6:30 a.m.– 7:00 a.m.
Morning Walk
Join NEMA Executive Director (and Chief Walking Officer) Dan Yaeger for an energizing wake-up walk around Springfield.
8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Registration Open
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Welcome Coffee and Baked Goods
9:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Off-site Sessions
Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited. Fee of $10 includes transportation.
Springfield Museums
The Art of Interpretive Writing
Back by popular demand, this session is an interactive exhibition of the tenets of interpretive writing as they apply to all museum situations. You will be shown examples of clear, dynamic, and concise texts that relate to visitors, examples that reveal meanings of the resource and provoke readers to care. You will be challenged to write about a museum artifact and thereby hone your ability to deliver a powerful interpretive message using precise, energetic language.
Chair: Alan Leftridge, Writing Consultant, MT
The WOW Factor: New Methods in Using Digital Photography and Graphic Design in Exhibit Displays Museums exist in a world flooded with visual media. How can curators compete, especially in history museums, when most images are in black and white? In order to engage the visually saturated viewer we need colorful, exciting displays. Yet we often feel that resources limit our ability to create this WOW effect. In this session, presented by experienced exhibit installers and a professional graphic designer, you will explore new methods of creating dynamic visual displays using digital technology and design.
Chair: Guy McLain, Director of History Museums, Springfield Museums, MA
9:00 a.m. – 12:15 am.
Double Session
Moving Beyond the Narrative: Historical Thinking at Historic Sites
In 2009, Boston’s Old North Church launched two innovative educational programs based on the pedagogy of Historical Thinking that raise provocative questions about what history is, how we construct it, who gets to have a say, and why. Using these programs as a jumping-off point, you will learn how Historical Thinking prepares students and visitors to critically approach museums and historic sites. You will leave with ideas and strategies for integrating this interpretive approach at your own sites/museum, regardless of budget or technological limitations.
Co-Chairs: Christine Baron, Principal, Baron Education Consulting, MA; and Elisabeth Nevins, Principal, Seed Education Consulting, MA
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Can Museums be Activists?
Some museums embrace social issues and endeavor to change attitudes and behaviors. Zoos and aquariums advocate for conservation, children’s museums for the value of unstructured play, and science museums on climate change. With a few notable exceptions, art and history museums have been slower to embrace this role. Why? This session will explore how and why organizations have been successful and will invite participants to help us develop some strategies for widening your museum’s roles as activist.
Chair: Laura Roberts, Principal, Roberts Consulting, MA
Collection Information Management Systems
Are you responsible for the management of a library or archives collection? Is your collection management system out-of-date or not serving your needs? In this session, we will be discussing and comparing collection management systems that work for both library/archival materials and objects, featuring presentations by archivists and librarians who use them. We will focus on the good and bad points of the systems, and how to determine whether or not any of these tools are the correct choice for your collection.
Chair: Jane A. Callahan, Assistant Archivist, Wellesley College Archives, Margaret Clapp Library, MA
For the Future Good of Museums: Why Curators, Scholars, Educators, Designers, and other Museum Professionals Must Give Up the Library and Become Museum Directors
Will you become (or hire) a museum director? What training does a museum professional need in management/fundraising/finances to become a successful director? Which jobs are stepping-stones or skill-set expanders? What do curators, educators, and others gain by becoming directors? This session examines how trustees can identify and recruit candidates from within the profession, whether boards should accept a learning curve, and when boards should risk hiring a successful insider who has never been a director.
Chair: Marilyn Hoffman, Principal, Museum Search & Reference, NH
“fun 2 be done” Youth-Generated Scavenger Hunts
Young adults have grown a new appendage—their cell phones! To better serve this segment of the population, museums can use technology developed by the Boston-based company, SCVNGR, to build interactive scavenger hunts delivered by way of texting. We can even engage young people in creating the games. This discussion will share insights gained by a SCVNGR project involving students, exploring ways you might apply this technology to your collection, programming, and youth outreach.
Chair: Marilyn McArthur, Community Partnership Consultant, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, MA
The Museum That’s Not: Celebration of Culture, Diversity, and Community
A case study of Museum L-A in Lewiston, Maine. Museum L-A is currently in the planning process of developing a new facility; this session will focus on the unique planning and partnering process for the new museum as well as keys to a successful museum development process. The session will also include examples of Museum L-A’s unique outreach programs that target its diverse ethnic and cultural communities.
