American Alliance of Museums – serie

Partnership Power examines museum-related partnerships, collaborations, and networks within today’s dynamic, ever-changing environment. With today's greater emphasis is placed on measurable community impact and leveraging technology for greater reach and connection on significant social challenges, partnerships have become increasingly important. Through perspectives from other, related sectors, including libraries and other nonprofits; current museum case studies from a broad and diverse spectrum of museum types (history, children’s, art, science, and ethnic); and proven tools, tips, and resources, Partnership Power: Essential Museum Strategies for Today’s Networked World serves as an invaluable primer for museums – and museum professionals -- wanting to create and sustain effective partnerships and collaborations. The volume helps solve the partnership puzzle, focusing on the essential attributes of sustainable and relevant collaborations, within communities, states, and nationally, including examples of broader multi-institutional networks that are increasingly important to maintain relevance in this hyper-connected world. It contains words of wisdom from museum leaders, funders, community organizers, and researchers—both industry experts and newcomers--on what authentic partnership means, how partnerships evolve, the benefits of partnerships as well as the challenges they present. How does a museum determine and select a viable partner or partners? What happens when a partnership encounters the inevitable pitfalls and barriers? When should you move away from a partnership? How does one evaluate a partnership’s success or failure?The book also looks inside the museum: the key issues of institutional culture, staff skills and competencies, managing financial resources, marketing the partnership, and working with boards that often emerge in the context of partnership development and management?

Partnership Power examines museum-related partnerships, collaborations, and networks within today’s dynamic, ever-changing environment. With today's greater emphasis is placed on measurable community impact and leveraging technology for greater reach and connection on significant social challenges, partnerships have become increasingly important. Through perspectives from other, related sectors, including libraries and other nonprofits; current museum case studies from a broad and diverse spectrum of museum types (history, children’s, art, science, and ethnic); and proven tools, tips, and resources, Partnership Power: Essential Museum Strategies for Today’s Networked World serves as an invaluable primer for museums – and museum professionals -- wanting to create and sustain effective partnerships and collaborations. The volume helps solve the partnership puzzle, focusing on the essential attributes of sustainable and relevant collaborations, within communities, states, and nationally, including examples of broader multi-institutional networks that are increasingly important to maintain relevance in this hyper-connected world. It contains words of wisdom from museum leaders, funders, community organizers, and researchers—both industry experts and newcomers--on what authentic partnership means, how partnerships evolve, the benefits of partnerships as well as the challenges they present. How does a museum determine and select a viable partner or partners? What happens when a partnership encounters the inevitable pitfalls and barriers? When should you move away from a partnership? How does one evaluate a partnership’s success or failure?The book also looks inside the museum: the key issues of institutional culture, staff skills and competencies, managing financial resources, marketing the partnership, and working with boards that often emerge in the context of partnership development and management?

Mission Matters sheds a fresh light on how to envision relevant and impactful museums. Anderson takes the understanding of mission relevance to a new level. The premise of the book reflects external contemporary realities and the need for museums to better position themselves as leaders and change agents in the greater landscape and diversity of people.. Anderson illustrates her points with numerous examples from the US and around the world. Features include essays by David Fleming from the UK who tackles the importance of mission and social issues, and Charmaine Jefferson who frames the complexities of cultural competence in the 21st century. Twenty museum leaders each share their institution’s story of transformative change informed by reframing their mission. Anderson’s methodology for the book, the Mission Alignment Framework, helps reference the thinking about missions and the subsequent changes within museums as they redirect their work. Eighty US and international mission statements reveal the range of museums disciplines and demographics from urban and rural , and styles of mission all illustrating relevance to their unique settings, institutional capacity, resources, and purpose. Complementing these examples are guidelines about how to rethink mission, a questioning strategy based on the Mission Alignment Framework, and, a range of useful tools from museums and leading thinkers in the field.Mission Matters is useful to a wide range of readers and users from trustees to directors to staff from a wide range of museums regardless of size and stage of development and maturity. The book is an easily accessible reference for strategic planning, conversations about relevance and missions, and museums considering the reinvention of their museum for greater impact.

