Using the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers as a Catalyst for Change
Who visits our museums? What are their motivations, and what do they expect from the experience? Alternatively, who is not visiting, and why not? These are critical questions for the future of individual museums, and for the entire field. …
Growing Audiences with the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers
Who visits our museums? What are their motivations, and what do they expect from the experience? Alternatively, who is not visiting, and why not? These are critical questions for the future of individual museums, and for the entire field. …
Welcoming New Citizens: A Natural Role for Museums
When Nicole Ivy and I were working on the 2016 edition of TrendsWatch, CFM’s annual forecasting report, we identified mass migration as a global trend having a huge impact on museums and their communities. The topic was so complex we spent …
Museums and Migration
Mass migration, driven by conflict, oppression, political upheaval, climate change and economic distress, has been described as “the defining issue of this century.” As such, it is one of many critical issues that museums can address in …
Museum Studies Programs & Tools for Creating More Inclusive Curricula
The graduates of museum studies programs are overwhelmingly white and female. If we want museums to be staffed by people who reflect the American public, we can broaden our search beyond museum studies program, and we can encourage …
Do-ing Diversity in Museums
Chris Taylor’s commitment to helping his institution make traction in conversations about diversity, inclusion, and professional development led to the creation of The Department of Inclusion and Community Engagement (DICE) at the …
Museum Magazine and The Future of Diversity
Since CFM launched in 2008, I’ve been aware of the danger of our work being the proverbial mile wide and an inch deep. That is why the CFM Fellow program, now in its infancy, is so critical: fellows will give us the capacity to take a …
Touring “Slavery at Monticello”: A Small App with a Big Responsibility
One frustrating limitation of CFM’s work is that usually I have to cover the great things going on in museums based on second hand accounts—articles I’ve read in the press, Skype or email interviews with museum staff. So I was delighted …
Throwback Thursday: the Coming Dementia Epidemic
This past Tuesday, Lisa Eriksen blogged about museum programs for people with dementia and how staff address the thorny challenge shifting focus from impact to engagement, and assessing programs that explicitly do not expect to impart new …
Monday Musing: When Free is Not Enough
Monday musings are my way of sharing brief, off-the-cuff thoughts about something I have read recently, both to help clarify my thinking an in the hopes of generating discussion and response. I give myself 15 minutes or so to jot down a …
