Mutual aid systems rely on forms of exchange, sharing support and resources, to enable communities to care for their members in the face of difficulty. In May this year, Museum Workers Speak started the Museum Workers Relief Fund, a form of ‘radical redistribution’ that seeks donations from those with means to support US-based museum workers who have been laid off, furloughed, or otherwise severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those donations are then redistributed as $500 gifts to help recipients stay afloat. In this episode, we speak with Paula Santos, Christian Ramirez and Alyssa Greenberg about the initiative and the role of mutual aid in supporting museum practitioners. While you’re listening, take a moment to support the Museum Workers Speak Relief Fund if you can.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

Mutual aid systems rely on forms of exchange, sharing support and resources, to enable communities to care for their members in the face of difficulty. In May this year, Museum Workers Speak started the Museum Workers Relief Fund, a form of ‘radical redistribution’ that seeks donations from those with means to support US-based museum workers who have been laid off, furloughed, or otherwise severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those donations are then redistributed as $500 gifts to help recipients stay afloat. In this episode, we speak with Paula Santos, Christian Ramirez and Alyssa Greenberg about the initiative and the role of mutual aid in supporting museum practitioners. While you’re listening, take a moment to support the Museum Workers Speak Relief Fund if you can. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

Episode 45: Getting By With A Little Help

It’s been a few weeks since the world was upended in the wake of COVID-19. In this episode, we catch up with an old friend, Sharna Jackson, to hold space for some reflection, some mourning, and some laughter. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

It’s been a few weeks since the world was upended in the wake of COVID-19. In this episode, we catch up with an old friend, Sharna Jackson, to hold space for some reflection, some mourning, and some laughter. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

Episode 44: A conversation among friends

Even before a pandemic changed everything, we were living in turbulent times. Extreme partisanship defines politics in many countries, inequality grows even wealthy countries, and faith in institutions is diminishing. How do museums create environments of trust, especially where there are histories of distrust, victimisation and oppression? In this episode, we speak with Dina Bailey, former Director of Methodology and Practice for the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, and Tim Phillips, founder and CEO of Beyond Conflict, to consider what we can learn from transitional justice approaches when addressing the painful legacies of the past.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

Even before a pandemic changed everything, we were living in turbulent times. Extreme partisanship defines politics in many countries, inequality grows even wealthy countries, and faith in institutions is diminishing. How do museums create environments of trust, especially where there are histories of distrust, victimisation and oppression? In this episode, we speak with Dina Bailey, former Director of Methodology and Practice for the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, and Tim Phillips, founder and CEO of Beyond Conflict, to consider what we can learn from transitional justice approaches when addressing the painful legacies of the past. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

Episode 43: How do we live in turbulent times?

Since the #MeToo movement began in 2017, many in the museum sector have wondered when members of our own community would be called to account. In this episode, the Punks are joined by Robin Pogrebin, Zachary Small and Anne-Marie Quigg to explore a major #MuseumMeToo moment and ask how bullying and harassment shape workplace culture.

Episode 42: A #MuseumMeToo Moment

Over the past decade, museums have increasingly shared high resolution open access images of their collections. Yet there are significant legal and ethical complexities related to digital cultural heritage, particularly when blanket decisions about open access are made without involving communities of origin. In this episode, the Punks are joined by Mathilde Pavis and Andrea Wallace to discuss their Response to the 2018 Sarr-Savoy Report, which addresses intellectual property rights and open access relevant to the digitization and restitution of African Cultural Heritage and associated materials, and come to the conclusion that we need to be discussing digital cultural heritage with far more nuance.

Episode 41:  Digitization is not neutral

Being Human, the new permanent gallery at Wellcome Collection, explores what it means to be human in the 21st century. In creating the exhibition, the Wellcome Collection worked with two advisory panels - one composed of scientists, and the other of artists, activists and consultants, convened in collaboration with the University of Leicester’s Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, focussed on the representation of disability and difference. The resultant experience embodies the idea that all can and should feel valued and connected. In this episode, the Punks speak with Clare Barlow, curator of the exhibition, and Richard Sandell, Professor of Museum Studies and co-director of RCMG at the University of Leicester, about the intentionality, processes and practices that have shaped this exhibition.

Being Human, the new permanent gallery at Wellcome Collection, explores what it means to be human in the 21st century. In creating the exhibition, the Wellcome Collection worked with two advisory panels - one composed of scientists, and the other of artists, activists and consultants, convened in collaboration with the University of Leicester’s Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, focussed on the representation of disability and difference. The resultant experience embodies the idea that all can and should feel valued and connected. In this episode, the Punks speak with Clare Barlow, curator of the exhibition, and Richard Sandell, Professor of Museum Studies and co-director of RCMG at the University of Leicester, about the intentionality, processes and practices that have shaped this exhibition.