Mission Matters sheds a fresh light on how to envision relevant and impactful museums. Anderson takes the understanding of mission relevance to a new level. The premise of the book reflects external contemporary realities and the need for museums to better position themselves as leaders and change agents in the greater landscape and diversity of people.. Anderson illustrates her points with numerous examples from the US and around the world. Features include essays by David Fleming from the UK who tackles the importance of mission and social issues, and Charmaine Jefferson who frames the complexities of cultural competence in the 21st century. Twenty museum leaders each share their institution’s story of transformative change informed by reframing their mission. Anderson’s methodology for the book, the Mission Alignment Framework, helps reference the thinking about missions and the subsequent changes within museums as they redirect their work. Eighty US and international mission statements reveal the range of museums disciplines and demographics from urban and rural , and styles of mission all illustrating relevance to their unique settings, institutional capacity, resources, and purpose. Complementing these examples are guidelines about how to rethink mission, a questioning strategy based on the Mission Alignment Framework, and, a range of useful tools from museums and leading thinkers in the field.Mission Matters is useful to a wide range of readers and users from trustees to directors to staff from a wide range of museums regardless of size and stage of development and maturity. The book is an easily accessible reference for strategic planning, conversations about relevance and missions, and museums considering the reinvention of their museum for greater impact.

During the course of an interactive museum tour an educator will be able to elicit a range of responses, conversation, and new discoveries that engage the broadest spectrum of museum learners. To engage the entire group in the interpretive process, museum educators frequently employ gallery activities to enlist other sensory components and learning styles to more fully experience the art. This handbook provides a compendium of successful gallery activities:WritingDebatingDrawingMovementMusicCritical observationTouch and tactilityFeatures include:Photographs of youth and adults participating in gallery activities Sidebars with favorite gallery activities contributed by museum educators at many museums across the countryPlanning templates

During the course of an interactive museum tour an educator will be able to elicit a range of responses, conversation, and new discoveries that engage the broadest spectrum of museum learners. To engage the entire group in the interpretive process, museum educators frequently employ gallery activities to enlist other sensory components and learning styles to more fully experience the art. This handbook provides a compendium of successful gallery activities:WritingDebatingDrawingMovementMusicCritical observationTouch and tactilityFeatures include:Photographs of youth and adults participating in gallery activities Sidebars with favorite gallery activities contributed by museum educators at many museums across the countryPlanning templates

Museums everywhere have the potential to serve as agents of change—bringing people together, contributing to local communities, and changing people’s lives. So how can we, as individuals, radically expand the work of museums to live up to this potential? How can we more fiercely recognize the meaningful work that museums are doing to enact change around the relevant issues in our communities? How can we work together to build a stronger culture of equity and care within museums?? Questions like these are increasingly vital for all museum professionals to consider, no matter what your role is within your institution. They are also important questions for all of us to be thinking about more deeply as citizens and community members. This book is about the work we need to do to become changemakers and demand that that our museums take action toward positive social change and bring people together into a more just, equitable, compassionate, and connected society. It is a journey toward tapping the energies within all of us to make change happen and proactively shape a new future.

Museums everywhere have the potential to serve as agents of change—bringing people together, contributing to local communities, and changing people’s lives. So how can we, as individuals, radically expand the work of museums to live up to this potential? How can we more fiercely recognize the meaningful work that museums are doing to enact change around the relevant issues in our communities? How can we work together to build a stronger culture of equity and care within museums?? Questions like these are increasingly vital for all museum professionals to consider, no matter what your role is within your institution. They are also important questions for all of us to be thinking about more deeply as citizens and community members. This book is about the work we need to do to become changemakers and demand that that our museums take action toward positive social change and bring people together into a more just, equitable, compassionate, and connected society. It is a journey toward tapping the energies within all of us to make change happen and proactively shape a new future.

