Current Events: Tweeters for #AAM2012 and an Open Invitation

Things have certainly been busy in the virtual (and real) world as many of us prepare for the AAM conference. In case it’s starting to wear you out, you’ll probably be glad to know this will be our last post on the topic until next Tuesday when I attempt to live-blog a full day of events (wish me luck!). Tomorrow we’ll be back to some of our more regular programming with another “Museum Moonlighters” profile. In the meantime, there are two more things I’d like to bring to people’s attention or at least touch on briefly.

Twitter at #AAM2012

The first of those is a short list of who to follow on twitter during the AAM conference. We’ve already recommended that EMPs hop on twitter to keep in touch with one another and other attendees about events and interesting tidbits they’ve learned, and now we’d like to share a few of our favorite people to follow over the next week. This can also be good for those of you who can’t make it and can’t afford the virtual registration cost ($119 for the full conference for AAM members), as a means of keeping up with the conversations that are taking place in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Remember to look for the tags #AAM2012 and #aamEMPs. Also, many thanks to Adrianne Russel from over at Cabinet of Curiosities for helping compile this list!

• Speaking of which, we definitely recommend that you follow Adrianne herself!
• Having told others to keep up on twitter, I realized I tweeted for Bay Area EMP last year, and needed an account of my own! You can find me over at CaitlinEMP.
• If you liked Kate’s post Tuesday about conference wardrobes, you can follow her at KLBMacIntosh.
• Of course (like BAEMP) we love all our EMP regional groups on twitter! Check out Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Washington DC, and Philly.
• National groups like AAM, the Center for the Future of Museums, NEMA, and IMLS.
• There’s a huge list of wonderful individuals that are passionate about museums, and have been working tirelessly for months or years to bring people more information about them through social media. Not all of them will be at the AAM meeting, but we wanted to raise awareness about them anyway. You may want to peek at a few examples to see who matches your interests. Our recommendations include Museums365, Janet Carding, Colleen Dilen, Sarah St. Scrimshaw, ExposYourMuseum (one of the top tweeters at last year’s conference), Sluggernova, Guzel DuChateau (our fabulous EMP advisor at AAM!), Linda Norris, Unmuseum, Sarah Banks, Paige Dansinger, Nina Simon, and Liz Neely.

If you know of any other great people on twitter (or are a great person on twitter) that will be at AAM, be sure to let us know in the comments!

 

Open Invitation to Chat About the EMP Blog!

I mentioned last week that I would be available at the AAM Showcase in the Museum Expo during the Open Hour on Tuesday from 3:30-5:00. I wanted to reiterate that I’d be delighted if some of you stopped by to chat. I’ll be around to talk about how you can contribute to the EMP Blog, topics you’d like to see in the future, if you think we need to take more risks with topics (I usually think this, so I’d love to know if you do too!), or if you’d just like to find out more about the EMP movement in general. There’s no competing sessions during this time, so it’s the perfect moment to come down and say hello. I hope some of you will join me!

If you aren’t able to make it, or won’t be at AAM, I always welcome your ideas in the comments or by e-mail at emuse.blog@gmail.com.  Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back again tomorrow!

Current Events: Where to find EMPs at the AAM Conference

Navigating the AAM conference can be a daunting task. At any given minute you usually have to choose between 5-10 different things to do, and if you don’t know many other people in attendance it can be a very isolating experience. Today I want to talk about where you can find other EMPs at the AAM conference, and some of the members of the EMP Advisory Council (EMPAC). This will be my third AAM conference, and my second as a member of EMPAC, and I can say with confidence that these sorts of connections can make the 4-day conference a much more cheerful,  fulfilling experience. We’re more than happy to connect and help orient other EMPs, and so we’re providing a list of a few of the places you can find EMPAC (and EMPs in general) during AAM 2012 -

