Participants at Town Hall meeting held in August 2014 by Missouri History Museum soon after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. Photo: Emanuele Berry|St. Louis Public Radio How many of you were aware that, earlier this year, the AAM (American Alliance of Museums) Board published a new policy statement on diversity and inclusion?…
Note to readers: Not sure why my old post on museums in India went out earlier today. Apologies for something your in-box doesn’t need. Here is current post: Ever notice an idea that you thought was original popping up in a number of places simultaneously? That’s what’s happening with the topic of museums and…
Following up on June 7 and June 29 posts on empathy in museums, six museum colleagues from a variety of areas in the field are proposing a session called “The Empathetic Museum” for the May 2014 American Alliance of Museums Conference in Seattle, WA. I’m one of the panelists, so this is a shameless plea for…
In early June I posted a summary of a “Pop-Up” session I organized at the recent meeting of the American Alliance of Museums in Baltimore, MD. About ten participants joined in a round-table conversation about what might be meant by “The Empathetic Museum.” Daryl Fischer was part of the discussion, and here are some of…
Since my last post, on the pop-up discussion about The Empathetic Museum at the American Alliance of Museums conference, Regan Forrest of the blog Interactivate has picked up on this theme and examined it from the perspective of interpretation and design. Her posts are well worth reading, and have generated more widespread discussion on this…
I’ll be at the annual conference of the American Alliance of Museums in Baltimore, MD from May 19 through 22. If you are attending, please say hello, especially if we haven’t met before. If you are a regular reader of this blog you may be interested in a couple of sessions that I’ll be chairing:…
Dear readers, I’m working hard on an upcoming post, and it’s taking me more time than I anticipated to think this one through. In the meantime, fellow blogger Jamie Glavic has begun a series called “Meet a Museum Blogger” on her Museum Minute blog. She sent a variety of questions to answer, and uses these to create a…
Recent posts on Museum Commons have addressed issues of museum empathy and the use of social media to include the visitor voice. In this connection the Education Department of the Levine Museum of the New South contacted me about a new summer program that is using social media to connect more closely with the Charlotte…
(now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened) –e. e. cummings Recently I have been attending an Episcopal church where there are both men and women priests. This is a new experience for one who has spent a lifetime in a church that is inclusive in many…