As many of you know Ive been thinking and writing about the empathetic museum for some years now.슠 The last time I wrote an update on our project was in summer 2015 after we had presented our first official session at the American Alliance of Museums conference in Atlanta.슠 Prior to that we had led…
Lisa Gilbert@gilbertlisak What is the role of museums & sites in responding to current events? Key Q even before this past week #YalePH2016#museumsrespondtoFerguson This tweet, posted just the other day, caught my attention not because it was unique, but because it was similar to others. 슠I am struck by the contrast (small yet noteworthy) between…
Museums have to look at where they can challenge the status quo, and where they can push, but also where they can partner. 슠Peoria, IL City Manager Every once in awhile a confluence of books, articles, conference presentations, and blog posts calls attention to the same phenomenon in the museum world. 슠Is this synchronicity,슠the슠zeitgeist,…
The coverage of the Charleston Massacre, in which nine African American parishioners were gunned down during Bible study by a white man on June 17,2015, 슠has been notable for its references to the cultural landscape of the killings. 슠Here a variety of reporters for the Washington Post and the New York Times슠describe Charleston in…
Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love! At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.슠 1942. Im not sure why this phrase Everything that rises…
The annual meeting of the American Alliance of Museums will convene this weekend through Wednesday, April 29, 2015, in Atlanta, GA. For those of you following this blog, there will be a number of sessions related to a couple of persistent topics: 슠The Empathetic Museum and #museumsrespondtoFerguson. If you will be in Atlanta, I hope…
Carol Bosserts weekly슠 Museum Life program on VoiceAmerica satellite radio brings all kinds of current museum issues to the fore. I was happy to be part of a discussion she hosted on Friday, January 23, 2015 called Following up on Ferguson.슠 I joined Melanie Adams, the Managing Director for Community Education and Events for the…
For some months now museum educator, consultant, and blogger Rebecca Herz and I have been exchanging thoughts on the roles and future of museum educators, mostly by email.슠 But weve also been talking about making our conversations more public.슠 Rebeccas recent thoughtful post, What Does a Museum Educator Do? (And Do We Need Them?)슠offers, I…
A small but enthusiastic group met슠on May 20 in “The Unconference Room” 슠at the American Alliance of Museum’s 2014 meeting in Seattle to continue discussions on The Empathetic Museum that began at AAM’s meeting in Baltimore in 2013: Janeen Bryant VP for Education at the Levine Museum of the New South; Karen Hasselflet, Cultural…
The annual American Alliance of Museums conference will be in Seattle, WA this year May 18-22. Here are two sessions that aren’t on the official program, and one that is. Pop-Up Session on The Empathetic Museum Look for information on the time and place beginning on Saturday, May 17. 슠One can only sign up for…