Management and dissemination of the Intellectual Property (IP) assets maintained by cultural institutions is a key responsibility of caring for collections. Rights and reproductions methodologies are seemingly ever-changing with new technologies, additional distribution avenues, evolving case law, applicable court decisions, and new legislation. This new edition of Rights & Reproductions: The Handbook for Cultural Institutions marks the first time this valuable publication is available in print as well as digital. Building upon the guidelines, standards, and best practices outlined in the first edition, the Handbook further investigates current trends in rights and reproductions practices, notably expanding the discussion of fair use guidelines and codes, Creative Commons and RightsStatements.org, open access, social media applications, and the overall process of conducting rights clearances and obtaining permissions for the growing list of possible uses of a cultural institution’s Intellectual Property. Highlights of the second edition include:A new chapter devoted to fair use and open accessOverall updates to applicable case law, rights clearance practices, and distribution partnersOver 20 case studies outlining real-world examples from the authors’ experiences and practices at their institutionsExpanded glossary defining terms so they are easy to understandUpdated appendices with new references, resources, and court decisions Over 50 contract and document templates provided by the authors’ institutionsThe Handbook is the must-have, comprehensive resource for cultural institution professionals handling rights-related work, including registrars, rights and reproductions managers, archivists, librarians, and lawyers.

Management and dissemination of the Intellectual Property (IP) assets maintained by cultural institutions is a key responsibility of caring for collections. Rights and reproductions methodologies are seemingly ever-changing with new technologies, additional distribution avenues, evolving case law, applicable court decisions, and new legislation. This new edition of Rights & Reproductions: The Handbook for Cultural Institutions marks the first time this valuable publication is available in print as well as digital. Building upon the guidelines, standards, and best practices outlined in the first edition, the Handbook further investigates current trends in rights and reproductions practices, notably expanding the discussion of fair use guidelines and codes, Creative Commons and RightsStatements.org, open access, social media applications, and the overall process of conducting rights clearances and obtaining permissions for the growing list of possible uses of a cultural institution’s Intellectual Property. Highlights of the second edition include:A new chapter devoted to fair use and open accessOverall updates to applicable case law, rights clearance practices, and distribution partnersOver 20 case studies outlining real-world examples from the authors’ experiences and practices at their institutionsExpanded glossary defining terms so they are easy to understandUpdated appendices with new references, resources, and court decisions Over 50 contract and document templates provided by the authors’ institutionsThe Handbook is the must-have, comprehensive resource for cultural institution professionals handling rights-related work, including registrars, rights and reproductions managers, archivists, librarians, and lawyers.

Since the first edition was published in 1958, Museum Registration Methods has defined the profession and served as a fundamental reference for all aspects of collections registration, care, and management. The sixth edition of Museum Registration Methods is a comprehensive guide to registration and collections management for museums, from acquisition to use and deaccessioning. The authors and other contributors come from a wide variety of museums and specializations. The 56 chapters in this edition are either new or updated, and include the history of the profession, the role of the registrar in the museum, managing very large collections, developing and implementing collection management policies, documentation of collections, accessioning, condition reports, deaccessioning, repositories, and provenance research. Contemporary and digital art, living and natural history collections, loans, exhibitions, found-in-collection objects, shipping, records management, and electronic data management are also addressed, along with object handling and numbering, digitization, condition reporting, preventive care, storage on and off-site, inventory, moving and packing, shipping nationally and internationally, couriering, risk assessment, security, insurance, integrated pest management, ethics, sustainability, sacred and culturally sensitive objects, intellectual property rights, appraisal, ethical and legal issues, and research. The book includes a comprehensive resource list, glossary, hypothetical situations to ponder, and model collection forms.

Since the first edition was published in 1958, Museum Registration Methods has defined the profession and served as a fundamental reference for all aspects of collections registration, care, and management. The sixth edition of Museum Registration Methods is a comprehensive guide to registration and collections management for museums, from acquisition to use and deaccessioning. The authors and other contributors come from a wide variety of museums and specializations. The 56 chapters in this edition are either new or updated, and include the history of the profession, the role of the registrar in the museum, managing very large collections, developing and implementing collection management policies, documentation of collections, accessioning, condition reports, deaccessioning, repositories, and provenance research. Contemporary and digital art, living and natural history collections, loans, exhibitions, found-in-collection objects, shipping, records management, and electronic data management are also addressed, along with object handling and numbering, digitization, condition reporting, preventive care, storage on and off-site, inventory, moving and packing, shipping nationally and internationally, couriering, risk assessment, security, insurance, integrated pest management, ethics, sustainability, sacred and culturally sensitive objects, intellectual property rights, appraisal, ethical and legal issues, and research. The book includes a comprehensive resource list, glossary, hypothetical situations to ponder, and model collection forms.