Episode 40: A very human exhibition

The season for existential crises continued this past month when the International Council of Museums (ICOM) announced that a working group had proposed a new definition for museums and that said definition would be voted on at the ICOM Triennial in Kyoto, Japan. We followed the many conversations that unfolded over the next few weeks, and asked a diverse group of museum colleagues around the world to share their thoughts on the issue with us. What does it mean to be a museum? Who does that definition exclude? And who is the audience for that definition? Guest ContributorsHannah Heller, Armando Perla, Anna Leshchenko, Linda Norris, Maria Vlachou, Jasper Visser, Paul Bowers, Margaret Middleton, Joan Baldwin, Seema Rao and Luis Marcelo Mendes.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

The season for existential crises continued this past month when the International Council of Museums (ICOM) announced that a working group had proposed a new definition for museums and that said definition would be voted on at the ICOM Triennial in Kyoto, Japan. We followed the many conversations that unfolded over the next few weeks, and asked a diverse group of museum colleagues around the world to share their thoughts on the issue with us. What does it mean to be a museum? Who does that definition exclude? And who is the audience for that definition? Guest Contributors Hannah Heller, Armando Perla, Anna Leshchenko, Linda Norris, Maria Vlachou, Jasper Visser, Paul Bowers, Margaret Middleton, Joan Baldwin, Seema Rao and Luis Marcelo Mendes. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

Episode 39: A new definition of “museum”?

As decolonisation moves more firmly onto the agenda in museums, so to does its critique. In this episode, we speak with Sumaya Kassim, author of the essay 'The Museum Will Not Be Decolonised', and Nathan “Mudyi” Sentance to ask whether museums can dismantle the colonial gaze. We'll also find out more about the kinds of structural changes inside museums that may be necessary to fully support First Nations people and People of Colour working in our cultural institutions.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

As decolonisation moves more firmly onto the agenda in museums, so to does its critique. In this episode, we speak with Sumaya Kassim, author of the essay 'The Museum Will Not Be Decolonised', and Nathan “Mudyi” Sentance to ask whether museums can dismantle the colonial gaze. We'll also find out more about the kinds of structural changes inside museums that may be necessary to fully support First Nations people and People of Colour working in our cultural institutions. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify

Episode 38: Decolonisation And Its Discontents

Unpaid internships are commonplace in the museum world, supported by a culture that suggests “experience” and the chance to get “a foot in the door” are worth the sacrifice of time and lost earnings. This practice necessarily limits the sector’s ability to diversify or become equitable, by ensuring that only those who can afford to work uncompensated can participate. But there is some promise of change afoot! The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) recently made a resolution calling on art museums to provide paid internships. At the same time, the Art and Museum Transparency group, a grassroots initiative to bring transparency to the arts sector through collecting anonymous salary data from the field, launched their recently-launched Unpaid Internships spreadsheet, which aims to shed light on the sector’s reliance on free labor. In this episode, we’re joined by Alison Wade from AAMD, and Michelle Millar Fisher and “E” from the Art + Museum Transparency group to discuss these initiatives, and the implications for the sector of its practice of unpaid internships. Plus, Ed Rodley, Museopunks’ new co-host, makes his official debut.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

Unpaid internships are commonplace in the museum world, supported by a culture that suggests “experience” and the chance to get “a foot in the door” are worth the sacrifice of time and lost earnings. This practice necessarily limits the sector’s ability to diversify or become equitable, by ensuring that only those who can afford to work uncompensated can participate. But there is some promise of change afoot! The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) recently made a resolution calling on art museums to provide paid internships. At the same time, the Art and Museum Transparency group, a grassroots initiative to bring transparency to the arts sector through collecting anonymous salary data from the field, launched their recently-launched Unpaid Internships spreadsheet, which aims to shed light on the sector’s reliance on free labor. In this episode, we’re joined by Alison Wade from AAMD, and Michelle Millar Fisher and “E” from the Art + Museum Transparency group to discuss these initiatives, and the implications for the sector of its practice of unpaid internships. Plus, Ed Rodley, Museopunks’ new co-host, makes his official debut. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

Episode 37: Experience doesn’t pay the rent

The end of Pride Month does not mean that we should stop talking or thinking about LGBTQIA+ inclusion and queer curating practices in museums. This month, we’re joined by Craig Middleton and Nikki Sullivan, authors of the KINQ (or Knowledge Industries Need Queering)manifesto, and Alison Kennedy and Anna Woten, from AAM’s LGBTQ Alliance Task Force for Transgender Inclusion to discuss queering the museum.

