CURCOM UPDATE Greetings from your Chairperson Greetings! The annual meeting is just around the corner and CurCom is pleased to be active in many areas. Very interesting sessions sponsored and co-sponsored by CurCom are in the program (details in this issue of Update). Please look at the advance program for virtual sessions if you cannot attend in person. The Excellence in Exhibition Label Writing marketplace will be on view and once again, we have a representative on the committee for Excellence in Exhibitions. As we publish the newsletter, two CurCom fellowships and one Global Curator from Australia are being selected. At the January meeting of the Standing Professional Committees, AAM shared its first strategic plan that was developed by the AAM Board and staff (also in this issue of Update). It is available on the AAM website. The progress report by the staff to the Board for the first 100 days is scheduled for March. Each of the four sections of the plan is being coordinated by an AAM staff member to ensure that the big ideas are implemented. Museum advocacy was another subject brought to our attention. It is a great way for everyone to be involved. Please review the AAM Advocacy and Legislation page of their website to find out about the current issues. Inside Collections? In a Children’s Museum? 5 Introducing the Darwin Centre 7 CurCom at the Annual Meeting 11 AAM Strategic Plan 2010-2015 14 Congressional support for museum funding is still a matter of concern. AAM needs everyone’s input, regardless how much or little experience you feel you have, to contact your Senators and Representatives. We hope to see you in Los Angeles! Ellen Endslow CurCom Chairperson March 2010 CURATORS’ STANDING PROFESSIONAL COMMITTEE OF AAM Chair Ellen Endslow (2012) Chester County Historical Society [email protected] Vice Chair James Burns (2012) Tempe Historical Museum [email protected] Immediate Past Chair Linda Eppich Preservation Society of Newport County [email protected] or [email protected] Secretary Marshall Duell Old Courthouse Museum [email protected] Treasurer Rebecca Carruthers (2012) California State Parks [email protected] Board Members-at-large John Mayer (2010) Maine Historical Society [email protected] John Russick (2010) Chicago History Museum [email protected] Margaretta S. Frederick (2010) Delaware Art Museum [email protected] Regional Representatives AMM Curators (Midwest Curators) Dr Rex Garniewicz Indiana State Museum & Historic Site [email protected] Angela Goebel-Bain Illinois State Museum [email protected] MAAM Curators (MidAtlantic Curators) Brian Peterson James A. Michener Art Museum [email protected] Nicole Belolan Winterthur Museum [email protected] [email protected] MPMA Curators (Mountain-Plains Curators) Elisa Phelps Colorado Historical Society [email protected] NEMA Curators (New England Curators) David Kennedy Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center [email protected] Sheri M. Leahan [email protected] SEMC Curators (South-eastern Curators) Andrew Grilz [email protected] Stephanie Gaub Orange County Regional History Ctr [email protected] Christy Carl Alabama State Capitol [email protected] Project Directors 2009-11 Exhibition Coordinator (NAME representative) Rita Hoffstadt Franklin Institute [email protected] 2010 Exhibition Competition Judge Redmond Barnett (see other listing) WMA Curators (Western Curators) Redmond J. Barnett Washington State Historical Society [email protected] Marshall Duell (see other listing) 2010 Fellowship Chair Andrew Grilz (see other listing) 2010 Nominating Committee Chair Rob DeHart Museum Consultant [email protected] 2010 Program Chair Ron M. Potvin John Nicholas Brown Center [email protected] 2010 Ethics Committee Brian Peterson (see other listing) Nicole Belolan Winterthur Museum Newsletter Editor Deborah Tout-Smith Museum Victoria, Australia [email protected] Ellen Endslow Chester County Historical Louise Fitton Natural History Museum Newsletter American Liaison Valarie Kinkade Museum and Collector Resource [email protected] Ann Meyerson New York City Dean Phelus AAM Web Site Administrator Allison Cywin College of Visual and Performing Arts University of Massachusetts [email protected] John Russick Chicago History Museum Stacey A. Please Touch Museum eBlast Editor Stephanie Gaub (see other listing) Membership Committee Margaretta Frederick (see other listing) Global Fellowship Committee Valarie Kinkade (see other listing) Deborah Tout-Smith (see other listing) Archivist Position open AAM Liaison Philip Katz Asst. Director, Research, AAM [email protected] CONTRIBUTORS Thanks to all our contributors and writers for this issue of Update. Editing and layout Deborah Tout-Smith Printing and Valarie Kinkade © AAM 2010 In this pre-Annual Meeting issue we provide an insight into the wonderful sessions and events organized for CurCom members, and the many ways everyone can get involved. Even those who can’t attend can participate in the virtual AAM conference on May 24-25, featuring sessions selected by AAM’s Standing Professional Committee. This issue also presents AAM’s new Strategic Plan, and introduces the 2010 Global Curators. Next year, it might be you getting your tickets and passport in order! Future AAM Annual Meetings Stacey A. Swigart, Curator of Collections at the Please Touch Museum, introduces her museum’s collections, while Louise Fitton, Senior Interpretation Developer at London’s Natural History Museum, takes us on a journey through the new Darwin Centre. Los Angeles, LA May 23–26 2010 Houston, TX May 22-25 2011 The deadline for the next issue is June 15. Please email your contributions through to me as usual. I look forward to hearing from you! Minneapolis/St Paul, MN early May 2012 Deborah Tout-Smith Museum Victoria, Australia [email protected] Baltimore, MD mid May 2013 SUBSCRIPTION AND MEMBERSHIP Update is