Chair: Elena Kazlas, Principal, ConsultEcon, Inc., MA
Working with Boards
A board of directors/trustees is an important component of the effective management of a museum. Boards have many responsibilities, including governance, finance, community relations, and developing a strong working relationship with the executive director. This session will explore the role of the board and discuss the relationship between the board and the museum director. By the end of the session, you will have a better understanding of the role that boards play and how to work well with your own board. Panelists will include museum directors and board members.
Chair: Katherine Burton Jones, Director of Development, Museum of African American History, MA
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Balancing the Budget and Making Hard Choices
Confronted with programs that advance the museum’s goals and serve important audiences, but lose money, how does a museum manager think about which programs should continue and which should be cut? Are there other options? Who should be part of the discussion – funders, board members, civic leaders, program participants? Read a short case (available to download here, the conference registration desk, or at the session) and come ready to address the problem. No calculators or pencils required!
Chair: Laura Roberts, Principal, Roberts Consulting, MA
Collections, Curating, and Community: Museum Practice in the Classroom
–and why? How can these inquiries increase awareness of and access to cultural resources while advancing cross-disciplinary classroom studies? This workshop, discussion, and presentation by museum educators and classroom teachers will demonstrate how museums can work with groups of all ages to explore curatorial and museum practice in education and promote the use of varied cultural institutions.
Chair: Julie Bernson, Director of Education, Addison Gallery of American Art, MA
It’s More than Just Social Studies: Interdisciplinary Activities for Small Museums
What should we offer to get teachers to visit our site with their classes? Many school districts today ask their teachers to focus on math or language arts education and social studies is often left out. This session will examine how museums can introduce innovative methods of incorporating social studies into their educational programs. By combining multiple curricular pursuits, teachers can justify field trips to their administrators in new ways. This session will highlight a variety of lessons and will set aside time for you to brainstorm how you can make your programs more interdisciplinary. Case studies will include a discussion of “Simple Machines” at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.
Chair: Rebecca Zimmerman, Museum Educator, Connecting Essex LINCs (Teaching American History Grant), MA
Lions and Lambs: Strategic Alliances
Museums often use strategic alliances to strengthen their organizations. Strategic alliances can take many forms and can work for museums and historic sites of all sizes. How does a museum identify strategic partners? Is there important information to know about maintaining an alliance? Two seasoned directors will review their own experiences, the successes as well as the failures, and how they ensure that the benefits gained by alliances justify the investment of time.
Co-Chairs: Susan Robertson, Executive Director, Gore Place, MA; Mark Thompson, Regional Director, Southern Maine, Maine Maritime Museum
We Just Don’t Have the Money! – Best Practices for Improving Security and Protecting Visitors, Staff and Collections With Reduced Staff and Budgets
The story is the same across the country. Budget cuts, reduced staff, hiring freezes, and yet the duty to protect has not gone away. In fact, it has been elevated because of heightened fears and escalated threats to public safety. So how does the astute administrator balance the need to provide a safe environment with a lack of funds and personnel? This session walks you through reasonable, practical, cost-effective steps to improve your institution’s protection, make better spending decisions, and meet the demands of our ever-changing national environment. You will learn how to develop a realistic protection plan based on available staff and budget. Emergency response planning is included.
Chair: Austin Sharpe, Director of Security, Addison Gallery of American Art, MA
What You Need to Tell Your Architect
A truly successful museum building project furthers the institution’s mission and goals. It is vitally important that an institution develop a clear, compelling strategy for the project and share it with the design team at the outset. The more thought invested in articulating objectives and strategy, as well as the traditional listing of the activities, spaces, and technology to be accommodated, the more likely the design team will be able to satisfy you. This session will discuss the specifics of the information to be shared, how it can be communicated effectively, and how it can be used as a check list during the design process to ensure that the museum will take possession of a building that meets all of its expectations. The perspectives of a museum administrator, museum strategic planner, and an architect will be woven together to give a complete picture of the process. The final third of the session will be devoted to your questions about specific projects.
Chair: Arch Horst, President, Black River Architects, MA
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Opening Lunch
It’s all about the networking! Meet up with colleagues, reconnect, and have fun strengthening your ties to this talented, generous, and committed museum community that we know as the NEMA Family!
12:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Director and Trustee Luncheon Program
Cultural, Educational, Social, and Business Entrepreneurs: Cut from the Same Cloth, Seeking Different Outcomes
“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity,“ wrote management guru Peter Drucker. This definition captures the essence of entrepreneurship as it applies to business, social, cultural, and educational entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship has become an increasingly “must have” attribute for museum trustees, leaders, and professionals in the 21st century. At this year’s Director and Trustee Luncheon, come learn more about what it takes to for entrepreneurial success in a museum environment. Explore the traits and techniques of innovative businesses, and learn the skills of social and cultural entrepreneurs. Plus, we’ll have time for you to share your own entrepreneurial challenges and success stories with your colleagues.
Our presenters are Dorothy Chen-Courtin, a noted cultural entrepreneur who founded her nonprofit consultancy, and her husband, Patrick Courtin, a business entrepreneur in high tech industry.
Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited.
Hosted by
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Career Conversation Center – Joseph Carvalho III
Join Joseph Carvalho, former President and Executive Director of the Springfield Museums Association, for a look at his distinguished, 35-year museum career, and a discussion of working in the museum field. Joe earned his B.A. in History from Westfield State College and his M.L.S. from the University of Rhode Island. Much of his work life focused on the Springfield Libraries and Museums. He also was the Director of the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum for many years. Joe is the recipient of the National Award for Advancing Genealogical Research Publications and served on the board of Mass Humanities. He now serves as the Governor’s appointee to the Board of Trustees for Westfield State College.
1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Connexiones: Building Bridges to Latino Museum Audiences
The 2010 Census promises to paint a fresh picture of New England’s shifting demographics. How are our institutions responding to the challenge of attracting newcomers and building relevance among emerging audiences? Hear about how Old Sturbridge Village and other museums created the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs to serve and build a sense of relevance for Latino audiences. Discuss your museum’s relevance and get advice on taking the first steps to build connections with this important audience.
Chair: Shawn Parker, Independent Museum Professional, RI
Direct Mail That Drives Online Renewals and Gifts
This session will review and share direct mail acquisition, renewal, and additional giving campaigns that feature strategies and creative techniques that encourage online responses. Direct mail campaign samples, plus dedicated online giving web sites, will be featured from a variety of non-profit organizations including higher education, arts and culture, healthcare, and public broadcasting.
Chair: David W. Hazeltine, V.P., Fundraising, DMW Direct / Fundraising, MA
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: The Changing Role of Curators in Smaller Museums
A troubled economy has forced museums to restrict curatorial initiatives or even lay off staff, but programming needs have never been greater. Museums still require exhibitions and a growing number of independent curators seek venues for great ideas. This panel will explore both the challenges and opportunities imposed by our recent financial crisis — and suggest possibilities for creative collaboration.
Chair: Katherine French, Director, Danforth Museum of Art, MA
Here Comes the Civil War Sesquicentennial: Will Your Museum Be Ready?
How will we mark this anniversary? Can we tap into American fascination with the Civil War while moving visitors beyond the superficial? Can we cut through the haze of romance and explore difficult themes? This session will present several projects that are already being planned and will give you the opportunity to brainstorm and to plan collaborations. Bring your ideas and your trepidations, and expect to leave with specific ideas for exhibits, programs, and collaborations.
Chair: Carrie Brown, Historian and Independent Curator, NH
Making the Best Use of New Technologies
Many New England museums are using social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. But are we integrating them efficiently into our operations? Where do they fit into collection management practices? How can we best use social media in our fundraising, membership, and marketing? Incorporating the recent NEMA survey on the Use of Social Media, this session looks beyond the basics and investigates how social media impacts capacity, staffing, and keeping up with the latest changes.
Chair: Katherine Burton Jones, Director of Development, Museum of African American History, MA
Tall to Venti: An Overview of Organizing Traveling Exhibitions
A diverse interdepartmental panel will present a “nail to nail” session on the varied approaches of organizing a traveling exhibition. You’ll learn about exhibition contracts, facilities reports, checklists, insurance, condition report books, crating and transport, and the costs and benefits associated with traveling an exhibition. Sample documentation will be provided.
Chair: Heidi O’Neill, Exhibition/Collections Manager & Registrar, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, MA
3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Snack Break
Hosted by Creation Station
3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Keynote Session
Welcome from Gail Nessell Colglazier, President, New England Museum Association
An Interview with AAM President Ford Bell
To kick off our keynote session, American Association of Museums President Ford Bell will share breaking news, issues, and national perspectives within the museum community. NEMA Executive Director Dan Yaeger will moderate an interactive interview during which Ford will answer your questions.