Episode 36: Queering Your Museum

The episodes delve into topics which are very relevant to the museum professionals and museum studies students who are studying how museums are currently functioning and how they’re changing.

Great!

Very interesting topics, good for anyone interested in the future of museums.

Interesting thoughts about the future of museums

Museopunks

In 2012, Collections Trust CEO Nick Poole did a short analysis of 40 mission statements of leading UK museums and galleries, and discovered that the word “Future” was the third most common word used to describe the missions of the museums, double that of the word “past”. With such an eye to the future, it is little surprise to discover that museums spend some time thinking about the shape of things to come.During recent museum conferences, there have been a number of sessions that consider museum futures and how cultural institutions can prepare for likely economic, social, and technological scenarios. At Museums Australia 2013 in May 2013, Dr Stefan Hajkowicz: Leader, CSIRO Futures gave a talk on the Our Future Worlds report, which outlines six megatrends facing the world – and the arts – in the coming twenty years. At MuseumNext, also in May, Bridget McKenzie from Flow Associates examined ways in which museums might engage with communities to maintain relevance in the coming decade and the key technologies that may be influential in future planning.In this episode of Museopunks, your Punks will delve deep into the future to ask how museums can use future scanning techniques to better plan for the future, and meet their missions. As the OECD notes, ‘A solid ‘scan of the horizon’ can provide the background to develop strategies for anticipating future developments and thereby gain lead time. It can also be a way to assess trends to feed into a scenario development process.’

In 2012, Collections Trust CEO Nick Poole did a short analysis of 40 mission statements of leading UK museums and galleries, and discovered that the word “Future” was the third most common word used to describe the missions of the museums, double that of the word “past”. With such an eye to the future, it is little surprise to discover that museums spend some time thinking about the shape of things to come. During recent museum conferences, there have been a number of sessions that consider museum futures and how cultural institutions can prepare for likely economic, social, and technological scenarios. At Museums Australia 2013 in May 2013, Dr Stefan Hajkowicz: Leader, CSIRO Futures gave a talk on the Our Future Worlds report, which outlines six megatrends facing the world – and the arts – in the coming twenty years. At MuseumNext, also in May, Bridget McKenzie from Flow Associates examined ways in which museums might engage with communities to maintain relevance in the coming decade and the key technologies that may be influential in future planning. In this episode of Museopunks, your Punks will delve deep into the future to ask how museums can use future scanning techniques to better plan for the future, and meet their missions. As the OECD notes, ‘A solid ‘scan of the horizon’ can provide the background to develop strategies for anticipating future developments and thereby gain lead time. It can also be a way to assess trends to feed into a scenario development process.’

003: The Shape of Punk to Come

Since the 1960s, artists have been critically examining the practices of museums, at times critiquing the idea of what a museum is and how it presents its stories. One of the most influential exhibitions of Institutional Critique was Mining the Museum–an installation by artist Fred Wilson at the Maryland Historical Society, in collaboration with The Contemporary. In this episode–made 25 years after Mining the Museum–the Punks explore the role outsiders such as artists and external consultants play in driving creative change and innovation within museum practice. What can outsiders do within the institution that permanent staff cannot? What are the limitations they face? And how does a reliance on external talent impact the sustainability of progress in the museums they work with?GUESTS:George Ciscle has mounted groundbreaking exhibitions, created community arts programs, and taught fine arts and humanities courses for close to 50 years. He trained as a sculptor, studying with Isamu Noguchi. For 15 years he developed high school interdisciplinary curriculum and work-study programs for the emotionally disadvantaged. In 1985, he opened the George Ciscle Gallery where he promoted the careers of young and emerging artists.From 1989-1996 Ciscle was the founder and director of The Contemporary, an “un-museum,” which  challenges existing conventions for exhibiting art in non-traditional sites focusing its exhibitions and  outreach on connecting artists’ works with people’s everyday lives. From 1997-2017, as Curator-in-Residence at Maryland Institute College of Art, he continued to develop new models for connecting art, artists, and audiences by creating the Exhibition Development Seminar, Curatorial Studies Concentration and the MFA in Curatorial Practice.Jen Brown is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Engaging Educator. Through EE, her pedagogical approach of Improv as Continuing Education has reached over 25,000 people – all non-actors!Since 2012, Jen has given three TEDx Talks on the power of Improv, grown EE to three locations in NYC, Winston-Salem, NC and LA, and recently began The Engaging Educator Foundation, a 501(c)(3) which offers free and low-cost Improv workshops for educators, at-risk adults, teens and students on the Autism Spectrum. Jen holds degrees and accreditation from Marquette University, City College of New York, St. Joseph’s University and Second City.--Museopunks is presented by the American Alliance of Museums.Website: Museopunks.orgTwitter: @museopunks