the periodic newsletter distributed to members of CurCom. It is also available on-line at http://www.curcom.org CurCom (Curators’ Committee) is a Standing Professional Committee (SPC) of the American Association of Museums. All SPC members must join the AAM. Dues for CurCom ($20.00 / $10.00 for students) are payable in addition to AAM dues. Membership is obtained through: Membership Department American Association of Museums 1575 Eye St. N.W., Suite 400 Washington, DC 20005 Phone (202) 289 9132; fax (202) 289 6578; email [email protected] CurCom Update Mar 2010 3 Global Curator Fellowships Announced The international selection committee of the Global Curator program is pleased to announce the 2010 Global Curator fellows. Lindsey Richardson, from the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, will be travelling to Melbourne, Australia in September to attend the Museums Australia conference. She will present a paper exploring the Sixth Floor Museum as a ‘Case Study of the Near and Distant Future’, including preparations for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination in 2013 and post-anniversary re-thinking of audience and civic engagement. Alison Wishart, from the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, will be travelling to LA in May to attend the AAM Annual Meeting. She will address the CurCom business luncheon on the subject of the Eternity gallery at the National Museum of Australia, and broader curatorial challenges and opportunities it encapsulates. Eternity tells the stories of 50 different individuals, organized around 10 emotional themes: hope, joy, thrill, passion, loneliness, fear, mystery, separation, devotion and chance. Each Global Curator fellow will receive US $2200 towards their expenses, as well as conference registration and social events. On behalf of CurCom and the Museum Historians’ National Network of Museums Australia, which jointly organize the Global Curator program, we congratulate the fellows, and look forward to welcoming them to our respective countries. We also thank ICOM Australia for its support of the Global Curator program. Remembering Kimberly Louagie (1967-2010) A brilliant curator and great colleague, Kim Louagie, passed away on January 28 2010 after a two-year battle with cancer. In recent years she created two outstanding history exhibitions, AKA Houdini, about the life of magician Harry Houdini, and Joseph McCarthy: A Modern Tragedy, about the career and impact of US Senator Joseph McCarthy. As was Kim's gift, she infused these exhibitions with wit, insight, and visitor experiences that engaged audiences with complex content in meaningful and moving ways. Both AKA Houdini and Joseph McCarthy: A Modern Tragedy were recognized for excellence by AASLH and AAM, respectively. Kim’s passing is a tremendous loss for the profession. CurCom Update Mar 2010 4 Collections? In a children’s museum? How can that be? Stacey A. Swigart, Curator of Collections, Please Touch Museum at Memorial Hall Please Touch Museum actively collects and uses objects that reflect and reveal the history of childlife. The collection objects become learning tools to engage children’s minds and imagination as they observe objects in exhibits. Such careful observation acts as a springboard for new thoughts and ideas, and stimulates the use of critical thinking. The primary collection of Please Touch Museum is toys – toys guide play, engender creativity and cultivate the imagination. Toys offer children ways to develop their brain power in strategic and critical thinking … and toys help children in all the stages of play: social/emotional, physical, cognitive and language. Plus, they’re fun! Please Touch Museum is a child’s first experience with a museum. With interest in what children learn at Please Touch, they often become life-long collectors and museum visitors. – Please Touch Museum Collections Statement Please Touch Museum was founded in 1976 as the nation’s first children’s museum dedicated to children seven and under. The museum started in a small room in the Academy of Natural Sciences on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. PTM soon outgrew the space there and moved to larger quarters several blocks away on Cherry Street. Quickly outgrowing that space, the museum moved once more to 21st Street, behind the Franklin Institute. By the mid 1990s – after two small expansions – the museum was bursting at the seams. A plan to move to the Delaware River waterfront did not pan out, so PTM began the quest for a historic Philadelphia landmark building in Fairmount Park: Memorial Hall, built as the Art Gallery for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition (World’s Fair). Since its founding, the Museum was a collecting institution. Initially, collection objects were a little bit of everything. Most of them were ‘touchable.’ In the early 1980s, the leadership decided to create a scope of collections and focus on several collecting initiatives. The primary category was Historic Childlife and Contemporary Toys. PTM created a layered system of objects based on a stoplight: ‘green’ objects were completely touchable, without Exterior, Please Touch Museum at Memorial Hall. Image courtesy Please Touch Museum (M. Branscom) CurCom Update Continued on page 6 Mar 2010 5 Continued from page 5 supervision; ‘yellow’ objects were touchable with supervision, and ‘red’ objects were not touchable at all. On paper, the plan worked well, however in practice … the yellow got mixed up with the red, red got mixed up with the green and confusion reigned! Prior to the move to Memorial Hall, it was decided to regroup the Collections Department and create a new plan for the objects. In 2003 as the quest for Memorial Hall began in earnest, the Collections Management Policy was redeveloped, the scope of collections was redefined and PTMChildlife