Keynote Speaker
Carlo Rotella, Author, Journalist, American Studies Scholar
“The Hook for the Resell” Creative Individuals, Cultural Institutions, and the Postindustrial City
Like never before, museums are forced to justify their existence to funders, politicians, and even their own communities. Are we still relevant? Or are we just taking up space that could be better used for a sporting arena, shopping mall, casino, or other diversion competing for the attention of our common culture? At the same time, as America’s (and especially New England’s) traditional manufacturing centers leave their industrial past behind, cultural economic development that uses art, history, and regional identity as a foundation for broader profit and growth has become an important idea. Join us for a truly unique NEMA keynote address as Carlo Rotella surveys the current cultural landscape and helps us determine how museums are faring in today’s social dynamic. Using gritty stories of the Rust Belt and creative types such as blues singers, artists, and boxers, Professor Rotella will put the museum into sharp perspective as it relates to a changing scene. Get ready for a provocative and energetic presentation!
Dr. Carlo Rotella is Director of the American Studies Program, Professor of English, and Director of the Lowell Humanities Series at Boston College. He has held Guggenheim, Howard, and Du Bois fellowships and received the Whiting Writers Award, the L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award, and The American Scholar's prizes for Best Essay and Best Work by a Younger Writer. He writes regularly for the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, and Slate, and he is a regular columnist for the Boston Globe and commentator for WGBH FM. He is the author of Cut Time: An Education at the Fights, Good With Their Hands, and October Cities, and his work has also appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The American Scholar, Raritan, the Chicago Tribune, Transition, DoubleTake, Boston, The Believer, TriQuarterly, Critical Inquiry, American Quarterly, and The Best American Essays. He is an editor of the "Chicago Visions and Revisions" series published by the University of Chicago Press.
Hosted by
5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Newcomers Reception
New to the museum field? First NEMA conference? Just moved to New England? Get the lay of the land at this laid-back gathering. Sip some wine with NEMA staff and board members. Swap business cards with emerging museum professionals and other newcomers like yourself. Get an inside look at the New England museum community and how you can plug in.
Registration is limited, so make sure you sign up on the conference registration form.
Hosted by
Tufts University Museum Studies Program
Wednesday Evening Events
And to Think That You Saw It at the Springfield Museums
6:15 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.
“Oh the things you can find if you don’t stay behind.” Theodore Geisel — aka Dr. Seuss –– could have been describing the Progressive Dinner at the Springfield Museums when he wrote these words. Join us for a celebratory evening and find many wonderful things at our unique complex of art, history, and science museums located along with the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden on a central green in downtown Springfield. You’ll be greeted by the Seuss Singers, a group of students from the Springfield schools who will welcome you to Dr. Seuss’s hometown with a lively musical tribute to the city’s beloved native son.
Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres while viewing Springfield-built Rolls Royce automobiles, an extensive collection of Indian Motorcycles, and other industrial innovations in the recently-opened Wood Museum of Springfield History. Explore the Planetarium and then dine among the historic dioramas, live animal displays and dinosaur exhibits in the Science Museum. After dinner, you’ll savor delicious desserts in the Victorian atmosphere of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum. Built in 1895, the museum was designed by Renwick, Aspinwall and Renwick to resemble an Italian palazzo; it features Tiffany stained glass windows, Chinese cloisonné, 19th century American paintings, a gallery of plaster casts, and Japanese arms and armor. Throughout the evening you’ll be treated to a delectable array of Seussian fare, including “Pink Ink for the Yink” cocktails, “Cat-in-the-Hat” snacks, “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” appetizers, and Silly Seussian Sweets. Museum staff and trustees will be on hand to provide you with information about the museums’ collections, exhibitions, and programs.
Museum Director and Trustee Dinner
After enjoying the cocktail reception in the Wood Museum of Springfield History, directors and trustees will walk across the museum grounds to the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts for dinner. A beautiful example of Art Deco architecture, the museum opened in 1934, and reflects the elegance and restraint of the period. G uests will dine in the museum’s beautifully installed galleries of European and American art, which include works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent, and John Singleton Copley. Following dinner, directors and trustees will rejoin the NEMA party with the assortment of confections and desserts served in the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum.
Hosted by
And to Think That You Saw It at the Springfield Museums
Welcome Dinner at Springfield Museums, $50
Museum Director and Trustee Dinner at Springfield Museums, $55
Registration fee includes transportation, hors d’oeuvres, complimentary drink courtesy of Big Y, dinner buffet, and dessert.
Pre-registration is required.