Since the 1960s, artists have been critically examining the practices of museums, at times critiquing the idea of what a museum is and how it presents its stories. One of the most influential exhibitions of Institutional Critique was Mining the Museum–an installation by artist Fred Wilson at the Maryland Historical Society, in collaboration with The Contemporary. In this episode–made 25 years after Mining the Museum–the Punks explore the role outsiders such as artists and external consultants play in driving creative change and innovation within museum practice. What can outsiders do within the institution that permanent staff cannot? What are the limitations they face? And how does a reliance on external talent impact the sustainability of progress in the museums they work with? GUESTS: George Ciscle has mounted groundbreaking exhibitions, created community arts programs, and taught fine arts and humanities courses for close to 50 years. He trained as a sculptor, studying with Isamu Noguchi. For 15 years he developed high school interdisciplinary curriculum and work-study programs for the emotionally disadvantaged. In 1985, he opened the George Ciscle Gallery where he promoted the careers of young and emerging artists. From 1989-1996 Ciscle was the founder and director of The Contemporary, an “un-museum,” which challenges existing conventions for exhibiting art in non-traditional sites focusing its exhibitions and outreach on connecting artists’ works with people’s everyday lives. From 1997-2017, as Curator-in-Residence at Maryland Institute College of Art, he continued to develop new models for connecting art, artists, and audiences by creating the Exhibition Development Seminar, Curatorial Studies Concentration and the MFA in Curatorial Practice. Jen Brown is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Engaging Educator. Through EE, her pedagogical approach of Improv as Continuing Education has reached over 25,000 people – all non-actors! Since 2012, Jen has given three TEDx Talks on the power of Improv, grown EE to three locations in NYC, Winston-Salem, NC and LA, and recently began The Engaging Educator Foundation, a 501(c)(3) which offers free and low-cost Improv workshops for educators, at-risk adults, teens and students on the Autism Spectrum. Jen holds degrees and accreditation from Marquette University, City College of New York, St. Joseph’s University and Second City. -- Museopunks is presented by the American Alliance of Museums. Website: <a href="http://Museopunks.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Museopunks.org</a> Twitter: @museopunks

Episode 21: The Outsiders

Don’t call this a comeback! After an almost three-year hiatus, Museopunks returns to explore progressive museum practice. How much has changed since the ‘Punks last hit the airwaves? Does Jeffrey have any new tattoos? Has Suse lost her Australian accent?In this first episode of season two, the ‘Punks unpack the trials and tribulations of trust with Dr. fari nzinga and Adriel Luis. Report after report indicates that public trust in institutions is plummeting. The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, which surveys more than 33,000 people across 28 countries, showed the largest-ever drop in trust across the institutions of government, business, media and NGOs. Meanwhile, the Economist’s Intelligence Unit downgraded the US to a “flawed democracy” in its 2016 Democracy Index, due to erosion of trust in government and elected officials.Museums have traditionally appeared to be cushioned against drops in trust. The American Alliance of Museum reports that museums are considered the most trustworthy source of information in America. Yet a 2013 UK study on public trust in museums showed that although museums are highly trusted, there was “a strong sense that if they started “telling people what to think” or became spaces for controversial debate, this might damage their integrity.” What does this mean for our institutions at a time when there is increasing pressure on public institutions to promote social justice, and intervene in political and social discourse? Join us to unpack these questions and more.Show notes: http://museopunks.org

Don’t call this a comeback! After an almost three-year hiatus, Museopunks returns to explore progressive museum practice. How much has changed since the ‘Punks last hit the airwaves? Does Jeffrey have any new tattoos? Has Suse lost her Australian accent? In this first episode of season two, the ‘Punks unpack the trials and tribulations of trust with Dr. fari nzinga and Adriel Luis. Report after report indicates that public trust in institutions is plummeting. The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, which surveys more than 33,000 people across 28 countries, showed the largest-ever drop in trust across the institutions of government, business, media and NGOs. Meanwhile, the Economist’s Intelligence Unit downgraded the US to a “flawed democracy” in its 2016 Democracy Index, due to erosion of trust in government and elected officials. Museums have traditionally appeared to be cushioned against drops in trust. The American Alliance of Museum reports that museums are considered the most trustworthy source of information in America. Yet a 2013 UK study on public trust in museums showed that although museums are highly trusted, there was “a strong sense that if they started “telling people what to think” or became spaces for controversial debate, this might damage their integrity.” What does this mean for our institutions at a time when there is increasing pressure on public institutions to promote social justice, and intervene in political and social discourse? Join us to unpack these questions and more. Show notes: <a href="http://museopunks.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://museopunks.org</a>