Collections and Archives became the main theme with a focus on the Contemporary Toy Collection. Other categories include Historic Childlife and Archives, Art (as related to PTM), Centennial era, Memorial Hall, and institutional records. PTM did not want to ignore the history of the ‘new’ building it was moving into. In planning for the new museum, PTM created an ‘Experience Team’ made up of the Exhibits Director, Senior Exhibit Designer, Education Director, and the Curator of Collections. The team (nicknamed the E-Team) met weekly for two years to work with the contracted exhibit designers to create the exhibit objectives, educational opportunities, hands-on activities, and collections experiences. For collections, the goal was to incorporate the objects into the design of the exhibit – such as an exhibition case in the trunk of the Toyota Scion in Please Touch Garage, or tree trunk cases in Rainforest Rhythm. There are more traditional collections cases as well, designed to fit into the theme of the exhibit, but with tempered glass fronts, glass shelves, and space for objects. Labeling of objects is for Grown-Ups – they have ‘traditional’ information such as the object name, maker, date, materials, basic description, and acquisition data – but remain small and relatively unobtrusive next to the object. Additionally, objects are used in special rotating exhibits – themed for events and programs in the museum in the ‘Etch-aSketch’ case (designed to look like a giant Etch-a-Sketch!) and other flexible cases. A ‘Play Collection,’ which replaces the aforementioned green and yellow categories focuses on objects used in facilitated handson collection activities … allowing for ‘please touch’ moments with objects. Behind the scenes, a new collection storage facility was designed and installed, including compact storage units to accommodate the growth of the collection; and shelving for archival materials and records in a 2600 (+) sq. ft section of the building. Adjacent to the storage area is a collections workspace with tables and shelves for the collections and research library, supply cabinets, filing cabinets, a digital photo studio, and work areas. Please Touch is a museum of first experiences: museum, theater, art, music, history, AND collections! We hope our ‘training ground’ provides children with a foundation to grow up and continue to experience the arts and history at other institutions and organizations. Music related toys and objects on display in the Etch-a-Sketch case. Image courtesy Please Touch Museum (T. Kline) 6 Mar 2010 CurCom Update Introducing the Darwin Centre Louise Fitton, Senior Interpretation Developer, Natural History Museum When I joined the Natural History Museum, London, a little over two years ago, plans for the Darwin Centre – the Natural History Museum’s new £78 million wing – were already underway. The concepts had been agreed and worked up in consultation with Museum scientists and the designers, At Large, and the process of turning these concepts into working exhibits was ready to begin. It was a challenging and exciting time to join the team, surpassed only by the excitement of the recent opening. The new Darwin Centre represents not only the addition of a building to the Museum, but the completion of a much larger project. Back in 2002, the first phase of the Darwin Centre opened, a purpose-built wing to house 22 million alcohol-preserved zoological specimens, alongside new laboratories and offices for the many scientists working on those collections. The second phase, which opened its doors to the public on September 15 2009, provides a similar service for the vast plant and insect collections. What makes the new building particularly special, however, is the bringing together of our science and the public offer, which for the first time allows visitors a glimpse into the inner workings of the Museum. The Darwin Centre has three principal aims: • to safeguard the collections – through state-of-the art storage for 20 million plant and insect specimens; • to create high-quality research facilities – delivering high-quality, relevant, impactful research; and • to provide greater public access – facilitating public views and insight into this working science facility. The hundreds of Museum visitors that now visit every day will notice the contrast between the new wing and the original Waterhouse building. Taking the form of a giant cocoon encased in a glass box, it’s as ambitious and daring a piece of architecture as the Waterhouse building was in its day. C. F. Møller Architects, from Denmark, were responsible for its conception, and it captures perfectly the spirit of the Museum as both a cutting-edge research centre and protective storage vessel for the collection. A new face to the Museum Constructed in concrete, and finished in polished Venetian plaster criss-crossed by subtle stainless steel strips, the cocoon is eight storeys high, and home to over 20 million dried plant and animal specimens in some 3.3 kilometres of specially designed cabinets. The top three floors, as well as containing science areas, house Cocoon: the part of the development with which I was involved. This public gallery explains how the collections are stored, why they are relevant, and gives insight into the scientific research that goes on every day at the Museum. The five lower floors are devoted to high-grade storage and work facilities for the plant and insect collections. So what can visitors expect from Cocoon? Firstly, they will notice an approach somewhat different from the rest of the Museum. In this dynamic space we not Continued on page 8 CurCom Update Mar 2010 7 Continued from page 7 only present what we know about the natural world, we talk about how we know it, looking at the questions scientists ask, revealing more about how they approach their research to