Morning Walk
Join NEMA Executive Director (and Chief Walking Officer) Dan Yaeger for an energizing wake-up walk around Springfield.
8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Registration Open
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Welcome Coffee and Baked Goods
9:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Off-site Sessions
Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited. Fee of $10 includes transportation.
Springfield Museums
The Art of Interpretive Writing
Back by popular demand, this session is an interactive exhibition of the tenets of interpretive writing as they apply to all museum situations. You will be shown examples of clear, dynamic, and concise texts that relate to visitors, examples that reveal meanings of the resource and provoke readers to care. You will be challenged to write about a museum artifact and thereby hone your ability to deliver a powerful interpretive message using precise, energetic language.
Chair: Alan Leftridge, Writing Consultant, MT
The WOW Factor: New Methods in Using Digital Photography and Graphic Design in Exhibit Displays Museums exist in a world flooded with visual media. How can curators compete, especially in history museums, when most images are in black and white? In order to engage the visually saturated viewer we need colorful, exciting displays. Yet we often feel that resources limit our ability to create this WOW effect. In this session, presented by experienced exhibit installers and a professional graphic designer, you will explore new methods of creating dynamic visual displays using digital technology and design.
Chair: Guy McLain, Director of History Museums, Springfield Museums, MA
9:00 a.m. – 12:15 am.
Double Session
Moving Beyond the Narrative: Historical Thinking at Historic Sites
In 2009, Boston’s Old North Church launched two innovative educational programs based on the pedagogy of Historical Thinking that raise provocative questions about what history is, how we construct it, who gets to have a say, and why. Using these programs as a jumping-off point, you will learn how Historical Thinking prepares students and visitors to critically approach museums and historic sites. You will leave with ideas and strategies for integrating this interpretive approach at your own sites/museum, regardless of budget or technological limitations.
Co-Chairs: Christine Baron, Principal, Baron Education Consulting, MA; and Elisabeth Nevins, Principal, Seed Education Consulting, MA
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Can Museums be Activists?
Some museums embrace social issues and endeavor to change attitudes and behaviors. Zoos and aquariums advocate for conservation, children’s museums for the value of unstructured play, and science museums on climate change. With a few notable exceptions, art and history museums have been slower to embrace this role. Why? This session will explore how and why organizations have been successful and will invite participants to help us develop some strategies for widening your museum’s roles as activist.
Chair: Laura Roberts, Principal, Roberts Consulting, MA
Collection Information Management Systems
Are you responsible for the management of a library or archives collection? Is your collection management system out-of-date or not serving your needs? In this session, we will be discussing and comparing collection management systems that work for both library/archival materials and objects, featuring presentations by archivists and librarians who use them. We will focus on the good and bad points of the systems, and how to determine whether or not any of these tools are the correct choice for your collection.
Chair: Jane A. Callahan, Assistant Archivist, Wellesley College Archives, Margaret Clapp Library, MA
For the Future Good of Museums: Why Curators, Scholars, Educators, Designers, and other Museum Professionals Must Give Up the Library and Become Museum Directors
Will you become (or hire) a museum director? What training does a museum professional need in management/fundraising/finances to become a successful director? Which jobs are stepping-stones or skill-set expanders? What do curators, educators, and others gain by becoming directors? This session examines how trustees can identify and recruit candidates from within the profession, whether boards should accept a learning curve, and when boards should risk hiring a successful insider who has never been a director.
Chair: Marilyn Hoffman, Principal, Museum Search & Reference, NH
“fun 2 be done” Youth-Generated Scavenger Hunts
Young adults have grown a new appendage—their cell phones! To better serve this segment of the population, museums can use technology developed by the Boston-based company, SCVNGR, to build interactive scavenger hunts delivered by way of texting. We can even engage young people in creating the games. This discussion will share insights gained by a SCVNGR project involving students, exploring ways you might apply this technology to your collection, programming, and youth outreach.
Chair: Marilyn McArthur, Community Partnership Consultant, Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, MA
The Museum That’s Not: Celebration of Culture, Diversity, and Community
A case study of Museum L-A in Lewiston, Maine. Museum L-A is currently in the planning process of developing a new facility; this session will focus on the unique planning and partnering process for the new museum as well as keys to a successful museum development process. The session will also include examples of Museum L-A’s unique outreach programs that target its diverse ethnic and cultural communities.