As museums are currently shaping their tools for fostering empathy as an intentional outcome of museum experiences, the idea of empathy-building is reshaping them as socially relevant institutions that increasingly value diversity, accessibility, and equality. This is a non-linear, multi-layered, and multi-dimensional transformation that requires multidisciplinary, cross-industry, and cross-sector alliances for its sustainability. The potential of this collective transformation effort includes the invention of unconventional, evidence-based, and sustainable solutions that can be scaled up beyond the walls of traditional museums to all kinds of informal learning platforms to help eliminate the empathy-deficit in our world.Designing for Empathy expands our understanding of empathy and its potential for fostering compassionate worldviews and actions through a multidisciplinary exploration in three parts: “The Object of Our Empathy” explores how we define and perceive the “Other;” “The Alchemy of Empathy” introduces thirteen design elements of empathy that might lead to transformative learning experiences; and “The Scope and the Spectrum of Empathy” highlights the importance of positioning empathy as a cross-industrial shared value for the benefit of people and the planet.Designing for Empathy will inspire and empower those who are interested in intentionally designing for empathy to cultivate compassionate worldviews and actions that celebrate and preserve the oneness of all people, the environment, and our planet.

As museums are currently shaping their tools for fostering empathy as an intentional outcome of museum experiences, the idea of empathy-building is reshaping them as socially relevant institutions that increasingly value diversity, accessibility, and equality. This is a non-linear, multi-layered, and multi-dimensional transformation that requires multidisciplinary, cross-industry, and cross-sector alliances for its sustainability. The potential of this collective transformation effort includes the invention of unconventional, evidence-based, and sustainable solutions that can be scaled up beyond the walls of traditional museums to all kinds of informal learning platforms to help eliminate the empathy-deficit in our world.Designing for Empathy expands our understanding of empathy and its potential for fostering compassionate worldviews and actions through a multidisciplinary exploration in three parts: “The Object of Our Empathy” explores how we define and perceive the “Other;” “The Alchemy of Empathy” introduces thirteen design elements of empathy that might lead to transformative learning experiences; and “The Scope and the Spectrum of Empathy” highlights the importance of positioning empathy as a cross-industrial shared value for the benefit of people and the planet.Designing for Empathy will inspire and empower those who are interested in intentionally designing for empathy to cultivate compassionate worldviews and actions that celebrate and preserve the oneness of all people, the environment, and our planet.

Diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in all aspects of museums’ structure and programming are top issues in the field today – and in the overall arts/culture sector. Much has been written, from various perspectives, over several decades. Yet, a lack of diversity remains and exclusive practices and inequities persist in all types of museums. A go-to resource for readers interested in learning about diversity and inclusion work in the field – past, present and future. This edited collection of the most important essays, speeches, and reports on these topics seeks to facilitate a much-needed intergenerational dialogue that builds on lessons from the past, broadens thinking about the many different facets of this complex work, and ignites inspiration for continuing to correct inequities across museums of all types, sizes, and locations.In this book compiled and edited by Dr. Johnnetta Betch Cole, who has served as both director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and as the president of both historically Black colleges for women in the United States, Spelman College and Bennett College (a distinction she alone holds) and Laura Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums, (the first woman to the lead the organization), thought leaders in the museum field present their research, analysis and work to answer some of the most challenge questions facing the museum field. Why do these problems persist? How can a new generation of museum leaders champion change to better represent the communities that museums strive to serve and engage? What can we learn from those who have been observing, experiencing, and writing about these issues?

Diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion in all aspects of museums’ structure and programming are top issues in the field today – and in the overall arts/culture sector. Much has been written, from various perspectives, over several decades. Yet, a lack of diversity remains and exclusive practices and inequities persist in all types of museums. A go-to resource for readers interested in learning about diversity and inclusion work in the field – past, present and future. This edited collection of the most important essays, speeches, and reports on these topics seeks to facilitate a much-needed intergenerational dialogue that builds on lessons from the past, broadens thinking about the many different facets of this complex work, and ignites inspiration for continuing to correct inequities across museums of all types, sizes, and locations.In this book compiled and edited by Dr. Johnnetta Betch Cole, who has served as both director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and as the president of both historically Black colleges for women in the United States, Spelman College and Bennett College (a distinction she alone holds) and Laura Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums, (the first woman to the lead the organization), thought leaders in the museum field present their research, analysis and work to answer some of the most challenge questions facing the museum field. Why do these problems persist? How can a new generation of museum leaders champion change to better represent the communities that museums strive to serve and engage? What can we learn from those who have been observing, experiencing, and writing about these issues?