discover more about the diversity of life on Earth. It is an opening up of a hidden world, showing real scientists doing real science. Your journey begins of the fascinating people responsible for the birth of the Museum and its early development. Next, a large specimen case beautifully displays a collection of insects and plants, showing the variety of nature and the range of the collections, and giving an insight into the task of classifying and recording this diversity. Building your knowledge You start by taking a glass lift to the top floor, enjoying scenic views out over the Wildlife Garden and grounds. It is on the way up that the full spectacle of the 65metre-long cocoon structure reveals itself. At the entrance, a beautiful, specimen-rich nature table welcomes you, with four touch-screen interactives embedded within it. Here is an opportunity to look at examples from the entomology and botany collections, and to get to grips with the primary questions our scientists ask of the collections to explore Earth’s biodiversity. From here, you take your first step into the cocoon. You’re greeted by four Museum scientists, projected on the wall, who act as virtual guides throughout the experience. These four were chosen from our Entomology and Botany Departments, not only to talk about how they came to work at the Museum and their passion for their subject, but also to appear on text panels and in many of the interactives, prompting the visitor to explore of their work. Moving on through a rich mix of interpretation delivery techniques, you get your first chance to peek into a collection space: a book-filled room containing vast volumes of pressed plants collected over hundreds of years. These are the collections from which the entire Museum first grew. As well as being able to leaf through a virtual specimen book, you can discover some 8 Mar 2010 As you continue your journey, you understand more about how the collections are named and ordered and move in to the important molecular work carried out here. Large portrait windows look straight into our molecular laboratories. This is one of two viewable labs – the other is the Sackler Biodiversity Imaging Laboratory on the floor below. It is here you get a chance to see our scientists in action, carrying out important work on projects such as understanding and controlling the spread of malaria by mosquitoes. Passing by views into science write-up spaces, you walk into a space dominated by plant displays, interactives and specimen-collecting equipment. It is here you can find out more about our scientists’ work in the field, by trying to plan your own trip. Interpretation developer Tate Greenhalgh, who worked up the area, explains. ‘Not all our scientific work happens onsite. In this fieldwork area, our scientists tell how they traverse the globe working with local organizations, to learn more about our planet’s biodiversity, from our own Wildlife Garden to unexplored rainforests in Panama.’ Throughout the exhibition, you are encouraged to save and collect information and items of interest as you go, by swiping a NaturePlus bar-coded Continued on page 9 CurCom Update Continued from page 8 ticket. You can then look at what you’ve collected online either at home or in the classroom. Exiting the cocoon on the fifth floor, lifts return you to ground level, home to the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity, where specialist groups can explore our UK collections and visitors can use our specimen identification service. There’s a Climate Change Wall at the north end, a 12-metre-wall of video screens that react and change as you approach it. The changing screens explore the impact of humans on the Earth’s climate and how research at the Museum contributes to global efforts to understand climate change. A visit to the hi-tech Attenborough Studio completes the experience. Here you can dip into the day’s dynamic programme of discussions with scientists or watch a short film of inspiring footage about the wonders of the natural world. That may be the end of your visit to the Darwin Centre, but we hope it is only the beginning for some visitors. By revealing what we do behind the scenes, and giving an opportunity to collect information through NaturePlus, we want to ignite a passion for the natural world, and an understanding of our place on Earth and our influence in its future. This article first appeared in Museums & Heritage magazine issue 9 – http://www.mandhlive.com/ default.asp Curator Update: Ann Meyerson As a history exhibition curator/exhibit developer, I will be visiting Cuba in March to study the country’s history museums and public history program in general. I plan to analyze the Cuban approach to interpreting history in a museum/artifactual environment, and undoubtedly contrast it with that in the United States. I will be publishing my findings. This project follows upon a recent consultancy at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. The Museum will be opening a new 25,000 square foot exhibition in late 2010 which tells the story of the American Jewish experience from 1654 to the present. As curator of this exhibition, I was responsible for refining the narrative through the selection of artifacts, images, and other primary source materials during the design development and construction document phases of the process. Ann Meyerson 9 Mar 2010 CurCom Update New Publication Connecting Kids to History with Museum Exhibitions Ed. D. Lynn McRainey and John Russick Sure to inspire and motivate museum professionals, this essential new book provides practical tools for creating meaningful and memorable connections to the past for children. This vital museum audience possesses many of the same dynamic qualities as trained historians – such as curiosity and empathy for the human experience – yet traditional history