by columnist Madeline Karp There is a trend here in Philadelphia that I think you should know about. It’s called “Boy-lesque” and it combines burlesque dancing – an artistically-minded nude show – with boys. You could call it male stripping…but that’s not exactly accurate. It’s …
by columnist Madeline Karp About this time last year, I attended a NEMA conference session entitled “Spectacle or Motivator? Violent Content in Exhibitions.” Amy Weisser, Director of Exhibit Development at the National September 11th Memorial and Museum, spent a good deal of time talking about …
by columnist Madeline Karp
You may have read this week that CNN Travel’s senior producer James Durston hates museums.
If, like me, you work in a museum, Durston’s opinion piece may have really grilled your cheese. I’ll be the first to admit, I had steam coming out of my ears. But before you sharpen your pitchforks and light up the torches to chase him out of town, I encourage you to stop, take a breath, and consider this:
Durston’s article is the Miley Cyrus VMA performance of museum criticism – it is so over the top and so clearly baiting us to react that it deserves to be met with the most minimal reaction possible.
So rather than a ranting response, I suggest we take a calm and critical look at Durston’s complaints. Let’s start a conversation about how we can fix the legitimate problems he brings up, and clear up the misconceptions he’s trying to perpetuate. Continue reading Dispatches from the Mid-Atlantic: Special Edition – Why I Don’t Hate James Durston
by columnist Madeline Karp My family and I saw Lee Daniel’s The Butler last weekend. It sparked a family conversation about change over time. The main question: Can individuals – and then, by association, institutions – change? And what does it really take to implement …
by columnist Madeline Karp I have never had the desire to design exhibits, write labels or work in conservation. When it comes to museums, I am Team Education, Outreach and Interpretation through and through. But I still want exhibits to be well executed. It makes …
by columnist Madeline Karp
I think I might be desensitized to extra disgusting things. I regularly see kids eating things they definitely shouldn’t eat. I’ve seen lots and lots of blood spurting from noses and foreheads and knees after tumbles down stairs. I get sneezed on, and coughed on, and just this week a toddler wiped her wet thumb – fresh from a good thirty minutes of sucking – right down my neck.
Maybe it’s part of working at a children’s museum. Continue reading Dispatches from the Mid-Atlantic: I’ve Got a Bone to Pick