Chair: Elena Kazlas, Principal, ConsultEcon, Inc., MA
Working with Boards
A board of directors/trustees is an important component of the effective management of a museum. Boards have many responsibilities, including governance, finance, community relations, and developing a strong working relationship with the executive director. This session will explore the role of the board and discuss the relationship between the board and the museum director. By the end of the session, you will have a better understanding of the role that boards play and how to work well with your own board. Panelists will include museum directors and board members.
Chair: Katherine Burton Jones, Director of Development, Museum of African American History, MA
10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Balancing the Budget and Making Hard Choices
Confronted with programs that advance the museum’s goals and serve important audiences, but lose money, how does a museum manager think about which programs should continue and which should be cut? Are there other options? Who should be part of the discussion – funders, board members, civic leaders, program participants? Read a short case (available to download here, the conference registration desk, or at the session) and come ready to address the problem. No calculators or pencils required!
Chair: Laura Roberts, Principal, Roberts Consulting, MA
Collections, Curating, and Community: Museum Practice in the Classroom
–and why? How can these inquiries increase awareness of and access to cultural resources while advancing cross-disciplinary classroom studies? This workshop, discussion, and presentation by museum educators and classroom teachers will demonstrate how museums can work with groups of all ages to explore curatorial and museum practice in education and promote the use of varied cultural institutions.
Chair: Julie Bernson, Director of Education, Addison Gallery of American Art, MA
It’s More than Just Social Studies: Interdisciplinary Activities for Small Museums
What should we offer to get teachers to visit our site with their classes? Many school districts today ask their teachers to focus on math or language arts education and social studies is often left out. This session will examine how museums can introduce innovative methods of incorporating social studies into their educational programs. By combining multiple curricular pursuits, teachers can justify field trips to their administrators in new ways. This session will highlight a variety of lessons and will set aside time for you to brainstorm how you can make your programs more interdisciplinary. Case studies will include a discussion of “Simple Machines” at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.
Chair: Rebecca Zimmerman, Museum Educator, Connecting Essex LINCs (Teaching American History Grant), MA
Lions and Lambs: Strategic Alliances
Museums often use strategic alliances to strengthen their organizations. Strategic alliances can take many forms and can work for museums and historic sites of all sizes. How does a museum identify strategic partners? Is there important information to know about maintaining an alliance? Two seasoned directors will review their own experiences, the successes as well as the failures, and how they ensure that the benefits gained by alliances justify the investment of time.
Co-Chairs: Susan Robertson, Executive Director, Gore Place, MA; Mark Thompson, Regional Director, Southern Maine, Maine Maritime Museum
We Just Don’t Have the Money! – Best Practices for Improving Security and Protecting Visitors, Staff and Collections With Reduced Staff and Budgets
The story is the same across the country. Budget cuts, reduced staff, hiring freezes, and yet the duty to protect has not gone away. In fact, it has been elevated because of heightened fears and escalated threats to public safety. So how does the astute administrator balance the need to provide a safe environment with a lack of funds and personnel? This session walks you through reasonable, practical, cost-effective steps to improve your institution’s protection, make better spending decisions, and meet the demands of our ever-changing national environment. You will learn how to develop a realistic protection plan based on available staff and budget. Emergency response planning is included.
Chair: Austin Sharpe, Director of Security, Addison Gallery of American Art, MA
What You Need to Tell Your Architect
A truly successful museum building project furthers the institution’s mission and goals. It is vitally important that an institution develop a clear, compelling strategy for the project and share it with the design team at the outset. The more thought invested in articulating objectives and strategy, as well as the traditional listing of the activities, spaces, and technology to be accommodated, the more likely the design team will be able to satisfy you. This session will discuss the specifics of the information to be shared, how it can be communicated effectively, and how it can be used as a check list during the design process to ensure that the museum will take possession of a building that meets all of its expectations. The perspectives of a museum administrator, museum strategic planner, and an architect will be woven together to give a complete picture of the process. The final third of the session will be devoted to your questions about specific projects.
Chair: Arch Horst, President, Black River Architects, MA
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Opening Lunch
It’s all about the networking! Meet up with colleagues, reconnect, and have fun strengthening your ties to this talented, generous, and committed museum community that we know as the NEMA Family!
12:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Director and Trustee Luncheon Program
Cultural, Educational, Social, and Business Entrepreneurs: Cut from the Same Cloth, Seeking Different Outcomes
“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity,“ wrote management guru Peter Drucker. This definition captures the essence of entrepreneurship as it applies to business, social, cultural, and educational entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship has become an increasingly “must have” attribute for museum trustees, leaders, and professionals in the 21st century. At this year’s Director and Trustee Luncheon, come learn more about what it takes to for entrepreneurial success in a museum environment. Explore the traits and techniques of innovative businesses, and learn the skills of social and cultural entrepreneurs. Plus, we’ll have time for you to share your own entrepreneurial challenges and success stories with your colleagues.
Our presenters are Dorothy Chen-Courtin, a noted cultural entrepreneur who founded her nonprofit consultancy, and her husband, Patrick Courtin, a business entrepreneur in high tech industry.
Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited.
Hosted by
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Career Conversation Center – Joseph Carvalho III
Join Joseph Carvalho, former President and Executive Director of the Springfield Museums Association, for a look at his distinguished, 35-year museum career, and a discussion of working in the museum field. Joe earned his B.A. in History from Westfield State College and his M.L.S. from the University of Rhode Island. Much of his work life focused on the Springfield Libraries and Museums. He also was the Director of the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum for many years. Joe is the recipient of the National Award for Advancing Genealogical Research Publications and served on the board of Mass Humanities. He now serves as the Governor’s appointee to the Board of Trustees for Westfield State College.
1:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Connexiones: Building Bridges to Latino Museum Audiences
The 2010 Census promises to paint a fresh picture of New England’s shifting demographics. How are our institutions responding to the challenge of attracting newcomers and building relevance among emerging audiences? Hear about how Old Sturbridge Village and other museums created the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs to serve and build a sense of relevance for Latino audiences. Discuss your museum’s relevance and get advice on taking the first steps to build connections with this important audience.
Chair: Shawn Parker, Independent Museum Professional, RI
Direct Mail That Drives Online Renewals and Gifts
This session will review and share direct mail acquisition, renewal, and additional giving campaigns that feature strategies and creative techniques that encourage online responses. Direct mail campaign samples, plus dedicated online giving web sites, will be featured from a variety of non-profit organizations including higher education, arts and culture, healthcare, and public broadcasting.
Chair: David W. Hazeltine, V.P., Fundraising, DMW Direct / Fundraising, MA
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: The Changing Role of Curators in Smaller Museums
A troubled economy has forced museums to restrict curatorial initiatives or even lay off staff, but programming needs have never been greater. Museums still require exhibitions and a growing number of independent curators seek venues for great ideas. This panel will explore both the challenges and opportunities imposed by our recent financial crisis — and suggest possibilities for creative collaboration.
Chair: Katherine French, Director, Danforth Museum of Art, MA
Here Comes the Civil War Sesquicentennial: Will Your Museum Be Ready?
How will we mark this anniversary? Can we tap into American fascination with the Civil War while moving visitors beyond the superficial? Can we cut through the haze of romance and explore difficult themes? This session will present several projects that are already being planned and will give you the opportunity to brainstorm and to plan collaborations. Bring your ideas and your trepidations, and expect to leave with specific ideas for exhibits, programs, and collaborations.
Chair: Carrie Brown, Historian and Independent Curator, NH
Making the Best Use of New Technologies
Many New England museums are using social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. But are we integrating them efficiently into our operations? Where do they fit into collection management practices? How can we best use social media in our fundraising, membership, and marketing? Incorporating the recent NEMA survey on the Use of Social Media, this session looks beyond the basics and investigates how social media impacts capacity, staffing, and keeping up with the latest changes.
Chair: Katherine Burton Jones, Director of Development, Museum of African American History, MA
Tall to Venti: An Overview of Organizing Traveling Exhibitions
A diverse interdepartmental panel will present a “nail to nail” session on the varied approaches of organizing a traveling exhibition. You’ll learn about exhibition contracts, facilities reports, checklists, insurance, condition report books, crating and transport, and the costs and benefits associated with traveling an exhibition. Sample documentation will be provided.
Chair: Heidi O’Neill, Exhibition/Collections Manager & Registrar, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, MA
3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Snack Break
Hosted by Creation Station
3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Keynote Session
Welcome from Gail Nessell Colglazier, President, New England Museum Association
An Interview with AAM President Ford Bell
To kick off our keynote session, American Association of Museums President Ford Bell will share breaking news, issues, and national perspectives within the museum community. NEMA Executive Director Dan Yaeger will moderate an interactive interview during which Ford will answer your questions.