exhibitions tend to focus on passive looking in the galleries, giving priority to relaying key messages through written words. The top museum professionals who contributed to Connecting Kids to History with Museum Exhibitions clearly respect their target audience of children – their developmental stages, learning preferences, and ability to contribute to the interpretive experience. The authors provide new ways of thinking about museum work, including evaluation, label writing, interactive elements, and exhibition development and design. This book provides guidance and insight to any museum that recognizes kids as an important audience and is ready to engage them with meaningful and accessible exhibition experiences. Authors include: Phyllis Rabineau, Sharon Shaffer, Elizabeth Reich Rawson, Anne Grimes Rand, Robert Kiihne, D. Lynn McRainey, Daniel Spock, Jon-Paul C. Dyson, Benjamin Filene, Leslie Bedford, Andy Anway, Neal Mayer, John Russick, Mary Jane Taylor, Beth Twiss-Houting, Judy Rand, and Gail Ringel. Left Coast Press, Inc., 2010 334 pages 34.95 paperback / $89.00 hardback ‘I can’t wait to have this book in the hands of my students! This amazing group of authors presents the most current research and innovative thinking. The breadth of examples and frameworks solidly place kids as a core and not peripheral museum audience. ... They don’t just advocate, they provide concrete guidance, models and powerful examples drawn from theory, research and practice. This book … is extremely valuable for exhibit designers, educators, evaluators, curators, administrators and any museum professional interested in how to make the museum more engaging for kids.’ Further information is available at http:// www.lcoastpress.com/book.php?id=222 ‘This invaluable compilation of essays introduces museum practitioners to foundational principles of childhood development; translates how the inherent skills and interests of children – from imagination to play – can be applied to historical exploration; and then demonstrates the practical application of this information into exhibition development. Beyond its focus on kids, I found the book a great reminder of the importance of creating exhibits for PEOPLE, and putting our visitors at the center of museum experiences.’ – Lori Fogarty, Director, Oakland Museum of California – Kris Morrissey, Director, Museology Graduate Program, University of Washington 10 Mar 2010 CurCom Update CurCom Members in Action at the Annual Meeting Ellen Endslow There are many ways for CurCom members to actively participate in AAM’s changing landscape and the Annual Meeting in LA, whether or not you can attend in person. 1. Everyone is URGED to spread the word about museum advocacy on the upcoming bill that was passed in the House. If you can’t make it to Washington in person, please write letters. Reinforce this with any local, state, or regional organizations in your area in addition to individual colleagues and community members. So far the politicians have heard from some directors and the American Association of Zookeepers. They need to hear from museums because museums will be on the losing end of this bill also. 2. Please see and share the Strategic Plan, the first for AAM, if you haven’t already seen it (in this issue of Update). a. The four goals are being shepherded by four different AAM staff persons. b. First 100 Days progress report will be presented by AAM staff to AAM Board; ideas for any of the categories below are willingly sought and should be sent to Eileen Goldspiel [email protected] i. Creating national standards advisory council ii. Begin/develop collaborations with more regional, state, and national museum associations iii. Sustainability – increase membership 11 Mar 2010 iv. Alignment – align resources with strategic goals; how do we align SPCs with AAM and health of museums? c. AAM hired a firm to do a marketing study that will lead to an AAM operational plan in the near future 3. MEMBERSHIP GROWTH is something Ford Bell asked SPCs to work on. This led to interesting observations. a. Please share directly with Eileen why you are a member of AAM and CurCom b. Please share what you know about why others are not 4. ANNUAL MEETING in LA a. Annual meeting ambassadors – watch for upcoming info requesting long time attendees to help first timers at Annual Meeting b. Spread the word about the Career Café c. If you know anyone who is familiar with Flash Mob social networking, contact Elizabeth Merritt [email protected]; they will be doing something in LA and are looking for ideas d. Monday, May 24 and Tuesday, May 25 there will be Virtual Conference Schedule for some of the sessions; AAM will be sending this information soon e. Future locations for AAM meetings: 2011 Houston (May 2225); 2012 Minneapolis (beginning of May); 2013 Baltimore (middle of May) CurCom Update Sessions and Events Endorsed by CurCom AAM ANNUAL MEETING, LA, MAY 23-26 2010 As usual, the Curators’ Committee has done a terrific job preparing for the Annual Meeting. CurCom is endorsing no fewer than 34 sessions and events. This endorsement indicates special interest to CurCom members, and underlines the value of the Annual Meeting for curators across the United States and beyond. For further information on any of these sessions, go to http://www.aam-us.org/ am10/events.cfm SUNDAY MAY 23, 2010 Board Meeting 10:00 AM-1:00 PM AAM Curators Committee (CurCom) Board Meeting Single Session 4:15 PM-5:30 PM Dissolving Walls: Interpreting Outdoor Spaces When the Plot Thickens: Storyline Testing for Exhibition Designers and Developers Business Reception 6:00 PM-8:30 PM AAM Curators (CurCom) Small Museums Administrators (SMAC) and Committee on Museum Professional Training (COMPT) Joint Reception ($40.00) MONDAY MAY 24, 2010 Single Session 9:00 AM-10:15 AM Deaccession: New Perspectives Single Session 1:15 PM-2:30 PM On