If you’re attending the AAM Virtual Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, you’ll probably engage with a few of the familiar faces below. These four individuals have chosen to serve as social media journalists (SMJs) for the virtual conference this year. Follow along on social media with the hashtags #AAMvirtual and #AAMSMJ and add your voice to the conversation.
Angela Gala
Follow Angela on Twitter and Instagram @imamusaller
Angela Gala is a museum professional from Italy. Passionate about the development of the world’s most precious museums and historical sites from a young age, she holds a B.S. in Economics and Management for Arts, Culture and Communication (CLEACC) from Bocconi University in Milan and a M.A. in Museum Studies from the University of San Francisco (USF). While living in California, Angela interned and worked at different museums in the areas of Visitor Services & Education Programs. She relocated to Paris in May 2017, where she founded Musalley and the @imamusaller movement shortly thereafter. Today, Angela lives in Rome, where she spends her time blogging and doing research.
You were given the option to remain an SMJ for the virtual meeting or to transfer your status until next year, why did you feel serving for the virtual conference was important?
“I decided to serve for #AAMvirtual because I felt the urge to hear (and share) what was being said museum-wise during these difficult times. Being online is one of the main ways, if not the only way, to stay connected and feel less alone; therefore, I wanted to fully support AAM’s decision to go virtual and, needless to say, I’m looking forward to all the museum conversations and bright highlights of #AAMvirtual!”
Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell
Follow Kayleigh on Twitter @KayleighBinDC
Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell is a Washington, D.C. native and cultural planner with over 10 years of museum and gallery experience at the intersections of social justice practice. As Head of Public Programs with Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery she is responsible for an extensive calendar of programs across two museums, leading new outreach and inclusion initiatives towards developing new audiences and cultivating public engagement. In the wake of Covid-19 she leads an internal taskforce towards reopening strategies. In 2020 she serves as a juror in selecting the 2020-2022 Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship Program. In 2017 she developed the first-ever college curriculum for African American Art History and the History of Art Activism for Trinity Washington University. She serves on the Board of Washington Project for the Arts, and on the Artist Selection Committee of Halcyon Arts Lab and VisArts in Rockville, MD. Additionally she participates in the Museum As Site for Social Action and Empathetic Museum movements. She received her Bachelor of Art in Art History from the University of Maryland, College Park and Master of Art in Museum Studies from George Washington University.
You were given the option to remain an SMJ for the virtual meeting or to transfer your status until next year, why did you feel serving for the virtual conference was important?
“I felt serving as an SMJ for the virtual conference was important because now more than ever we have an opportunity and an urgency to rethink the work that we do in museums, and I want to help connect peers to new ideas, questions, challenges, and calls to action, as we work to move our field forward towards equity and inclusion.”
Sean Blinn
Follow Sean on Twitter @the_museum_guy and on Instagram @themuseumguy
Sean Blinn is an independent museum professional based in New Jersey, with a practice focused on evaluation, government relations, and communication (including social media). His primary background is with historic house museums, where he uses stories of the past to help visitors understand the present. He enjoys showing how life has changed over time, including the social effects of technological change. He works to ensure that voices historically left out of narratives are represented in museums’ narratives.
You were given the option to remain an SMJ for the virtual meeting or to transfer your status until next year, why did you feel serving for the virtual conference was important?
“With people around the world unable to travel, and with financial considerations preventing people from attending even a virtual conference, I felt it was essential to use social media to bring the conference to as wide an audience as possible, and to amplify and broaden communication all around.”
Seema Rao
Follow Seema on Twitter and Instagram @artlust, and on Facebook at brilliantideastudio
Seema Rao is the principal for Brilliant Idea Studio. Seema has worked in museums for nearly 20 years at the interstices of visitor experience, education, and technology. She heads Brilliant Idea Studio, a firm that helps museums develop the best experiences for their visitors. Additionally, she employs her drawing and teaching skills to develop books that blend meaning-making, creativity, and visual appeal. Her third book, Self-Care for Museum Workers, was released in November 2017.
Comments