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Center for the Future of Museums Blog
The Center for the Future of Museums Blog shares musings on the future of museums and society.
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Peering Over the Next Horizon of Museum Practice
Why is it so hard to make change?! Even when we (museum people) know that parts of our work are in urgent need of reform, progress can be glacially slow.
In fact, that’s natural. Humans …
Evidence of Things Not Seen
The current edition of TrendsWatch includes a “Short Take” on how our country and our sector are beginning to grapple with how to compensate descendant communities for historic harms. …
Take a Deep Dive into the Future of Museums this November
Have you registered for the Future of Museums Summit? Taking place from 1-5 pm ET November 1 and 2, this virtual conference will explore four themes from the current edition of TrendsWatch: …
Empowering Provenance Research in the Age of Big Data and (Re)Generative Artificial Intelligence
Six years ago, I started a project called ReMasterpieces that used some of the leading AI techniques of that time to recreate works of art that were stolen and subsequently lost or …
Investing for Impact in Every Way
I’ve been tracking the rise of impact investing for a decade. On this blog, guest posts such as those by Laura Callanan introduced the practice, documented how museums are adopting impact …
Say Cheese! A Candid Snapshot of the Museum Sector
Last month AAM released the results of our fifth “snapshot” survey of the field. These snapshots, which started as a means of checking in on museums and museum workers during COVID …
The Earnest Work of Dreaming: Chicanafuturism in Visual Art
Visions of the future created by and centering the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) are essential to our collective potential to transform the world as we …
How Museums Are Helping Americans Bridge Divides
This year’s TrendsWatch shared a few stories of museums working to bridge the partisan divide, but my research for the report left me wanting more. In today’s guest post, Kate Doak-Keszler, …
Call for Content! Repatriation, Restitution, and Reparative Practice
This year’s TrendsWatch report included a short piece about recent shifts in museum practice with regard to voluntary repatriation, restitution, and reparations. AAM’s Museum will delve …
Techno-skepticism: Rethinking the Costs and Benefits of Digital Technology
The night before my flight to Denver for #AAM2023, I went over my slides for the annual presentation on TrendsWatch. The talk was formatted around the chapters of the latest report (access …
At the Barnes Foundation, Internal Internships Support Frontline Staff
What can be even better than a museum making a successful hire? Keeping the experienced, well-trained staff it already has. The Alliance’s soon-to-be-released latest snapshot survey …
Supporting the Mental Health of Museum Staff
I’ve been in close communication with some of the museum directors using CFM resources—including TrendsWatch reports and the AAM Strategic Foresight Toolkit—to inform their planning and …