A One-Stop Guide to Museum Careers People who love art, are fascinated by archaeology, or are history buffs may have considered the idea of working in a museum. But experience as a museum visitor reveals only the public-facing side of the museum, and not its complex, dynamic internal structure. So You Want to Work in A Museum? helps to demystify museums as institutions and to prepare prospective museum staff to explore the field further. After reading this book, readers will be able to:Understand how non-profit museums are governed, funded, and staffed, and how they define and meet their missions.Explore museum divisions and departments and specific roles within them—not just prominent roles like directors and curators, but also less visible ones like registrars, preparators, development officers, conservators, and more.Consider the contemporary function of museums, and how yesterday’s cabinets of curiosity have evolved into today’s community catalysts. Examine how the contemporary function of museums has affected the types of positions available and the work museum staff do on a daily basis.Look at the skills required for different types of positions, and how readers aspiring to work in those positions can best prepare themselves to land their dream jobs and be successful in them.Understand the benefits and potential challenges of working in a museum, andAccess a wealth of resources that will inspire further study of the field, and outline next steps to pursue a museum career.

Since it was first published in 2006, Riches, Rivals and Radicals has been the go-to text for introductory museum studies courses. It is also of great value to professionals as well as museum lovers who want to learn the stories behind how and why these institutions have evolved since the day the first mastodon bones, royal portraits and botanical specimens entered their halls. For this third edition, Marjorie Schwarzer has mined new resources, previously unavailable archives and contemporary trends to provide a fresh look at the challenges and innovations that have shaped museums in the United States. Schwarzer argues that museums are fundamentally optimistic institutions. They build and preserve some of the nation’s most extraordinary architecture. They showcase the beauty and promise of new scientific discoveries, historical breakthroughs and artistic creation. They provide places of inspiration and repose. At the same time, museums have succeeded in exposing some of the nation’s most painful legacies – racism, inequity, violence – as they strive to be places for healing and reckoning. This too, one could argue, is an act of optimism, for it expresses the hope that museum visitors will gain empathy and understanding from the evidence of others’ struggles. Schwarzer shows us how museums are rooted in a contentious history tied to social, technological and economic trends and ultimately changing ideas of what it means to be a citizen. Along the way we meet some notorious and eccentric characters including business tycoons, architects, collectors, designers, politicians, political activists and progressive educators, all of whom have exerted their influence on what is a complex yet nonetheless enduring institution. Major additions since the last edition include material on digital curation, emergent exhibitions about civil rights, immersive museum environments, continuing efforts to diversify the field, how museums' role in our increasingly digital society, and a new foreword by American Alliance of Museums President and CEO Laura L. Lott.Museums new to this edition include the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.Beautifully written and lavishly illustrated, the third edition of this accessible, award-winning book brings the reader up to date on the stories behind the people and events that have transformed America’s museums from their beginnings into today’s vibrant cultural institutions.

Since it was first published in 2006, Riches, Rivals and Radicals has been the go-to text for introductory museum studies courses. It is also of great value to professionals as well as museum lovers who want to learn the stories behind how and why these institutions have evolved since the day the first mastodon bones, royal portraits and botanical specimens entered their halls. For this third edition, Marjorie Schwarzer has mined new resources, previously unavailable archives and contemporary trends to provide a fresh look at the challenges and innovations that have shaped museums in the United States. Schwarzer argues that museums are fundamentally optimistic institutions. They build and preserve some of the nation’s most extraordinary architecture. They showcase the beauty and promise of new scientific discoveries, historical breakthroughs and artistic creation. They provide places of inspiration and repose. At the same time, museums have succeeded in exposing some of the nation’s most painful legacies – racism, inequity, violence – as they strive to be places for healing and reckoning. This too, one could argue, is an act of optimism, for it expresses the hope that museum visitors will gain empathy and understanding from the evidence of others’ struggles. Schwarzer shows us how museums are rooted in a contentious history tied to social, technological and economic trends and ultimately changing ideas of what it means to be a citizen. Along the way we meet some notorious and eccentric characters including business tycoons, architects, collectors, designers, politicians, political activists and progressive educators, all of whom have exerted their influence on what is a complex yet nonetheless enduring institution. Major additions since the last edition include material on digital curation, emergent exhibitions about civil rights, immersive museum environments, continuing efforts to diversify the field, how museums' role in our increasingly digital society, and a new foreword by American Alliance of Museums President and CEO Laura L. Lott.Museums new to this edition include the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.Beautifully written and lavishly illustrated, the third edition of this accessible, award-winning book brings the reader up to date on the stories behind the people and events that have transformed America’s museums from their beginnings into today’s vibrant cultural institutions.

