AAM’s Museum Magazine Receives Top Honor From Association Media & Publishing

Posted on Jul 5, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARLINGTON, VA – The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community, announced today that an issue of its magazine, Museum, released last year but written as if published in the year 2040, has received a 2018 Gold Excel Award (the highest honor for its category: Magazines: Single Topic Issue, 20,001 to 50,000 circulation) from Association Media & Publishing (AM&P).

Conceived to kick off the 10^th anniversary of the Center for the Future of Museums (CFM), the Museum 2040 issue of the magazine is filled with articles—and ads—based on a future scenario in which:

The US population is older and more diverse than it was in 2017, with a ratio of retired people to working-age people having climbed from 25 percent to 38 percent.
Economic stratification has continued to the point where the top 10 percent of families now hold 85 percent of the wealth in the United States, while the bottom 60 percent of families hold 1 percent of the wealth.
The number of private schools has grown significantly, and charter schools now serve 15 percent of the public school population (compared to 5 percent in 2014).
Immersive, multisensory virtual reality rigs are as affordable and common in 2040 as large-screen televisions were in 2017.
Impact philanthropy has become the dominant guiding principle of individual and foundation funding. Nonprofits are expected to provide concrete, measurable data showing how they have improved the environment, or people’s lives, to secure support.

Despite these changes in the country, the issue posits that museums continue to thrive and serve new roles in society.

“We’re excited that AM&P has recognized our risk-taking efforts with this issue,” said Elizabeth Merritt, vice president of strategic foresight and founding director of the Center for the Future of Museums. “By inviting museum leaders think about what the world could be like in 2040, we hope to inspire them to create a better future for their communities.”

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

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