1. On Twitter: I mention this one first because it’ll quickly become the easiest way to find many of us during the conference. Several of us were prolific tweeters at last year’s conference, announcing what sessions we were at, evening events, and even where we were meeting once sessions were done (dinner, drinks, etc). Our two most common hashtags will be #aamemp and #aam2012.
2. “Navigating the annual meeting for first-timers”: This Sunday morning session (from 11:45am-12:30pm) is  the perfect time to get oriented to the conference if you’ve never been, and to meet a few friendly faces that can help support you throughout the event.
3. The AAM Opening Party: Pre-registration was required for this event at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, but I know several of us will be there. It may be a little hard to find us, given how big this event is. But if you’re interested in connecting and hanging out (or dancing!) twitter will be the best way to get in touch with other EMPs.
4. The Skills Lab: It would be impossible to list all the events taking place in the Skills Lab, but a quick scan through the program showed sessions on budgeting, resume writing, project management, public speaking, personal branding, decision making, communicating with your board of directors. The sessions are highlighted by bright blue “Skills Lab” labels in the program. It’s likely that these sessions will have high numbers of EMPs in attendance, and you’re likely to be sitting with people you don’t know. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself and start a conversation!
5. The Museum Expo: The AAM showcase usually includes a booth for Emerging Museum Professionals, and members of EMPAC have previously staffed it to talk to other EMPs and those interested in starting their own EMP group (also see the Dine and Dialogue description below). I know I’ll be there for a few hours on Monday, and I welcome anyone who’d like more information about contributing to the blog to join me during the Open Hour on Tuesday from 3:30-5:00. There’s also the new Expo “Happy Hour” on Tuesday at 5pm, which should be fun! We’ll be sure to make an additional announcement when other EMPAC members know when they’ll be available in the Expo.
6. The EMP Event: Another event that required pre-registration, it may still be possible to get tickets through the “Exchange Booth” outside the MuseumExpo. This year it’s being hosted at the Guthrie Theater overlooking the Mississippi River falls, on Monday night from 6-8pm. Bus transportation is provided from the convention center, leaving at 6:15.
7. After the EMP Event: Had a conflicting event, or couldn’t get a ticket for the official EMP one? Never fear! The EMP event ends at 8pm, but that’s not when the networking stops. Last year we went out for dinner and drinks at a nearby restaurant, and we’ll do that again this year as well. Follow us on twitter for details, and we’ll use the #aamemp and #aam2012 hashtag simultaneously to announce where we’re heading.
8. Meet and Greet Signings: On Tuesday from 1-2pm, Greg Stevens (Assistant Director of Professional Development at AAM) and Wendy Luke (The HR Sage), along with other contributing authors, will be signing copies of their new book “A Life in Museums: Managing Your Museum Career.” This is an exciting publication with strong applications in the EMP community, and we invite all of you to join us in checking out the book and meeting the authors and editors!
9. Tuesday Night Dine and Dialogue (6:30-9:30 pm): “Starting an EMP Group in Your Area” is a new offering we’re trying, in response to how many people ask us how to start EMP groups. This informal dinner conversation will focus on the growing momentum for AAM Emerging Museum Professional (EMP) groups to develop in cities across the country. Come explore what it takes to start a group and learn from EMPs who have taken the plunge! Visit the Restaurant Reservations Desk at the Minneapolis Saint Paul Hospitality Lounge in the Minneapolis Convention Center to sign up and get dinner locations and directions.

If there are any other EMP events you can think of, please be sure to leave us a comment. Otherwise, we’re hoping to see many of you in Minneapolis!

Current Events: Gearing up for AAM – A Panelist’s Perspective

We have a special bonus post today, as we continue to gear up for the AAM conference. This submission comes from Laura Hoffman, one of the co-Vice Chairs of the DC EMP group, in charge of planning the group’s events. Laura currently works as at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, as the Web Project Coordinator. This past July she graduated from The George Washington University with a M.A.T. in Museum Education, and also has a B.A. in Art from Connecticut College. In addition to her work, she serves as a member of Education Innovators at Smithsonian Institution’s EdLab, which is a cohort of educators and museum professionals working together to identify best practices for the use of new media in museums and other learning environments. Today she brings us a post about her preparations for making a presentation at the conference in two weeks, something we always love to see an EMP involved in!

At last year’s AAM conference, I found most all sessions were led and attended by mid or upper-level museum professionals. I remember speaking with other EMPs and fellow graduate school classmates, and although we found these sessions insightful and interesting, there weren’t many sessions targeted for EMPs.

After the conference, two former classmates and a close creative community of mine, Amy Homma and Emily Kotecki, discussed the possibility of leading our own session. As recent graduates of the Museum Education Program at The George Washington University, we wanted to share our experiences as EMPs who successfully landed jobs after graduating, as well as provide a forum for other emerging museum professionals to problem solve and connect. In our brainstorming, we kept coming back to how our open attitudes in embracing technology (even when we were not completely comfortable with the particular technology at hand) helped us move forward in our budding careers.

Take Amy, for instance: As an ARTLAB+ Mentor at Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., she creates innovative programming for teens using technology. ARTLAB+ provides state-of-the-art visual and audio technology—including a recording booth, green screen, DSLR cameras, image editing software, and animation program —all of which Amy has learned throughout the year.

Emily, on the other hand, had the greatest working knowledge of technology before starting her job as Associate Coordinator of Teen and College Programs at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC. Previously working as a multimedia producer at The Washington Post, maintaining an active food blog, and being an avid Tweeter, Emily is very comfortable jumping into new technologies. She has transferred these skills to working with distance learning technology in developing curriculum for high school students.

Unlike Emily, I always considered myself a technophobe before landing my current job as the Web Project Coordinator at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Though I was originally hired to handle the organization of the website’s redesign, when our Digital Media Manager left, I quickly learned that someone would need to fill that role as well in the interim. While in this position, I have immersed myself into the local tech scene and taken over all responsibilities as the web administrator. I am pleased to report that the website just launched earlier this April, and we are very happy with the result: www.nmwa.org!