Episode 19: The State of Love and Trust

With a reticence towards partisan politics, museums are sometimes perceived to be neutral institutions, many avoiding taking a visible stand on issues. But can they really avoid being political when making choices about the allocation of resources, time, and energy? #MuseumsAreNotNeutral is “an initiative that exposes the fallacies of the neutrality claim and calls for an equity-based transformation of museums.” In this episode, LaTanya S. Autry and Mike Murawski break down the #MuseumsAreNotNeutral campaign, while Kaywin Feldman, Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director and President of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), discusses what it’s like to run a museum at a time of crisis.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or StitcherMuseopunks is presented by the American Alliance of Museums.Graphic Design of the Museopunks logo is by Selena Robleto.Website: Museopunks.orgTwitter: @museopunks

With a reticence towards partisan politics, museums are sometimes perceived to be neutral institutions, many avoiding taking a visible stand on issues. But can they really avoid being political when making choices about the allocation of resources, time, and energy? #MuseumsAreNotNeutral is “an initiative that exposes the fallacies of the neutrality claim and calls for an equity-based transformation of museums.” In this episode, LaTanya S. Autry and Mike Murawski break down the #MuseumsAreNotNeutral campaign, while Kaywin Feldman, Nivin and Duncan MacMillan Director and President of the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), discusses what it’s like to run a museum at a time of crisis. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher Museopunks is presented by the American Alliance of Museums. Graphic Design of the Museopunks logo is by Selena Robleto. Website: <a href="http://Museopunks.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Museopunks.org</a> Twitter: @museopunks

Episode 27: Museums Are Not Neutral

Did you know that several studies in recent years have shown that when women enter a specific field in large numbers, the pay for that field declines overall, even for the same jobs that men were doing? This is one of many implications of gendered professions, which are at the core of this month’s episode of Museopunks. The Punks dig into the implications of the gendered museum, and its impact on pay and the sector more broadly with Anne W. Ackerson and Joan H. Baldwin, whose new book Women in the Museum explores the professional lives of the sector’s female workforce today and examines the challenges they face working in what was, until recently, a male-dominated field. The Punks are then joined by nikhil trivedi for a conversation about the impact of gender and masculinity on technology work, inside museums and beyond. Please note: nikhil’s interview includes discussion of specific actions men can take to dismantle gender oppression and create more supportive institutions for people of all genders. He has kindly created a supportive document with more information for those who wish to dig deeper, which we’ve included in the show notes at http://museopunks.orgMuseopunks is presented by the American Alliance of Museums.Website: Museopunks.orgTwitter: @museopunks

Did you know that several studies in recent years have shown that when women enter a specific field in large numbers, the pay for that field declines overall, even for the same jobs that men were doing? This is one of many implications of gendered professions, which are at the core of this month’s episode of Museopunks. The Punks dig into the implications of the gendered museum, and its impact on pay and the sector more broadly with Anne W. Ackerson and Joan H. Baldwin, whose new book Women in the Museum explores the professional lives of the sector’s female workforce today and examines the challenges they face working in what was, until recently, a male-dominated field. The Punks are then joined by nikhil trivedi for a conversation about the impact of gender and masculinity on technology work, inside museums and beyond. Please note: nikhil’s interview includes discussion of specific actions men can take to dismantle gender oppression and create more supportive institutions for people of all genders. He has kindly created a supportive document with more information for those who wish to dig deeper, which we’ve included in the show notes at <a href="http://museopunks.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://museopunks.org</a> Museopunks is presented by the American Alliance of Museums. Website: <a href="http://Museopunks.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Museopunks.org</a> Twitter: @museopunks

Episode 23: The Gendered Museum

News and media organizations have been undergoing similar challenges to those facing museums in the digital age, with increased competition for attention, challenges to old models of authority, and the need to develop new kinds of business models and modes of practice in response to changing technological, social, and economic conditions. So what can museums learn from news and media organizations in order to change and adapt their practices to work effectively in an increasingly online and social media context?In this episode, the Punks dig into these questions with a little help from Paul Schmelzer, Web Editor at the Walker Art Center, and Sree Sreenivasan, new Chief Digital Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both Schmelzer and Sreenivasan come to the museum sector with backgrounds in the media and significant experience in journalism, and their insights reflect the importance of these skills in the contemporary museum. Does the responsiveness of social media change the pace at which museums must work, and what opportunities does it open up for new kinds of practice?

News and media organizations have been undergoing similar challenges to those facing museums in the digital age, with increased competition for attention, challenges to old models of authority, and the need to develop new kinds of business models and modes of practice in response to changing technological, social, and economic conditions. So what can museums learn from news and media organizations in order to change and adapt their practices to work effectively in an increasingly online and social media context? In this episode, the Punks dig into these questions with a little help from Paul Schmelzer, Web Editor at the Walker Art Center, and Sree Sreenivasan, new Chief Digital Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both Schmelzer and Sreenivasan come to the museum sector with backgrounds in the media and significant experience in journalism, and their insights reflect the importance of these skills in the contemporary museum. Does the responsiveness of social media change the pace at which museums must work, and what opportunities does it open up for new kinds of practice?

