Image: Depiction of an O’Neill cylinder’s interior by artist Rick Guidice
Dispatches from the Future of Museums is in its new home—on the web!
As of January 2026, roundups for Dispatches that contain these news summaries are updated on this page, and no longer delivered as a dedicated newsletter. As part of this shift, Dispatches subscribers were transitioned to a receiving a new weekly AAM newsletter. Learn more and find out in the FAQs other ways you can subscribe to this AAM news in your inbox.
Week of November 2
Climate change rarely goes on trial. This one could be a landmark.
Grist, 10-26-26 [Projections]
Climate change gets a rare day in court today when 15 Canadian youth will accuse the federal government of violating their constitutional rights by failing to adequately address the country’s role in global warming. Although thousands of similar cases have been filed across the globe, legal experts said this long-awaited case is arguably the most consequential to reach trial. The lawsuit is the latest in a yearslong campaign by young people who are using the courts to force elected officials to mitigate climate change. Like similar cases in the United States, including the landmark Held v. Montana, the plaintiffs in La Rose v. His Majesty the King argue that the government has violated their constitutional rights by allowing the crisis to continue. The outcome, while not precedent-setting outside of Canada, could prove persuasive in other climate litigation or spur new cases.
Go deeper: by attending the 2027 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo where Miranda Massie, founder and director of the Climate Museum will chair “Inspiring and Empowering Youth: Preparing the Next Generation for Climate Action,” one of seven sessions in a special track designed to help museum leaders, educators, facilities teams, communicators, and community engagement professionals translate climate awareness into practical action.
Employees Who Use AI End Up Working Vastly More Time Per Day
Futurism, 11-9-26 [Research]
A new analysis published by the workplace surveillance company ActivTrak, first covered by Gizmodo, found that white collar workers who use AI put in up to 90 minutes more work each day compared to non-users. To arrive at that blistering number, company analysts looked at anonymized work activity from over 9,100 employees at over 450 companies from the period between April and September. For non-AI users observed over that time, the average active workday was 7.6 hours — compared to between 8.4 and 9.1 hours for heavy AI users. For workers, the findings may add to the body of evidence suggesting that sorting through AI-generated slop takes more time than it would to just do workplace tasks by hand. It could also point to the fact that employers aren’t necessarily using AI to replace jobs wholesale, but as an excuse to demand even more labor per worker regardless of any true efficiency gains.
Go deeper: watch the recording of “To Live or Die in AI,” a webinar from AAM’s Elizabeth Merritt exploring AI-inflected futures of museums and society. One topic Merritt addressed that sparked much discussion in chat: the impact of AI on the quality and nature of museum jobs.
Can science museums help us talk about mental health?
The Conversation, 8-17-26 [Museum Innovations]
Research conducted over the past 10 years in different countries, including Canada, Portugal, the United States and Finland, [support the affirmation that] science museums are increasingly becoming emotional sites where difficult issues, including mental health, can be approached. [Case in point] an exhibition developed by Heureka, the Finnish science centre, engaging with mental health through personal narratives, immersive environments (such as a “schizophrenia room”), and displays to help express emotions and scientific perspectives. The Finnish Central Association for Mental Health was part of the exhibition’s scientific advisory board and through this body, organizers worked with “peer experts” — people with lived experiences of mental health problems who had support learning how to communicate what they’d been through. In 2018, the exhibit was hosted by the Science Museum of Minnesota (renames Mental Health: Mind Matters) and research showed that the exhibition’s impact was not only on visitors, but also on the institution.
This week on the blog:
Curating the Future with a State Humanities Council
Caroline Carrico tells us how she and her colleagues at Humanities Tennessee used foresight training from the Center for the Future of Museums to fuel the work of their Shared Futures Lab, exploring how humanities programming can impact the future of Tennessee communities and civic life.