the Road: Ephemeral Exhibits and the Visitor Experience Cultivating Communities: Museum Outreach in Healthcare Settings Working with Emotionally Sensitive Collections Social Tagging and Museum Practice: a Survey Tilted Walls: Exhibiting in Architecturally Challenging Buildings Single Session 2:15 PM-3:30 PM Beyond Words: Editing as Exhibition Development Design for Participation Single Session 2:45 PM-4:00 PM Engagement Party: How a Provocative Residency Program Impacts a Contemporary Art Museum Community How to Demonstrate the Public Value of museums Double Session 2:45 PM-5:30 PM Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something! Inspiring Citizen Engagement Inside the Museum How Can History Museums Be More Interactive? Is Your Dry Sprinkler System Under Attack? NAGPRA at 20: Assessing the NAGPRA Experience Continued on page 13 12 Mar 2010 CurCom Update Continued from page 12 TUESDAY MAY 25, 2010 Single Session 9:00 AM-10:15 AM Collaborating with Tribal Communities in Museum Exhibits Heavy Lifting 101: Moving Collections at Small Museums Know When to Walk Away (Know When to Run): Changing Museum Jobs WEDNESDAY MAY 26, 2010 Single Session 9:00 AM-10:15 AM Art on Campus: Guidelines and Policies for Internal Loans and Public Art Collections Collections Conundrums 2010: Current Issues Business Luncheon 12:15 PM-1:45 PM Inclusive Practice: Examining the Role of Organizational Dynamics in Serving Underrepresented Communities AAM Curators Committee (CurCom) Business Luncheon ($40.00) Single Session 2:00 PM-3:15 PM Single Session 2:00 PM-3:15 PM Watch those Watts: Sustainable & Green Practices for Lighting & AV Systems in Museum Exhibition Movement and Sound in Museum Collections: Preserving and Providing Access to Audiovisual Materials Single Session 3:45 PM-5:00 PM The 22nd Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition Art Museum Installation Design: Three Ways Double Session 2:00 PM-5:00 PM Student Exhibitions at Museums: Engaging Students as Artists, Curators, and Programmers A Collection Without Borders: What Would you Choose? Single Session 3:45 PM-5:00 PM Telling the Tough Stuff: the Role of Museums in Exploring Issues of Controversy and Complexity Collecting, Ethics, and Patrimony Statewide Planning Can Help Preserve Collections/Plan for Disasters AAM Virtual Conference May 24-25 The American Association of Museums will be hosting a two-day Virtual Conference of annual meeting sessions selected by AAM’s Standing Professional Committee Council to be delivered virtually on Monday, May 24 and Tuesday May 25. Sessions will cover a range of functional interests to include insight on: editing as exhibition development; demonstrating the public value of museums; and breaking down barriers between the physical and virtual museum experience through innovative technology. The conference is intended to deliver rich educational content to those who are unable to make the annual meeting or prefer this learning platform. For registration and other details on this exciting new initiative please visit www.aam-us.org/am10 13 Mar 2010 CurCom Update ‘The Spark’: AAM Strategic Plan 2010-2015: ‘Championing the vital role of museums in the 21st century’ Approved by the AAM Board of Directors November 20 2009 Openness. We are committed to transparency in our operation and communicate truthfully about our efforts and activities. OUR MISSION The American Association of Museums’ mission is to strengthen museums through leadership, advocacy, collaboration and service. Courage. We strive to do the right thing by being proactive, valuing criticism, accepting tension, and taking risks. OUR CORE Beliefs and values that guide our actions: Inclusiveness. We seek out and embrace diversity of participation, thought, and action. BELIEFS • • Museums strengthen communities. They educate and inspire, nourish minds and spirits, and enrich lives. Creativity. We envision what might be, encourage innovation, tolerate ambiguity, and understand that the risk of failure is inherent in the creative process. The museum experience is characterized by encounters with real objects and primary learning experiences, in a positive place, supported by scholarship and knowledge. Excellence. We value the highest quality in everything we do and how we do it. Collaboration is important to advancing the museum field. The American Association of Museums is strengthened through its relationships with people, museums, communities and other organizations. OUR FUTURE: VISION STATEMENT • Our strength lies in our diversity among the broad range of people and museums we represent. OUR PLAN: GOALS & STRATEGIES • The American Association of Museums supports active participation in the global community and embraces international perspectives as central to its core mission. • VALUES We will champion the vital role of museums in the 21st century. GOAL 1. Excellence Develop clearly defined levels of excellence accessible to the entire museum field and recognized by the public. Strategies: Integrity. We value honesty and ethical behavior in all that we do. We are accountable and responsible for our decisions and actions. 