006: Museums as Media Organizations

The vision of the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, describes how the museum “will reflect and realize the values of decolonization in all of its practices, working with the Wabanaki Nations to share their stories, history, and culture with a broader audience.” But what does it take to decolonise a museum? How does it change the governance structure and the practices of the board? What kinds of frameworks and internal work are necessary to shift the balance of authority within the institution, and turn theory into actionable change?In this episode of Museopunks, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, President &amp; CEO of the Abbe Museum, delves into the complexities of decolonisation.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

The vision of the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine, describes how the museum “will reflect and realize the values of decolonization in all of its practices, working with the Wabanaki Nations to share their stories, history, and culture with a broader audience.” But what does it take to decolonise a museum? How does it change the governance structure and the practices of the board? What kinds of frameworks and internal work are necessary to shift the balance of authority within the institution, and turn theory into actionable change? In this episode of Museopunks, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, President &amp; CEO of the Abbe Museum, delves into the complexities of decolonisation. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

Episode 26: Decolonise the Museum!

What does it mean to be a museum professional with an active online presence? How does blogging, Twitter, and other forms of social media communication give shape to a professional identity in the digital age? In this episode, the Punks talk to Nina Simon, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, prolific blogger, and author of the book The Participatory Museum, and Ed Rodley, Associate Director of Integrated Media at Peabody Essex Museum and author of Thinking About Museums, about the impact that an active online and social media presence can have on museum work broadly, and on professional identity. What does it mean to “grow up professionally” in the public eye, or to enter into an online discourse with an already-established professional identity? How does the kind of professional discourse that social media makes possible give shape to new ways of thinking and perceiving museum work? And what are the long-term ramifications of living a professional life online for all to see?

015: Professional Identity

DigitalCitizenship.net cites nine individual elements of digital citizenship: access, commerce, communication, literacy, etiquette, law, rights &amp; responsibilities, health &amp; wellness, and security (self protection). Cultural institutions are doing well in some respects, but what about other areas? Could museum interactive experiences not only provide access to rich content, but also help increase the overall digital literacy of users? Can our digital projects travel parallel paths in pursuit of both curatorial mission and digital good? Should they?Guests:Darin Barney, Canada Research Chair in Technology &amp; Citizenship, McGill UniversityKyle Jaebker, Director IMA Lab, Indianapolis Museum of ArtLuis Marcelo Mendes, Communications Consultant for Museums, Fundação Roberto MarinhoThis episode was recorded live at MCN 2013 on November 21, 2013. Thank you to the Museum Computer Network for making it possible, and inviting us to be a part of this conference.

<a href="http://DigitalCitizenship.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DigitalCitizenship.net</a> cites nine individual elements of digital citizenship: access, commerce, communication, literacy, etiquette, law, rights &amp; responsibilities, health &amp; wellness, and security (self protection). Cultural institutions are doing well in some respects, but what about other areas? Could museum interactive experiences not only provide access to rich content, but also help increase the overall digital literacy of users? Can our digital projects travel parallel paths in pursuit of both curatorial mission and digital good? Should they? Guests: Darin Barney, Canada Research Chair in Technology &amp; Citizenship, McGill University Kyle Jaebker, Director IMA Lab, Indianapolis Museum of Art Luis Marcelo Mendes, Communications Consultant for Museums, Fundação Roberto Marinho This episode was recorded live at MCN 2013 on November 21, 2013. Thank you to the Museum Computer Network for making it possible, and inviting us to be a part of this conference.

009: Museums as Digital Citizens

One of the most interesting sessions at MCN2013 was on The Future of Museum Digital Departments, which featured staff from the Tate, the National Gallery, London, Imperial War Museums, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and discussed the sometimes harsh realities of delivering a digital strategy within a complex organization. In the session, John Stack, Head of Digital Transformation at Tate, spoke about the museum’s recently adopted hub-and-spoke model for digital governance. In this episode, we break this idea down, and ask how different organisational structures can impact museums and digital organisations. How are museum digital departments integrated within broader institutional structures, and what impact does this have on digital’s place in the organisation?For this discussion, the ‘punks are joined by Stack, and Keir Winesmith, Head of Web and Digital Platforms at SFMOMA. We talk about digital strategy, organisational structure, and the impact of the evolving digital landscape on the decision making process.

