Making the Future Museum We Want” presented by American Alliance of Museum (AAM)’s Museum Studies Network on Wednesday, October 28, 2020. MSN’s …
Hosting Remote Internships: Successes, Challenges, and Thoughts for the Future
When I posted our call for internship applications last December, I had a very different idea of what the summer would look like. A typical internship at the Chrysler Museum of Art involves …
How Can We Make Volunteer Programs More Inclusive and Accessible?
Last year, AAM released a popular toolkit on structuring, developing, and supporting volunteer programs—whether starting from scratch or reimagining an existing program. Since the release …
Baltimore Museum to Sell 3 Blue-Chip Paintings to Advance Equity
The Baltimore Museum of Art is deaccessioning three paintings, by Brice Marden, Clyfford Still and Andy Warhol, and expects to receive approximately $65 million from a combination of an …