Guest Post – American Alliance of Museums

Introducing the National Survey of Museum Collecting Practices

By Soleil Hawley and Kayla Kane

Collections lie at the heart of most museums, so naturally, values regarding the ownership and control of collections are central to museum ethics. Recent developments at the global, national, and institutional level—including a wave of …
Sharing a Museum Podcast: The Art Engager

By Claire Bown

Last fall I had the pleasure of meeting Claire Bown in Horsens, Denmark, where she was recording an episode of her podcast, The Art Engager, at the Network of European Museum Organizations Conference. Having quickly become a fan—binge …
Save Our Signs: Combatting Censorship

By Jenny McBurney

Two of my favorite tags in my scanning library are “signals of hope” and “acts of resistance.” Last year I was heartened to come across a project—Save our Signs—meriting both these tags. Today on the blog, I have the pleasure of sharing an …
“Growing Your Elders”: “Tell Clyfford I Said ‘Hi”: An Exhibition Curated by the Children of the Colville Confederated Tribes

By Michael Holloman, Bailey Placzek, and Nicole Cromartie

Museum standards emerge over time as the museum sector challenges norms, reexamines values, and tests new ways of being and doing. The Clyfford Still Museum’s deep partnership with the Colville Confederated Tribes is an exemplar of …
Re-imagining Museums as Sites of Repair at AAM2026

By Aisha Shillingford

How can museums use their significant assets: space, resources, art works, relationships, influence etc to shape a future beautiful, beyond our wildest dreams? At the 2026 AAM Annual Meeting & Museum Expo, staff of Intelligent …
Lessons in Leadership: Transition Planning for Executive Directors of Small Museums

By Kimberly Bender

As I researched the “looming leadership crisis” for this year’s TrendsWatch report, I heard two things loud and clear. First, that succession planning is immensely helpful in smoothing transitions, and second, that …
Reading the Declaration Together

By Steve Light

In today’s post, Steve Light, Vice President for Education and Guest Experience, shares how Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is fostering nonpartisan civic engagement during our country’s semiquicentennial and sharing resources …
What do Hollywood and Museums have in common? They are America’s greatest storytellers

By Karissa Raskin

The lastest data from the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers shows that trust in museums is rising from already high levels, even as trust in the government declines. That gives our sector a unique platform from which to bridge partisan divides …
Learning from History: Museum Heroes in the Archives

By Marjorie Schwarzer

Powerful stories about the past can inspire positive action in the future. In the wake of ongoing political threats like Executive Order 14253, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” and the White House’s letter to the …
How a Chatbot is helping museums wish about the future

By Cory Garfin and Devon VanHouten-Maldonado

As a futurist, there is nothing I love more than encouraging people to think both forward AND back. America’s 250th anniversary is a great opportunity to reflect on our country’s past and to “remember the future” we …