To Give and To Receive: A Handbook on Gifts and Donations for Museums and Donors, Second Edition covers the process of substantiating the value of a gift and the obligations of the donor and donee. It is a concise guide on tax incentives for gifts of art, historic objects, and many other types of collectible material to not-for-profit institutions. This second edition includes:Current museum best practices Recent changes in IRS regulations enacted in 2019, including IRS 8283 Non Cash Charitable Contributions and revised IRS definitions of the standards for qualified appraisal and qualified appraiser and the mandated appraiser declarationNew art professionals’ case studies and legal case notes on copyright lawBeth J. Parker Miller, Amy McKune, Laurette E. McCarthy and Romy M. Vreeland were the major contributors without whom this resource would not be possible.The 2020 edition also includes expert case notes by Helen A. Harrison, Luke Nikas and Maaren Shah, Jeffrey Patchen, as well as Elizabeth Morton’s updated section on cultural patrimony and Robert Simon and MacKenzie Mallon’s contribution on provenance. These additions focus on perspectives in collection management, provenance research, due diligence, cultural patrimony, and legal issues related to gifts to museums.This authoritative guide is intended for museums and donors alike, providing valuable information on the donation process, current standards and best practices, ethical and legal issues, and IRS updates and valuation considerations to include:Up-to-date information on gifts to museum collections and related new and updated IRS regulationsGuidance to organize and implement a gifting plan with practical advice in making decisions on collection giftsBroader applicability to family members, attorneys, estate bankers, foundations and financial advisors who help inform gift and donation decisions

To Give and To Receive: A Handbook on Gifts and Donations for Museums and Donors, Second Edition covers the process of substantiating the value of a gift and the obligations of the donor and donee. It is a concise guide on tax incentives for gifts of art, historic objects, and many other types of collectible material to not-for-profit institutions. This second edition includes:Current museum best practices Recent changes in IRS regulations enacted in 2019, including IRS 8283 Non Cash Charitable Contributions and revised IRS definitions of the standards for qualified appraisal and qualified appraiser and the mandated appraiser declarationNew art professionals’ case studies and legal case notes on copyright lawBeth J. Parker Miller, Amy McKune, Laurette E. McCarthy and Romy M. Vreeland were the major contributors without whom this resource would not be possible.The 2020 edition also includes expert case notes by Helen A. Harrison, Luke Nikas and Maaren Shah, Jeffrey Patchen, as well as Elizabeth Morton’s updated section on cultural patrimony and Robert Simon and MacKenzie Mallon’s contribution on provenance. These additions focus on perspectives in collection management, provenance research, due diligence, cultural patrimony, and legal issues related to gifts to museums.This authoritative guide is intended for museums and donors alike, providing valuable information on the donation process, current standards and best practices, ethical and legal issues, and IRS updates and valuation considerations to include:Up-to-date information on gifts to museum collections and related new and updated IRS regulationsGuidance to organize and implement a gifting plan with practical advice in making decisions on collection giftsBroader applicability to family members, attorneys, estate bankers, foundations and financial advisors who help inform gift and donation decisions