Keynote Speaker
Carlo Rotella, Author, Journalist, American Studies Scholar
“The Hook for the Resell” Creative Individuals, Cultural Institutions, and the Postindustrial City
Like never before, museums are forced to justify their existence to funders, politicians, and even their own communities. Are we still relevant? Or are we just taking up space that could be better used for a sporting arena, shopping mall, casino, or other diversion competing for the attention of our common culture? At the same time, as America’s (and especially New England’s) traditional manufacturing centers leave their industrial past behind, cultural economic development that uses art, history, and regional identity as a foundation for broader profit and growth has become an important idea. Join us for a truly unique NEMA keynote address as Carlo Rotella surveys the current cultural landscape and helps us determine how museums are faring in today’s social dynamic. Using gritty stories of the Rust Belt and creative types such as blues singers, artists, and boxers, Professor Rotella will put the museum into sharp perspective as it relates to a changing scene. Get ready for a provocative and energetic presentation!
Dr. Carlo Rotella is Director of the American Studies Program, Professor of English, and Director of the Lowell Humanities Series at Boston College. He has held Guggenheim, Howard, and Du Bois fellowships and received the Whiting Writers Award, the L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award, and The American Scholar's prizes for Best Essay and Best Work by a Younger Writer. He writes regularly for the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, and Slate, and he is a regular columnist for the Boston Globe and commentator for WGBH FM. He is the author of Cut Time: An Education at the Fights, Good With Their Hands, and October Cities, and his work has also appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The American Scholar, Raritan, the Chicago Tribune, Transition, DoubleTake, Boston, The Believer, TriQuarterly, Critical Inquiry, American Quarterly, and The Best American Essays. He is an editor of the "Chicago Visions and Revisions" series published by the University of Chicago Press.
Hosted by
5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Newcomers Reception
New to the museum field? First NEMA conference? Just moved to New England? Get the lay of the land at this laid-back gathering. Sip some wine with NEMA staff and board members. Swap business cards with emerging museum professionals and other newcomers like yourself. Get an inside look at the New England museum community and how you can plug in.
Registration is limited, so make sure you sign up on the conference registration form.
Hosted by
Tufts University Museum Studies Program
Wednesday Evening Events
And to Think That You Saw It at the Springfield Museums
6:15 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.
“Oh the things you can find if you don’t stay behind.” Theodore Geisel — aka Dr. Seuss –– could have been describing the Progressive Dinner at the Springfield Museums when he wrote these words. Join us for a celebratory evening and find many wonderful things at our unique complex of art, history, and science museums located along with the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden on a central green in downtown Springfield. You’ll be greeted by the Seuss Singers, a group of students from the Springfield schools who will welcome you to Dr. Seuss’s hometown with a lively musical tribute to the city’s beloved native son.
Enjoy drinks and hors d’oeuvres while viewing Springfield-built Rolls Royce automobiles, an extensive collection of Indian Motorcycles, and other industrial innovations in the recently-opened Wood Museum of Springfield History. Explore the Planetarium and then dine among the historic dioramas, live animal displays and dinosaur exhibits in the Science Museum. After dinner, you’ll savor delicious desserts in the Victorian atmosphere of the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum. Built in 1895, the museum was designed by Renwick, Aspinwall and Renwick to resemble an Italian palazzo; it features Tiffany stained glass windows, Chinese cloisonné, 19th century American paintings, a gallery of plaster casts, and Japanese arms and armor. Throughout the evening you’ll be treated to a delectable array of Seussian fare, including “Pink Ink for the Yink” cocktails, “Cat-in-the-Hat” snacks, “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” appetizers, and Silly Seussian Sweets. Museum staff and trustees will be on hand to provide you with information about the museums’ collections, exhibitions, and programs.
Museum Director and Trustee Dinner
After enjoying the cocktail reception in the Wood Museum of Springfield History, directors and trustees will walk across the museum grounds to the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts for dinner. A beautiful example of Art Deco architecture, the museum opened in 1934, and reflects the elegance and restraint of the period. G uests will dine in the museum’s beautifully installed galleries of European and American art, which include works by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent, and John Singleton Copley. Following dinner, directors and trustees will rejoin the NEMA party with the assortment of confections and desserts served in the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum.
Hosted by
And to Think That You Saw It at the Springfield Museums
Welcome Dinner at Springfield Museums, $50
Museum Director and Trustee Dinner at Springfield Museums, $55
Registration fee includes transportation, hors d’oeuvres, complimentary drink courtesy of Big Y, dinner buffet, and dessert.
Pre-registration is required.