In this article, Julia Rose, Director of the West Baton Rouge Museum, analyzes increased efforts by museums to include references of slave life histories into their interpretations. Rose discusses the strategies used by museums and challenges they face when presenting the tough stories of slave life.
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, Marjorie Schwarzer, Professor of Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, California, describes eleven of the most influential exhibitions from the 20th century, according to NAME members surveyed for her book "Riches, Rivals and Radicals: 100 Years of Museums in America."
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, Rick Wurzer, lead interpreter, presents the challenges of creating exhibits at the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, a small institution with limited staff. Wurzer shares eight valuable lessons he learned during the center's exhibit renovation project.
In this article, Steven Lubar, professor of American civilization and director of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University, describes the final project--producing an exhibition--he gives the students in his Methods in Public Humanities course. Lubar explores the process, successes, and learning opportunities associated with student-curated exhibition, "Remember the Old Times: Cape Verdean Community in Fox Point."
This article provides commentary about the early closing of "Imaginary Coordinates," an exhibition at the Spertus Institute in Chicago, inspired by the antique maps of the Holy Land. The exhibition reportedly closed early because some groups found it "anti-Israel." Featured voices include exhibition curator Rhoda Rosen, Marc Fischer, of the Chicago-based design firm Temporary Services, and artist Michael Rakowitz. The materials gathered for this article present a microcosm of the museum community's struggle with "the unexhibitable" among other challenging museum issues.
DATE:
TEAM MEMBERS:
National Association of Museum Exhibition
In this article, Douglas Simpson, Associate at Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc., describes the unique design process the Newton History Museum employed to create a new exhibition on immigration. The Museum recruited seven local high school students from immigrant families to curate an exhibition about themselves. The exhibition became known as "Hyphenated-Origins: Going Beyond the Labels." Simpson explores this unique exhibit design process and its successes.
In this article, Janice Klein, Director of the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, describes how she and her staff reevaluated the museum collection and audience needs during a reinstallation process in 1999. The methods they used helped the team complete the renovation and opening on time as well as made it possible to pursue an active exhibits program for minimum cost.