Watch & Talks provide a unique opportunity for museum professionals to engage with video content in a real-time group setting. In order to most effectively facilitate a discussion at your museum, AAM is providing the pre-recorded video content as well as an agenda with discussion prompts and activity instructions. In the past, Watch & Talks have been hosted as a complement to AAM’s professional development webinars. The shift to using pre-recorded video content provides more flexibility for Watch & Talk hosts in terms of scheduling and the agenda. Watch & Talks are also a great opportunity for colleagues of all levels of tenure to hone their facilitation skills.

In most cases, a Watch & Talk will consist of:

• 30-60 minutes of video content with brief breaks for reflection
• 30-45 minutes of facilitated discussion and/or break-out activities
• 30 minutes of pre/post-event networking (optional)

For a total event duration of one and a half to two hours.

Watch & Talks

Evaluation in Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Work: Lessons Learned from Museum Professionals

The video content for this Watch & Talk was collected to explore the role of evaluation in diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI) work. First, Dr. Tonya Matthews from AAM and Dr. Cecelia Garibay from Garibay Group give an overview of DEAI, including how to start this work, and use evaluation to move it forward. Second, Alice Anderson from the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Rachel Wolff from the Walker Art Center discuss how their museums initiated DEAI plans, how evaluation has been used in these efforts, and how working together has helped them in their DEAI work. Finally, Marjorie Bequette, Joanne Jones-Rizzi, and Juliette Francis from the Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) discuss how they worked to integrate DEAI practices at SMM, have benefitted by working cross-departmentally, and how data were used for decision making.

Building Millennial Audiences: Strategies from Funders and the Field

What do you know about millennials and the best ways to reach them? In these three videos, learn practical, research-driven steps from funders at the Wallace Foundation and other museums and cultural organizations to successfully engage this audience.