In Museum Metamorphosis, over forty cultural innovators and changemakers in contemporary art share strategies for building sociocultural relevancy and responsiveness in museums. Representing diverse perspectives from across the entire arts and culture ecosystem, the book offers tools to reshape museums into collaborative platforms for collective impact and social change.Part One features seven roundtables in which practitioners discuss best practices for dismantling barriers to entry and building reciprocal, sustained engagement with diverse constituencies. Part Two documents four case studies in structured collaboration, prompting museums to invest in both hyperlocal relationships and cross-sector partnerships. And Part Three features four interviews with thought leaders who discuss how to shift equity from a measure of compliance to a vital daily practice of organizational accountability and sustainability.Compiled during a moment of heightened social action, cultural transformation, and institutional critique, Museum Metamorphosis considers and responds to the following prompts: how will museums learn to embrace real-time change and adapt to meet the evolving needs of a rapidly shifting sociopolitical landscape? How can this metamorphosis open new pathways for engagement and encourage museums to meet more audiences where they are? And, how might reconstituting the essential DNA of the museum recalibrate the power dynamics between communities and institutions, producing a sustainable model for engaged cultural citizenship? In addressing these questions, Museum Metamorphosis looks to innovation transpiring beyond the museum echo chamber and lays bare both the opportunities and challenges of adopting new ways of working. It dares readers to identify their respective position within the social change ecosystem, and empowers them with tools to reorient their work towards cultural equity and social justice.

In Museum Metamorphosis, over forty cultural innovators and changemakers in contemporary art share strategies for building sociocultural relevancy and responsiveness in museums. Representing diverse perspectives from across the entire arts and culture ecosystem, the book offers tools to reshape museums into collaborative platforms for collective impact and social change.Part One features seven roundtables in which practitioners discuss best practices for dismantling barriers to entry and building reciprocal, sustained engagement with diverse constituencies. Part Two documents four case studies in structured collaboration, prompting museums to invest in both hyperlocal relationships and cross-sector partnerships. And Part Three features four interviews with thought leaders who discuss how to shift equity from a measure of compliance to a vital daily practice of organizational accountability and sustainability.Compiled during a moment of heightened social action, cultural transformation, and institutional critique, Museum Metamorphosis considers and responds to the following prompts: how will museums learn to embrace real-time change and adapt to meet the evolving needs of a rapidly shifting sociopolitical landscape? How can this metamorphosis open new pathways for engagement and encourage museums to meet more audiences where they are? And, how might reconstituting the essential DNA of the museum recalibrate the power dynamics between communities and institutions, producing a sustainable model for engaged cultural citizenship? In addressing these questions, Museum Metamorphosis looks to innovation transpiring beyond the museum echo chamber and lays bare both the opportunities and challenges of adopting new ways of working. It dares readers to identify their respective position within the social change ecosystem, and empowers them with tools to reorient their work towards cultural equity and social justice.

Organizing a traveling exhibition for the first time or the tenth time? On the Road Again: Creating and Managing Traveling Exhibitions, Second Edition, covers all one needs to know about putting together an exhibition that travels to multiple venues. This authoritative handbook examines production and management of an exhibition in great detail, beginning with the initial concept and assembly of exhibition materials. It covers:assigning duties to staff, establishing a budget, determining fees, negotiating contracts, providing insurance, crating and shipping, and much more. The book features sample documents, including contracts, RFPs, receipts, and loan agreements, and includes a bibliography. The second edition has up-to-date information on government Indemnity, terrorism insurance, digital condition reporting, and much more. Appropriate for staff of all types of museums, particularly those at small and midsize institutions, this title is a must for every museum bookshelf.

Organizing a traveling exhibition for the first time or the tenth time? On the Road Again: Creating and Managing Traveling Exhibitions, Second Edition, covers all one needs to know about putting together an exhibition that travels to multiple venues. This authoritative handbook examines production and management of an exhibition in great detail, beginning with the initial concept and assembly of exhibition materials. It covers:assigning duties to staff, establishing a budget, determining fees, negotiating contracts, providing insurance, crating and shipping, and much more. The book features sample documents, including contracts, RFPs, receipts, and loan agreements, and includes a bibliography. The second edition has up-to-date information on government Indemnity, terrorism insurance, digital condition reporting, and much more. Appropriate for staff of all types of museums, particularly those at small and midsize institutions, this title is a must for every museum bookshelf.