Recent weeks of Dispatches:
This Is Your Brain on Art
The New York Times, 10-26-26 [Museum Innovations]
A new show at the Honolulu Museum of Art, “Vital Connections: Art & the Brain,” [is] a collaboration with the Brain Health Applied Research Institute, a local organization known as B+HARI. It uses a gallery of 24 works of modern and contemporary art to challenge viewers to focus on elements of each work that might provoke a memory or emotion. The exhibition, which runs through Jan. 10, builds on long-established research that shows how experiencing art of any kind — painting, theater, music — can lead to better health outcomes. Here, museum curators plus doctors, architects and neuroscientists at the research institute have chosen specific artworks that they say might influence thinking, perspective and mood, even if just temporarily. The Honolulu museum’s exhibit is part of a larger trend. Traditional art museums are steadily adding science-related exhibitions in their continuing efforts to exceed pre-pandemic audience levels.
Removal of mummified remains from display sparks public debate
Museums Association, 10-26-26 [Trends]
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and the Hunterian at the University of Glasgow are among a number of cultural institutions in the UK to rethink their approach to the care and treatment of human remains. In September, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced a review of its 2005 Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums, saying the legal, ethical and moral conversations around the issue had “evolved significantly”. The Hunterian confirmed that, following an internal ethical review, it had covered an open sarcophagus containing the mummified remains of Lady Shep-En-Hor. The developments have shone a public spotlight on a rapidly evolving area of museum practice, attracting criticism from some politicians and commentators. The Scottish Tories’ culture spokesman, described the move as “woke madness” and censorship, saying that ancient Egyptian mummies were effectively being “cancelled… by a society so obsessed with modern sensibilities”.
MoMA, Centre Pompidou, and M+ Will Treat Their Holdings as One Collection in Unprecedented Alliance
ARTnews, 10-29-26 [Museum Innovations]
On Friday morning in Hong Kong, M+, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris announced a wide-ranging cultural alliance unprecedented in its scale. At the heart of the alliance is an agreement that the three institutions will treat their respective holdings as a shared collection, curated by staff spread across three continents. The combined holdings of MoMA and the Pompidou mean the total shared collection will number in the hundreds of thousands of objects, and the three institutions are also stewards of voluminous archives. The potential audience will be enormous: based on current figures, the museums will have a combined 10 million annual in-person visitors and 125 million online visitors. The collection sharing will kick off with several initiatives. Beginning in late 2027, a selection of major works from M+’s collection will be installed on long-term loan in MoMA’s collection galleries, and in 2028, a long-term Centre Pompidou gallery will also open at MoMA, with similar, parallel plans in development at the other museums.
Week of October 26
FEMA tells states to handle disasters on their own
Politico, 10-20-26 [Projections]
The Trump administration’s disaster chief told state officials Tuesday they must increase their financial reserves and emergency capabilities to handle most disasters on their own, without federal help. The agency will face substantial challenges — both logistically and politically — preparing states to take a lead role in disaster prevention and recovery. A FEMA report released Friday found that state disaster agencies “are typically understaffed and underfunded” and that many agencies are heavily dependent on federal funding. President Donald Trump threatened to abolish FEMA early in his current term and has since called for states to take more financial responsibility. Hamilton told the conference attendees that changes could begin “in the next six months.”
What this means for museums: According to a recent GAO report, 6,900 museums (41 percent) of US museums experienced a natural disaster or extreme weather from 2020 through 2024. Museums might monitor the status of emergency funding and preparedness in their state and reassess their own preparations for recovery in the wake of natural disasters.
The Ford Foundation will throw more weight behind democracy
Chronicle of Philanthropy, 10-23-26 [Trends]
The Ford Foundation, one of the world’s largest private grantmakers, committed Thursday to driving more funds toward the basic building blocks of democracy. In a report to trustees, Ford Foundation President Heather Gerken— widely recognized as a leading expert on constitutional law and elections — framed the changes in the context of an “emboldened strain of 21st-century authoritarianism.” Seven new programs — focused on democratic governance, inclusive economies, trustworthy information, public safety, gender equality, global cooperation and racial justice — will be detailed throughout next year. Foundation funding for democracy broadly tripled from 2016 to 2020, according to the nonprofit research service Candid, and has climbed slightly since a 2021 dip. George Soros’ Open Society Foundations pledged $300 million in May toward initiatives intended to defend democratic rights. In response to the funding constraints faced by the philanthropic sector, the Ford Foundation vowed to deliver more larger-sized, multiyear general operating support.