One of the most interesting sessions at MCN2013 was on The Future of Museum Digital Departments, which featured staff from the Tate, the National Gallery, London, Imperial War Museums, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and discussed the sometimes harsh realities of delivering a digital strategy within a complex organization. In the session, John Stack, Head of Digital Transformation at Tate, spoke about the museum’s recently adopted hub-and-spoke model for digital governance. In this episode, we break this idea down, and ask how different organisational structures can impact museums and digital organisations. How are museum digital departments integrated within broader institutional structures, and what impact does this have on digital’s place in the organisation? For this discussion, the ‘punks are joined by Stack, and Keir Winesmith, Head of Web and Digital Platforms at SFMOMA. We talk about digital strategy, organisational structure, and the impact of the evolving digital landscape on the decision making process.

013: Digital As A Dimension of Everything

Museums that want to impact their visitors are often concerned with changing their behaviors. However, before any kind of change can take place, it's important to understand visitors, and the behaviors that they bring into the museum with them. In this episode, the ‘Punks ask how museums can better understand and align their work around existing visitor behaviors. We talk to the first Neuroscience Researcher in an art museum to learn more about how the human brain understands the physical world, and how that connects to our emotions, and then connect with an experience designer whose work has focussed on social media use in the cultural sector.We also want to know: are you a museum geek who is also a fan of professional wrestling?! Reach out to us on Twitter and let us know. GUESTS:Dr. Tedi Asher is Neuroscience Researcher at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. The position — which marks a first for an art museum — supports PEM’s neuroscience initiative and is made possible through a generous grant from the Barr Foundation. Dr. Asher earned her Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School’s Biological and Biomedical Sciences program and has spent the last 12 years gaining experience in a wide range of fields, including neuroscience and psychology. At PEM, she will synthesize neuroscience research findings and make recommendations on how museums can enhance and enrich the visitor experience.Alli Burness is currently an experience designer with ThinkPlace, a global strategic design consultancy that applies human centred design and complex systems thinking to create public value.  On the side, she is a freelance digital producer, designing digital presences for artists, small arts organisations and not-for-profits. She also researches, publishes, tutors and speaks about the value of creative digital expression and social media use in the cultural sector. She previously worked in museums and galleries as a digital producer and collection manager for around 10 years. She has created content for institutions such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Wellcome Collection in the UK and the Powerhouse Museum and Museums and Galleries NSW in Australia. She is currently based in Sydney.PRESENTING SPONSOR:Museopunks is presented by the American Alliance of Museums.Website: museopunks.orgTwitter: @museopunks

Museums that want to impact their visitors are often concerned with changing their behaviors. However, before any kind of change can take place, it's important to understand visitors, and the behaviors that they bring into the museum with them. In this episode, the ‘Punks ask how museums can better understand and align their work around existing visitor behaviors. We talk to the first Neuroscience Researcher in an art museum to learn more about how the human brain understands the physical world, and how that connects to our emotions, and then connect with an experience designer whose work has focussed on social media use in the cultural sector. We also want to know: are you a museum geek who is also a fan of professional wrestling?! Reach out to us on Twitter and let us know. GUESTS: Dr. Tedi Asher is Neuroscience Researcher at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass. The position — which marks a first for an art museum — supports PEM’s neuroscience initiative and is made possible through a generous grant from the Barr Foundation. Dr. Asher earned her Ph.D. from Harvard Medical School’s Biological and Biomedical Sciences program and has spent the last 12 years gaining experience in a wide range of fields, including neuroscience and psychology. At PEM, she will synthesize neuroscience research findings and make recommendations on how museums can enhance and enrich the visitor experience. Alli Burness is currently an experience designer with ThinkPlace, a global strategic design consultancy that applies human centred design and complex systems thinking to create public value. On the side, she is a freelance digital producer, designing digital presences for artists, small arts organisations and not-for-profits. She also researches, publishes, tutors and speaks about the value of creative digital expression and social media use in the cultural sector. She previously worked in museums and galleries as a digital producer and collection manager for around 10 years. She has created content for institutions such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Wellcome Collection in the UK and the Powerhouse Museum and Museums and Galleries NSW in Australia. She is currently based in Sydney. PRESENTING SPONSOR: Museopunks is presented by the American Alliance of Museums. Website: <a href="http://museopunks.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">museopunks.org</a> Twitter: @museopunks

Episode 22: Human Behavior

Museum collections in established institutions come with long histories. So how do you change a museum’s canon? In this episode, we speak with Christopher Bedford, the Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art, about the BMA’s decision in early 2018 to deaccession seven works by blue chip artists in the contemporary collection in order to strengthen its holdings of contemporary works by women and artists of colour.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