14 Mar 2010 • Create levels of recognition for museums. Continued on page 15 CurCom Update Continued from page 14 • Examine, update and refine standards in coordination with other museumaffiliated associations and their existing standards. • Communicate museum standards to the field and to the general public. • Explore ways to expand significantly participation in standards programs. • Foster excellence through professional training. GOAL 4. Alignment Align internal and external resources, culture, and structures with our strategic plan, vision, values and beliefs. Strategies: • Examine and adjust the American Association of Museums’ internal structure. • Examine and adjust the American Association of Museums’ operational resources and leverage programs and initiatives by collaborating with allied associations and interest groups. • Examine and improve the American Association of Museums’ collaborative relationships with affiliate groups and allied partners within the field and beyond. • Create and implement a plan for including international perspectives and maximizing international participation in all that we do. • Create and implement a plan for embracing diversity in all areas of the American Association of Museums’ work. • Ensure that all elements of the strategic plan in-clude assessment, evaluation, and accountability. GOAL 2. Advocacy Promote the value of museums. Strategies: • • • Conduct state and national advocacy on behalf of museums. Create and implement a thorough public cam-paign to communicate the value of all museums. Provide guidance to the field to conduct advocacy at the regional and local level. GOAL 3. Sustainability Build a financially stable and sustainable association in order to provide the best possible service and leadership to the field. Strategies: • Develop and implement a goaloriented strategic membership plan, including the potential for public and international memberships. • Develop and implement a goaloriented strategic development plan. • Develop, deepen, and diversify business opportunities. • Strengthen the American Association of Museums’ brand. 15 Mar 2010 CurCom Update Missouri Museums Association 2010 Annual Meeting Jefferson City, MO April 15-16 2010 http://www.missourimuseums.org/ The Missouri Museums Association is co-sponsoring the 52nd annual meeting of the Missouri Conference on History with the Missouri State Archives and the State Historical Society of Missouri in Jefferson City. The Conference will present the results of research, exchange information on teaching and curriculum, consider ways to promote interest in history and the welfare of the profession, and discuss other concerns common to all historians. All persons interested or involved in the teaching of history, historical research, historical preservation, or any other professional application of history are welcome. Ohio Museums Association 2010 Annual Conference Newark, OH April 25-26 2010 http://www.ohiomuseums.org/ conference.html Sessions on administration, collections, community outreach, conservation, development, education, exhibits, marketing, membership, museum store, public relations, visitor services and volunteers are planned. However, for 2010 we would like the majority of our sessions to focus on the following topics: gearing your museum towards kids; how to make your museum appeal to families; topics for emerging museum professionals; and steering ‘Evolving Boundaries: Linking People, Place and Meaning’ Canadian Museums Association National Conference St John’s, NL, Canada May 10-15 2010 http://www.museums.ca/ stjohns2010/en/ The CMA's 63rd national conference will feature exemplary work in historic sites, parks, museums and art galleries that fulfill our traditional mandate. As a highlight of the conference, we will be placing a special focus on intangible cultural heritage, providing a forum for discussion of practical approaches through which museums can creatively link people and places in order to inspire meaning. ‘The Promise and Peril of Being Modern’ 2010 Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums (CWAM) Annual Conference Laramie, WY May 13-15 2010 http:// www.cwamit.org/2010_annual_con ference.html What does it mean to be a modern museum? Are museums being asked to play a different role in modern society? What characteristics are essential to being a museum? With factors as varied as the economy, changes in technology, and visitor expectations for their leisure activities, museums face the difficult task of striking a balance between the Promise and Peril of Being Modern. 2010 Hawai’i Museums Association (HMA) Annual Meeting Ford Island Conference Center, HI May 21 2010 http://www.hawaiimuseums.org/ HMAinfo_annualconf.htm Schedule and agenda information to be announced shortly. ‘Where Ideas Live!’ AAM Annual Meeting Los Angeles, LA May 23–27 2010 http://www.aam-us.org/am09/ With each generation, museum professionals in the United States seek to redefine the word ‘museum’ and determine anew our responsibilities to the society we serve. While we continue to ask the same questions as our predecessors ― What should the museum be? How should it best do its work? Whom should it serve? ― the answers change, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly, with each generation. 16 Mar 2010 Update ‘Casting a Broader Net: Building Community through Collaboration’ Washington Museum Association 2010 Annual Conference Gig Harbor, WA June 16-18 2010 http:// www.washingtonstatemuseums.org /annualconference.html This year’s Washington Museum Association Annual Conference will be hosted by the new Harbor History Museum, opening 2010. program will be available shortly. ‘Museums and Restitution’ Centre for Museology and the Manchester Museum at the University of Manchester Manchester, UK July 8-9 2010 http:// www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/ museology/museumsandrestitution/ Restitution is one of the most emotive and complex issues facing the museum world in the 21st century. Its current high profile reflects changing global power relations and the increasingly vocal criticisms of the historical concentration of the world's heritage in the museums of the West. The 2002 Declaration of the Importance and Value of Universal Museums, which was signed by the directors of 18 of the world's most prominent museums, pushed the subject to the forefront of debate as never before. The conference examines the issue of restitution in relation to the changing role and authority of the museum, focusing on new ways in which these institutions are addressing the subject. ‘I’ve Known Rivers: Presenting African American Arts, Culture & History’ Association of African American Museums Annual Conference Pittsburgh, PA August 4-7 2010 http://www.blackmuseums.org/ prodev/conference.htm ‘I've known rivers, ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.’ — Langston Hughes, 1921 The Association of African American Museums Annual Conference will be hosted by the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. Inspired by renowned poet Langston Hughes, the Conference will explore efforts by metropolitan museums and cultural institutions to preserve and present the ancient through contemporary African American history and arts. Whether large or small, these institutions have been the catalyst for cultural and historical preservation throughout their regions. ‘The Winds of Opportunity’ Oklahoma Museums Association and American Association for State and Local History Joint Meeting Oklahoma City, OK September 22-25 2010 http://www.okmuseums.org/ annual-conference/ Much as Oklahoma’s infamous tornadoes and storms generate both gentle and severe winds impacting the state, so too have the winds of opportunity impacted the nation’s cultural landscape. Winds, while possibly destructive, also can usher in new perspectives, opportunities, and critical self examination that may lead to strengthening organizations and the development of previously unforeseen goals. The 2010 joint Annual Meeting of AASLH and the Oklahoma Museums Association will consider these ideas against the backdrop of a changing America. ‘Interesting Times: New Roles for Collections’ Museums Australia Annual Conference Melbourne, Australia September 28-October 2 2010 http://www.ma2010.com.au/ The 2010 Museums Australia conference has been moved to spring, a beautiful time of year in Melbourne. Hosted by the University of Melbourne, it will include both local and international speakers. The broad-ranging topics will include collections for communities; collections for cultural diplomacy; collections and commerce; collections in peril (war, terrorism, financial crisis, natural disasters); interpreting and showcasing collections (through exhibition design, building architecture, new technologies); and communicating collections. ‘Ho’okele – To Navigate: Science Centers as Wayfinders to New Horizons’ ASTC 2010 Annual Conference and Exhibit Hall Honolulu, HI October 2–5 2010 http://www.astc.org/conference/ index.htm Ancient Polynesians arrived in Hawaii in waves of migrations centuries ago on double-hulled voyaging canoes, precisely navigating without instruments over thousands of miles of open ocean. This ancient skill of wayfinding, only now being rediscovered and revived, is called in Hawaiian Ho’okele. foundations, tourism entities, and city government lead to successful grant applications which enable the important work of the museum to go forward. The list could go on. The theme for the 2010 Iowa Museum Association Conference is ‘Celebrating Community Partnerships.’ The conference itself is being planned by a coalition of community leaders from community organizations including history, art, education, and local government. This diversity has brought a wide range of ideas and interests to the planning and will ultimately strengthen and broaden what the conference offers its attendees. The theme of the 2010 ASTC Annual Conference, ‘Ho’okele –To Navigate’, looks to new and exciting horizons through the wayfinding vision of the ASTC strategy adopted by the Board of Directors in October 2008: ‘Proactively address critical societal issues locally and globally where science understanding and public engagement are essential.’ When science centers act as good navigators for the public, they are valued by their communities as essential, and people come aboard. ‘Museums for Social Harmony’ Celebrating Community Partnerships 2010 Iowa Museum Association Annual Meeting & Conference Grinnell, IA October 17-19 2010 http://www.iowamuseums.org/ aspx/events/eventdetails.aspx? eid=70 Athens, Greece December 28-31 2010 http://www.atiner.gr/docs/ History.htm Community partnerships are an essential ingredient for successfully managing today’s museums. Partnerships between local educators and museum educators build curriculum-sensitive enrichment and outreach programs for the benefit of students of all ages. Partnerships between community main street or chamber organizations and museums lead to tourist-attracting designations such as ‘Cultural and Entertainment Districts’ or ‘Great American Main Streets.’ Partnerships with community volunteers bring necessary assistance to understaffed museums and rewarding work for caring volunteers. Partnerships with community 17 Mar 2010 Update ICOM General Conference Shanghai, China November 7-13 2010 http://icom.museum/ gen_conferences.html The next ICOM General Meeting is being planned for 2010 in Shanghai, China. Do consider attending the most significant international museum event on the calendar! 8th Annual International Conference on History: From Ancient to Modern The History Research Unit of the Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER) will host its 8th Annual International Conference on History in downtown Athens, Greece, within walking distance of the Acropolis (Parthenon) and other historical sites of Athens. Papers (in English) from all areas of history will be included. Special sessions will be organized in areas including: Ancient Greek and Roman History, Cultural History; History of Religion; Arts History; Economic History; Political and Social History; Sports History (History of Olympic Games); History of Sciences, History of Philosophy; American History, Historiography, Historic Preservation, and the Future of Historical Studies. CurCom Update c/o Valarie Kinkade 134 Musterfield Road Concord, MA 01742 March 2010 CURCOM UPDATE