Museums might: use their status as trusted sources of information and nonpartisan places of engagement to strengthen democracy, with the support of this growing source of funding.
Can This Museum Affect Your Heart Rate?
The New York Times, 10-22-26 [Museum innovations]
When the Drift Museum has its soft opening later this year in Amsterdam’s Oostenburg district, once a major Dutch East India Company shipyard, visitors entering the first gallery will be greeted with a 10-foot-tall version of the Switch Pitch ball, a spherical toy that changes colors when thrown in the air. This version of the ball has an internal mechanism made of steel with two different surfaces that can be turned inside out: On the utopian side, roughly a thousand small lights move together to resemble a flock of birds, while on the dystopian one, 1,500 screens flash a steady stream of confusing and conflicting information. The 86,000-square-foot space also includes a new interactive exhibit invites visitors to wear bio-trackers that will measure their heart rate and temperature before and after touring the museum; the data gathered will be uploaded on a plastic module, one per person, that pulses with color, light and movement. Each module is then added to an ever-changing sculpture.
Gen Z is bringing back something the digital age was supposed to replace
Fast Company, 10-16-26 (Trends)
A 2026 report by Quad and The Harris Poll explored how consumer behavior is changing in favor of physical experiences, finding that “real is the new premium.” The shift seems to be driven by fatigue from scrolling, texting, emailing, and using AI tools. While nearly a third of older generations agree with the sentiment, Gen Z is leading in fatigue, with 49% of those polled reporting they feel drained from scrolling on social media, and 74% saying they wished they could more easily disconnect from devices. The report found that 28% of Gen Zers intentionally attend phone-free experiences, and 25% buy analog alternatives to digital devices—rates that are both higher than the national average. Opting for physical experiences and non-digital objects seems to be part of a wider trend for American consumers. In fact, around 80% of Americans said they are drawn to real-world experiences that don’t revolve around screens.
Many Americans Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities
Pew Research, 10-14-26 (Research)
A Pew Research Center survey conducted this fall found that more than four-in-ten Americans (44%) indicate they have had trouble paying for at least one basic necessity—medical care, daily transportation, rent or mortgage, or food—in the past year. 60% say they do not currently have enough income to lead the kind of life they want; 53% say they do not have emergency funds that would cover their expenses for three months; 27% cannot pay some of their monthly bills or can only make partial payments; 32% say they worry every day or almost every day about the cost of healthcare and the amount of debt they have. Overall, 70% of U.S. adults say they have cut back on spending for extras – such as eating out, streaming services or other entertainment – in the past year. And 54% say they have not been able to save money for the future.
Food for thought: in financially tight times, even a “free” museum visit can entail significant costs, and people struggling to make ends meet are often time-stressed as well. How can museums provide affordable, accessible experiences? An how might they lean into the essential services they provide (contributing to health and wellbeing, education for children) even as people cut back on spending for “extras?”
Government represses protests over ‘erasure of history’ after National Museum exhibits removed
Justice for Columbia, 10-19-26 (Trends)
Colombia’s far-right government has sparked protests and fierce criticism after ordering the removal of more than 30 exhibits and artifacts relating to peace, political violence and social rights from the National Museum in Bogota, the largest and oldest museum in the country. Tensions grew worse when authorities, rather than engage in dialogue over accusations of ‘erasure of history,’ deployed riot police to repress a peaceful protest outside the museum on consecutive days over 17-18 October. Where exhibits relating to the 2016 peace agreement, state-backed violence against the Patriotic Union political party and the struggle for LGBTQ rights were previously on public display, visitors to the museum are now presented with empty gallery spaces. It is the latest attempt by Colombia’s political right to control narratives and public understanding of historic conflict, state repression and social struggle.
