In this article, Alan Jacobson, President of ex;it and BAJdesign, shares the lessons he learned in Rwanda, while building a memorial to the 1994 Genocide, in which 1,000,000 people died in 100 days. Jacobson recounts his personal journey in Rwanda as well as how this experience reshaped his core design principles.
This article highlights four controversial exhibits from various institutions who, in the end, used controversy to their advantage. The authors include Kimberly Louagie, Curator of Exhibits at the Outagamie County Historical Society in Appleton, Wisconsin, Saudia Muwwakkil, Public Information Officer at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Diane Perlov, Senior Vice President for Exhibits at the California Science Center, and John Russick, Curator at the Chicago Historical Society.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Kimberly LouagieSaudia MuwwakkilDiane PerlovJohn Russick
In this article, Caitlin McQuade, an interpretive project developer, describes how four small history museums in St. Louis operate on tighter budgets while still fulfilling their missions. Through creative partnerships and comprehensive historical research, the leaders of these institutions have found ways to overcome the challenges of limited resources.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Caitlin McQuadeNational Association of Museum Exhibition
In this article, Joanne Jones-Rizzi, Program Director, People & Cultures, at the Science Museum of Minnesota, explores the role of museums in presenting and translating cultural experiences for visitors. Her perspective is based on twenty years of community-centered work in the field at two museums.
The article is a summary of the comments and discussions a session at the 2006 AAM conference that addressed what museums in the fields of art, history, and science might learn from each other and how museums might benefit from "cross-pollination." Panel participants were Eric Siegel, Executive Vice President for Programs and Planning at the New York Hall of Science, Benjamin Filene, Director of the Public History Program at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Deborah Schwartz, President of the Brooklyn Historical Society, and Jennifer MacGregor, Curator of Visual Arts at Wave Hill.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Eric SiegelBenjamin FileneDeborah SchwartzJennifer MacGregor
In this article, Linda Norris, Managing Partner of Riverhill, recalls her experience as a teaching Fulbright Scholar in Ukraine. Norris focused on professional development in museums through workshops and direct consultations with museums throughout Ukraine. This article summarizes Norris's findings about the state of museums in Ukraine and her personal revelations about museums and museum work.
This article features three critiques of the exhibition "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" on view at the Visionary Art Museum (Baltimore, MD) from October 3, 2009-September 5, 2010. Nigel Briggs, exhibition designer at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, Kerr Houston, Professor of Art History at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and Peg Koetsch, curator of Exhibtions at VisArts and Founder/Director of Learning Insights, each provide an assessment of the exhibition.
In this article, Katharine T. Corbett, formerly of the Missouri Historical Society, examines how visitor meaning making can be stimulated by exhibitry that explicitly addresses the social construction of history, using personal and familial history-making as a point of connection. The Missouri Historical Society's exhibition on the 1904 World's Fair presents an excellent example of how to successfully engage visitors in exploration of the past as it relates to their present.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
Katharine T. CorbettNational Association of Museum Exhibition
In this article, Suzanne Gaskins, Professor of Psychology at Northeastern Illinois University and researcher at the Chicago Children's Museum, discusses how museums should design exhibitions to support and encourage family interaction. Specifically, Gaskins discusses how caregivers' understanding of the exhibition influences their engagement and their use of resources offered by the museum to support their engagement as well as cultural differences in caregivers' understandings of how experiences like those in a "hands-on" museum are related to learning and what their should be, and how they
In this article, Sujit Tolat, Associate and Senior Designer at Gallagher and Associates, recounts her journey as an exhibit designer, traveling and working on projects throughout the world. Tolat describes two aspects of her journey: a literal move from New Delhi to Washington, DC and a cultural shift in her design perspective that incorporated elements of both East and West. Talbot concludes that museum and exhibit design provides a unique opportunity to enhance diversity and encourage exchange between cultures.
In this article, Amanda Griffith, Executive Director of Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., describes the work of the AHI New Deal Homestead Museum. Griffith describes how this small institution overcomes challenges related to operational expenses and lack of staff.
In this article, Robin Groesbeck, Traveling & Temporary Exhibitions Director at The Field Museum, Chicago, details the complex process of examining and packing the objects for "Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong," the largest exhibit ever to leave the Forbidden City. The project was in collaboration with The Palace Museum, Beijing.