TrendsWatch – Page 2 – American Alliance of Museums

Investing for Values and Mission

By Elizabeth Merritt

Editor’s Note: This year AAM’s TrendsWatch leads with a call for museums to help close the racial gaps in wealth and power that divide the United States. As the report points out, one way museums can do this is through restorative …
Texas Museum Opens Doors During Historic Winter Storm

By Elizabeth Merritt

This year has exposed the vulnerabilities of so many critical systems in the US, including health care, education, and the social safety net. In the latest edition of TrendsWatch I profiled many ways museums are caring for populations …
New TrendsWatch! Navigating a Disrupted Future

By Elizabeth Merritt

In a normal year, TrendsWatch explores the impact emerging forces of change may have on museums in the next decade or longer. Some, such as demographic shifts, affect all museums in the present. Others, such as the rise of blockchain …
Seeking Self-Care Solutions, for COVID-19 and Beyond

By Reggie Lynch and Meriel Stokoe

Support Free COVID-19 Resources for the Field The current crisis is taking a distressing financial toll on cultural organizations, and AAM is no different. The Alliance Blog is supported by membership dues and donations. In these …
TrendsWatch: Building Financial Resilience in a Time of Crisis

By Elizabeth Merritt

Here at the Alliance, we know that COVID-19 is inflicting severe damage on museums. Our sector is just beginning to assess the impact of closures, travel bans, cancellation of major events (including fundraisers), and the implementation of …
Introducing TrendsWatch2018: The Scenario Edition

By Elizabeth Merritt

“The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.” —Mary Catherine Bateson TrendsWatch 2018: The Scenario Edition has been released into the wild! This installment of the Alliance’s annual forecasting report …
Capture the Flag: the struggle over representation and identity

By Elizabeth Merritt

“Take down the flag. Take it down now. Put it in a museum. Inscribe beneath it the years 1861–2015.” — Ta-Nehisi Coates The past year has been marked by protests across the globe as communities grapple with issues of race, identity, …
TrendsWatch: Now Live On the Web

By Elizabeth Merritt

Each year there’s a fleeting instant when I’m more or less happy with TrendsWatch—the moment I hit “send” to transmit the text to my editor. Then I open my news feed and see a great story related to one of TrendsWatch themes and IT’S TOO …
Tweeting about the Future

By Elizabeth Merritt

Hello future peeps. I’m enormously encouraged by the reception for TrendsWatch 2017. People have been sending me links to great articles related to this year’s topics (empathy, criminal justice reform, artificial intelligence, migration …
Introducing TrendsWatch 2017

By Elizabeth Merritt

It’s TrendsWatchtime! Those of you who know to keep an eye on the CFM page at this time of year may have noticed that this year’s issue quietly made an appearance on the Alliance web site last Friday. You can download your free PDF copy …