Editor’s note: As author William Gibson observed, “the future is already here, it is just not evenly distributed.” The experience of Colombian museums might illuminate challenges facing U.S. museums in coming years , an prompt readers to revisit an essay by Yelena Litvinov and Tatyana Margolin on global lessons for resilience when cultural organizations are targeted by authoritarian regimes.
Independent Sector Releases Advocacy Guidance for Charitable Sector
Independent Sector, 10-7-26 [Tools for the Future]
Independent Sector President and CEO Dr. Akilah Watkins announced the release of Guiding Advocacy Decisions: A Framework for Nonprofit Boards and Executives in a Dynamic Policy Environment — a discussion guide created to help nonprofit boards and senior charitable sector leaders make informed decisions about advocacy grounded in their unique mission and circumstances. [Created by] Independent Sector’s Principles Panel on Advocacy, this guide to provide practical guidance for leaders of the charitable nonprofit sector to consider how and when advocacy can further an organization’s mission. This framework includes a series of discussion questions for charitable sector leaders on five key factors critical to the development of an organization’s advocacy strategy: Identifying Mission-Critical Policy Priorities; Aligning on Assessment of the Political and Legal Environment; Assessing Risks and Rewards; Exploring Organizational Structure and Governance; Understanding Legal Parameters.
England’s cultural organisations unprepared to deal with extreme heat, survey finds
Museums Association, 10-13-27 [Research]
A survey by the Arts Council England found that almost all (96%) of the 296 respondents were affected by this summer’s heatwaves, citing staff wellbeing, falling visitor numbers and financial losses among their main concerns. The survey asked about the effects of extreme heat between May and July 2026 on arts organisations, museums and libraries. The heatwaves had a noticeable impact on footfall and income over the summer. Two-thirds (67%) saw reduced attendance, while almost a third (31%) of respondents said they had cancelled events or activities. Almost a quarter (24%) reported partially closing their premises; 10% closed entirely; 22% changed or reduced their opening hours. Almost a fifth (19%) experienced visitors leaving earlier than usual, while 28% reported equipment or technical issues. Respondents also highlighted the effects of the heat on people at their venues, with 45% saying indoor spaces had become too hot to occupy and 43% reporting an impact on visitor wellbeing.
US museums might: regard this as a preview of what many regions of the US will experience in coming years, and prepare their own responses to extreme heat.
Holographic Zoo Leases 51K SF Coconut Grove Building For First Location
Bisnow, 10-7-26 [Museum Innovation]
A new zoo is coming to Miami. But instead of live wildlife, visitors will observe and interact with holographic projections of animals. Turkish entrepreneur Tan Umut Koker expects to attract 1.5 million annual visitors to Holozoo Florida, which “transforms the real zoo experience into a digital format with five unique technologies, setting it apart from simpler competitors and freeing animals from being confined for entertainment purposes.” Koker is already surveying opening other Holozoo locations in Orlando and New York City, which he expects will take less time and money to open than the Miami location, and not just because the technology will be a “copy and paste.” The company is in the fundraising stages for other locations in Istanbul and Antalya, Turkey.
A new archive of Dispatches
An archive of news stories is available to conveniently browse past roundups – covering from January 2026 onward, and older than the recent 5 weeks on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Center for the Future of Museums Blog shares musings on the future of museums and society, where you’ll read posts authored by CFM director Elizabeth Merritt and guest author posts. If you have a story to share, email us at futureofmuseums [at] aam-us [dot] org.
Explore more resources from the Center for the Future of Museums in the AAM Resource Library.
The new annual TrendsWatch report has been released as the January/February 2026 issue of Museum magazine for AAM members and subscribers. Get a free preview here. It will be available as a free PDF report later this spring.
Dispatches shares summaries of recent news stories illuminating trends and events shaping society, technology, economics, the environment, and policy today. Fuel your museum’s strategic foresight by thinking about the implications of these “signals,” and the kinds of future they might create.
The most frequent categories that you’ll see articles filed under include: Tools for the Future, Museum Innovations, Projects, Trends, and Research.
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The Dispatches roundup published as a webpage began in January 2026 and will contain the most recent 5 weeks of news roundups.
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