Museums have long sought to maintain relevance in the daily lives of their communities. Over the past several decades, museums have shifted, as a field, from a focus on collections to a focus on connecting with audiences. More recently, museums must confront political polarization and a decreasing sense of trust in nearly every public institution. As a result, few institutions are better positioned to serve the country than museums. In fact, polls show that museums rank among the most trusted institutions in the country, regardless of political belief. During tumultuous times, this trust means that museums have a unique and important responsibility to fulfill their civic mission.A century ago, John Cotton Dana argued that the most important thing a museum can do is “produce a public benefit.” The Civic Mission of Museums argues that museums play an essential role in the cultivation of engaged and informed citizens. The book outlines a spectrum of civic learning that includes: civic knowledge, civic mindset, civic skillset, and civic action. It offers concrete examples of impactful civic programming, exhibits, and public engagement from a diverse set of museums. It ends with a practical toolkit, gleaned from across the country, for museum professionals to utilize.

Museums have long sought to maintain relevance in the daily lives of their communities. Over the past several decades, museums have shifted, as a field, from a focus on collections to a focus on connecting with audiences. More recently, museums must confront political polarization and a decreasing sense of trust in nearly every public institution. As a result, few institutions are better positioned to serve the country than museums. In fact, polls show that museums rank among the most trusted institutions in the country, regardless of political belief. During tumultuous times, this trust means that museums have a unique and important responsibility to fulfill their civic mission.A century ago, John Cotton Dana argued that the most important thing a museum can do is “produce a public benefit.” The Civic Mission of Museums argues that museums play an essential role in the cultivation of engaged and informed citizens. The book outlines a spectrum of civic learning that includes: civic knowledge, civic mindset, civic skillset, and civic action. It offers concrete examples of impactful civic programming, exhibits, and public engagement from a diverse set of museums. It ends with a practical toolkit, gleaned from across the country, for museum professionals to utilize.

Museum diplomacy has come to new prominence in the contemporary moment. Museums have increasingly global agendas, advancing diverse international partnerships across the world. Moreover, they hold the potential to advance cross-cultural education and foster mutual understanding at a moment when we are beset by global challenges. Acknowledging the troubled histories of these institutions and their contested status, Museum Diplomacy: How Cultural Institutions Shape Global Engagement recognizes the pivotal contributions of museums’ global work, while also grappling with the significant issues, questions and possibilities that these activities raise. The collection features examinations of museum diplomacy by fifteen leading scholars and museum practitioners. These texts address global case studies that speak to museum practices related to objects, collections, and people, and charting foundational concepts and ideas. Taken as a whole, the book provides contemporary examples, grounded in historic context, along with provocations and explorations of best practices, providing points for reflection along with guidance for practitioners and scholars alike. Through these wide-ranging contributions, Museum Diplomacy also contributes a new understanding of cultural diplomacy that recognizes the vital diplomatic work of curators, museum administrators, and other museum professionals, as well as how these practitioners exert their own agency in ways that may or may not align with broader government and institutional agendas. Ultimately, Museum Diplomacy calls on the sector to rethink their perceptions of cultural diplomacy and embrace an expansive understanding of the diplomatic practitioner.

Museum diplomacy has come to new prominence in the contemporary moment. Museums have increasingly global agendas, advancing diverse international partnerships across the world. Moreover, they hold the potential to advance cross-cultural education and foster mutual understanding at a moment when we are beset by global challenges. Acknowledging the troubled histories of these institutions and their contested status, Museum Diplomacy: How Cultural Institutions Shape Global Engagement recognizes the pivotal contributions of museums’ global work, while also grappling with the significant issues, questions and possibilities that these activities raise. The collection features examinations of museum diplomacy by fifteen leading scholars and museum practitioners. These texts address global case studies that speak to museum practices related to objects, collections, and people, and charting foundational concepts and ideas. Taken as a whole, the book provides contemporary examples, grounded in historic context, along with provocations and explorations of best practices, providing points for reflection along with guidance for practitioners and scholars alike. Through these wide-ranging contributions, Museum Diplomacy also contributes a new understanding of cultural diplomacy that recognizes the vital diplomatic work of curators, museum administrators, and other museum professionals, as well as how these practitioners exert their own agency in ways that may or may not align with broader government and institutional agendas. Ultimately, Museum Diplomacy calls on the sector to rethink their perceptions of cultural diplomacy and embrace an expansive understanding of the diplomatic practitioner.