Lastly, I asked Susan Diachisin, The Kelli & Allen Questrom Director of the Center for Creative Connections at the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, TX, to be our session chair. As my first museum mentor, Susan showed me firsthand the possibilities of introducing technologies in educational, interactive spaces when I interned for her at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, MA. Since her arrival at the Dallas Museum of Art, she has expanded the different interactive technologies and remained a mentor for me throughout the years.

I hope you will join us for our session on Sunday, April 29, at 4:15. We will share what we have learned as well as open up the room for intimate, small group discussion to create our own creative communities.

Current Events: Museums and Money

This post was contributed by EMP Denver president Jillian Allison, coordinator of education and programs, Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys.

As I was beginning graduate school, naively planning my career and signing up for classes, I distinctly remember thinking, “Fundraising? Hmmm, only because it is required. Grant writing? No thank you. I won’t be dealing with the money side of things.”

Little did I know that there really is no distinct “money side of things.” The fact that a course in fundraising was required for graduation should have been my first clue but the power of denial is pretty strong. Grants, galas, budgets, earned income and funders are all integral parts of everyday life in a museum, we just don’t always talk about them. If we did, I might have realized sooner that “development” is not as scary as it sounds.

With the current state of the economy, Occupy Wall Street and upcoming elections, conversations about money have become more a part of everyday dialogue in almost all settings, and museums are no exception. In September The New York Times opened up a great debate about the MOMA raising its suggested admission rate from $20 to $25. Over the past several months Nina Simon has written often about museums and money. She covered inequity in arts funding, fundraising as relationship building and the tough financial decisions she has made since becoming the director of The Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz. I’ve seen more articles than I would like to count on the impact of cuts to classroom budgets and their impact on field trips to museums.

All of these articles are food for thought; however there has been one article about museums and money that has got my wheels turning more than any other. There are some limits to our openness about museums and money. In an article on ArtInfo.com about the recent cancellation of the street art exhibition “Art in the Streets” by the Brooklyn Museum due to a budget short fall, the museum spokesperson Sally Williams is quoted as saying “We never, never talk about how much a show would cost.”

Since reading this article in June, that sentence has been swimming around in my head. While I know there are many reasons to not publicly discuss some aspects of finances, particularly when collections are involved, I just keep wondering how, when, and with whom, should we talk about how much it costs to run a museum, and in what detail. When can openness about museums and money work in our favor?

As I often do, when I have a questions like these, I turned to AAM for some guidance. As it turns out, just like everyone else, AAM is talking about museums and money. Through the Museum Benchmarking Online system, AAM is collecting information, including financial information, about the museum field as a whole and allowing museums to compare themselves to the national picture. While it does take time for museums to submit their data, the information will become a powerful tool for individual museums and for museum advocacy.

While rules for talking about museums and money are not always clear cut, it seems like museums and the museum field can be strengthened through these conversations.

Join us next week to learn more about how you can contribute (yes, even as an EMP!) to the financial success of museums as we conduct our Fundraising 101 Blogshop.

Bringing Blogging Back

During the last AAM annual meeting in Houston, I asked our EMP advisor Guzel if I could rejuvenate the blog, and make it a forum for EMPs to share knowledge and discuss current events. She gave me a resounding yes, and I set to work on several proposals for how the blog could fill a need for EMPs across the country. After a few months of working with the national EMP Advisory Council on the format and scheduling, we’re finally ready to re-launch the blog.

The idea that stuck was to make the blog a place that was by EMPs, for EMPs. For the contributors (and we welcome all of you to become contributors), it’s a place to present ideas, practice writing, or shed light on an issue that you’re passionate about. For the readers, hopefully they will be inspired and enlightened.

Our new blog theme is “Shared Knowledge,” and we hope that eventually this blog will become a repository of information for anyone hoping to learn more about the museum field. But we also want it to be relevant, engaging, and thought-provoking here and now, and as such we’ve developed five categories that our posts will revolve around:

1. Career Paths: one of the things on every EMPs mind. We’ll discuss the career paths for directors, exhibit designers, curators, educators, and many more.
2. Professional Development: this category will include networking tips, the difference between a resume and a c.v., cover letter advice, etc.
3. Curatorial Corner: What’s a museum without content? This is where you can let everyone know about the amazing topics you’ve been researching in the fields of art, history, science, anthropology, and more.
4. EMP blogshops: The intention of this category is to have small activities that you can do from your computer, that either teach you about a new topic or reinforce previous knowledge. Our first, upcoming blogshop? Twitter!
5. Current Events: this category is what it sounds like – discussion/debates about current events in the field. Examples may include the future of technology in museums education, issues in repatriation, disaster responses, etc.

To start, the blog will be updated on Tuesdays and Friday, with posts rotating between these categories. We’ll also be evaluating our progress in a few weeks so that you can let us know how we’re doing.

Already have questions? Topic suggestions? Want to get on board? Feel free to leave us a comment here on the blog, or get in touch with me, Caitlin, by e-mail. We’re happy for any and all feedback in these beginning stages.

Thanks, and happy reading!

 

Caitlin Lill

EMP Blog Administrator