How much of students’ critical thinking is impacted by a museum field trip – and how much stems from the arts-based nature of the experience?
Capsule Review: Taking Charge at Museums
DC Research Ltd studies the effects of charging or not charging for admission at UK museums – and of changing a museum’s policy toward charging – on attendance, visitor diversity, funding, visitor experience, and institutional relationships.
MASS MoCA Visionary Has New Vision (and other August Stories)
First, a shuttered electrical plant. Now, an abandoned airport. Next, the world?
Improving Access: New York’s Municipal ID Cards (and other September stories)
Following in the footsteps of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New Haven, in 2015, New York City will begin issuing municipal identification cards to undocumented immigrants, with an arts-oriented twist.
Changes to Federal Rules for Nonprofits (and other July stories)
Policymakers approve budgets for the NEA and NEH and consider a number of changes to rules governing charitable donations, while the IRS makes it easier for small organizations to secure nonprofit status.
The Participatory Museum: the abridged version
(This is an abridged version of the full Arts Policy Library writeup.) Summary Published in 2011, The Participatory Museum presents Nina Simon’s social web-inspired approach to museum exhibits and partnerships and serves as a handbook for museum professionals for engaging in participatory projects. The Participatory Museum looks at how audiences participate in online platforms suchRead More
Arts Policy Library: The Participatory Museum
(For a briefer edition of this analysis, check out the abridged version.) “This may sound messy,” Nina Simon, engineer turned experience designer, writes of participatory projects. “It may [also] sound tremendously exciting.” Summary Written in 2010 as a handbook for museum professionals who want to engage audiences in deeper forms of participation, The Participatory MuseumRead More
Dispatches from the East: Museumscapes of Asia
A heat map of museum activity in Asia would show the whole region aglow. At first glance, if you’ve been getting your story from mainstream American media, you might think Asian institutions are becoming just like us, or beating us at our own game: the National Museum of Cambodia recently put its collection online thanksRead More
Around the horn: Flight 370 edition
ART AND THE GOVERNMENT Seems that New York City’s recent bill forcing schools to report out on the availability of arts education in its schools comes not a moment too soon: an audit from the state comptroller found that roughly half of seniors graduated from high school without having met arts education requirements. Denver isRead More
Come be nerdy with Ian and Nina Simon in Santa Cruz!
Have you ever wondered what all this impact assessment and evaluation stuff is all about, but haven’t been sure how to get started? I bet you’re not alone! That’s why I’m psyched to be involved with a great and affordable professional development event happening this summer in gorgeous Santa Cruz, CA, called Museum Camp 2014:Read More