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Tracking Trust in Museums: 2026 Update
This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, a national survey of American museum visitors from AAM and Wilkening Consulting. Every year, the survey partners with individual museums to research … -
A Future of “Uniform Guidance”
Foresight…Insight…Action That’s the framework the Institute for the Future uses to navigate uncertainty with concrete, tactical action. Last week’s museum foresight: flagging the Office of Management and Budget’s new proposed funding … -
A Foresight Take on Proposed Government Funding Regulations
Two weeks ago, we took one (more) step towards a future in which the risks of government funding might outweigh the benefits. On May 29, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a new proposed rule for the Regulation for Federal … -
A Growing Backlash to DEI
Do you remember seeing this picture attempting to illustrate the difference between equality and equity? Now it also illustrates the latest battleground in the new culture wars. While a whopping 91 percent of Americans agree on the … -
Stone Soup
We’ve reached another milestone in the celebration of the Center for the Future of Museum’s first decade of work: the 10th anniversary of the CFM Blog. I think that the first post on the blog (published February 11, 2009) has … -
Dealing With Disruption
Each year I look forward to Museums Advocacy Day as an opportunity to focus my futurist lens on political trends. In the past, I’ve invited attendees to consider the future of nonprofit status in the US, the future of education, and even … -
Monday Musing: Travel and Tourism
Among the stories I included in Dispatches from the Future of Museums last week was a piece from Quartz Media speculating that the US could be on the verge of “tourism shock.” I’m worried about the economic impact of such a downturn on … -
Healing the Partisan Divide
I want to share some thoughts, post-election, about diversity, inclusion and healing. But maybe not the thoughts you expect. As I listen to museum colleagues talking about the election, I hear over and over again phrases like “I was … -
Monday Musing: Electoral futures
In today’s brief musing I want to draw your attention to a piece by Philip Kennicott in yesterday’s Washington Post.In “Would Donald Trump make art great again?” Kennicott pens a short scenario of what the arts … -
Signals of Change: Questioning Nonprofit Status
Last November I drew attention to a letter that Senator Orrin Hatch (R Utah and Chair of the Senate Finance Committee) sent to a handful of private nonprofit museums founded by individual living collectors. His goal was to assess whether …
Tag: Political Trends
Upcoming Events
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Beyond the Gallery: New Ways to Connect with Communities
Event Date:Presented by: Ohio Museums Association -
Reframing Leadership: A Leader-as-Coach Model for Museums
Event Date:Presented by: New England Museum Association and American Alliance of Museums -
Museums & Social Media Summit
Event Date:Presented by: MuseumNext
Latest Stories from AAM
Curating the Future with a State Humanities Council
Category:
Center for the Future of Museums Blog
Humanities Tennessee (HT) is one of my foresight heroes—an organization using futures …
TrendsWatching To Live or Die in AI
Category:
On-Demand Programs
Will AI make us more productive, healthier, happier, and better informed—or will it fuel …
Uncertain Times and Museums: A 2026 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story
Category:
Alliance Blog
This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2026 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, …