Museum collections in established institutions come with long histories. So how do you change a museum’s canon? In this episode, we speak with Christopher Bedford, the Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director of The Baltimore Museum of Art, about the BMA’s decision in early 2018 to deaccession seven works by blue chip artists in the contemporary collection in order to strengthen its holdings of contemporary works by women and artists of colour. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

Episode 32: Changing The Canon

OF/BY/FOR ALL  is a global movement and a set of tools to help community institutions around the world become more representative OF and co-created BY their communities. In this episode, we’re joined by OF/BY/FOR ALL founder Nina Simon and Rohini Kappadath, General Manager of Immigration Museum (Australia), to find out how to create a museum for everyone.Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

OF/BY/FOR ALL is a global movement and a set of tools to help community institutions around the world become more representative OF and co-created BY their communities. In this episode, we’re joined by OF/BY/FOR ALL founder Nina Simon and Rohini Kappadath, General Manager of Immigration Museum (Australia), to find out how to create a museum for everyone. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

Episode 33: A Museum for Everyone

Tyler Green (Modern Art Notes) recently wrote that “In the future, most American art museums — say, those with operating budgets of ~$7 million and up — will offer free general admission.” In this episode, the Punks talk to Green, and Maxwell L. Anderson, Director, Dallas Museum of Art, about just what it takes for museums to go free, and how new technologies, such as those that can collect extensive visitor data, make ‘free’ a new kind of proposition.Of particular focus in this episode will be the DMA’s 2013 decision to go free, and to offer free membership. How has technology changed the conversation around free and open source materials, and access to museums – whether collections, or the museum experience itself? Is the museum re-imagined in its public capacity when it does move from a paid model to a free one? Do the data-collection possibilities of free membership programs like DMA Friends promise to change how sector-wide museum metrics are gathered, and if so, what does that mean for visitor modeling into the future?

Tyler Green (Modern Art Notes) recently wrote that “In the future, most American art museums — say, those with operating budgets of ~$7 million and up — will offer free general admission.” In this episode, the Punks talk to Green, and Maxwell L. Anderson, Director, Dallas Museum of Art, about just what it takes for museums to go free, and how new technologies, such as those that can collect extensive visitor data, make ‘free’ a new kind of proposition. Of particular focus in this episode will be the DMA’s 2013 decision to go free, and to offer free membership. How has technology changed the conversation around free and open source materials, and access to museums – whether collections, or the museum experience itself? Is the museum re-imagined in its public capacity when it does move from a paid model to a free one? Do the data-collection possibilities of free membership programs like DMA Friends promise to change how sector-wide museum metrics are gathered, and if so, what does that mean for visitor modeling into the future?

014: The Economics of Free

What role does language have in dictating the way we talk and think about the future – and present – in museums? Does talking about the future hold museums back in the present? Do terms like “innovation” and “forward-thinking” actually promote the behaviours they connote? In this episode, the Punks talk to Colleen Dilenschneider, Chief Market Engagement Officer for IMPACTS, and Jeff Grabill, Professor of Rhetoric and Professional Writing and Chair of the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures at Michigan State University, about language, rhetoric, and the power of words in creating our world.

018: Rhetoric of the Future

In early 2019, experience designer Ed Rodley asked the hivemind what they saw as the biggest issues facing ppl who make museum experiences in 2019? The answer from Jay Rounds, E. Desmond Lee Professor of Museum Studies emeritus at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, was “A surfeit of virtues.” Rounds proposed that, “There are so many demands for what an exhibit ought to be or do, or how it should be made, that they can paralyze us. Many of these demands seem virtuous in isolation, but some are in conflict with others, and it is impossible to do all of them at once and end up with an exhibit worth visiting. But we have no overarching principle for prioritizing among them, and thus we become so dedicated to being virtuous that we forget how to be good.”In this episode, Museopunks explores this idea of the surfeit of virtues with both Rodley and Rounds, and discovers a moment of paradigmatic change in museums within the USA. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

In early 2019, experience designer Ed Rodley asked the hivemind what they saw as the biggest issues facing ppl who make museum experiences in 2019? The answer from Jay Rounds, E. Desmond Lee Professor of Museum Studies emeritus at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, was “A surfeit of virtues.” Rounds proposed that, “There are so many demands for what an exhibit ought to be or do, or how it should be made, that they can paralyze us. Many of these demands seem virtuous in isolation, but some are in conflict with others, and it is impossible to do all of them at once and end up with an exhibit worth visiting. But we have no overarching principle for prioritizing among them, and thus we become so dedicated to being virtuous that we forget how to be good.” In this episode, Museopunks explores this idea of the surfeit of virtues with both Rodley and Rounds, and discovers a moment of paradigmatic change in museums within the USA. Never miss an episode! Subscribe to Museopunks on iTunes or Stitcher

Episode 34: Paradigm Lost

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