An incredibly generous travel grant to visit and work in London, England is now available through the Sir John Soan Museum Foundation. The deadline to apply is March 1, so you have plenty of time to apply! Purpose The purpose of the Sir John Soane’s …
by columnist Tegan Kehoe Sometimes, you just need to get up on a soapbox for a moment to get something out of your system. I have some thoughts rolling around in my head that have been bothering me for … I don’t know how long …
Happy start to the second semester, all! This week’s featured story is an amazing new online resource for curators (and educators, and lay-folk) interested in both art and history. The V&A Museum will publish its Nazi index of Degenerate Art as a free online resource.
The V&A has the only copy of this list of some 20,000 works of art confiscated from German museums by the Nazi party between 1937 and 1938. It’s not only fascinating for those studying 20th century art or propaganda, it’s an important tool for resolving ongoing questions of provenance.
In other controversial news, the debate over MoMA’s plan to tear down the American Folk Art Museum building which has been described as both hideous and iconic continues. Hyperallergic offers a great summary of the ongoing conversation, for those looking to catch up!
Also this week: Continue reading Museums in the News
by columnist Tegan Kehoe You’ve met the rude tourists who come to Boston. Sure, there are good tourists, too, but every city has its own magnets for the bad. These tourists are the ones who think they’re clever by saying, “Pahk ya cah in Hahvahd …
In 2014, NEMA’s annual conference will be held here in Boston, Cambridge. Submit your proposal for a session by February 3 (one month from today!) The theme for this November is “Picture of Health: Museums, Wellness & Healthy Communities,” celebrating the role museums play in community …
by columnist Tegan Kehoe
I recently read an older article in The Journal of Museum Education, Partnerships: Hype and Reality (Amy Jared, Winter 1994), that had some thought-provoking things to say on museums engaging with their communities. The author pushed back on the idea that museums’ greatest challenge is to convince the public that they are no longer elitist temples of wisdom: “I would like to suggest that the museum’s greatest challenges is convincing not neighbors and audiences, but ourselves — museum professionals from all levels of management — that the elitist regalia have indeed been shed.” From reading the article, I believe she means that in two ways, convincing ourselves both that elitism is no longer appropriate in museums even on the occasions when it is tempting, and that certain patterns of behavior, such of ways of interacting with community “partners” are holdovers from a more elitist time and need to be shaken up.