Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

MAY 7, 2010

I'm a huge fan of work and the way she thinks - especially after she road the Scare House ride on the Santa Cruz boardwalk with me and did a brilliant reflection on its design. Nina has written a fantastic book engagement called The Participatory Museum. Tags: Art Sector Arts & Technology engagement.

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Model Activities Active Activism 98

Museum 2.0

OCTOBER 2, 2013

Proposals involve sculpture, performance, participatory-projects, videos, and installation that use and respond to the museum’s collection. This past July, artist Guillermo Gómez proposed to restore a piece of art. Both objects and art-objects would be part of this continuing transformation and evolution.

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Artist Museum Proposal Participatory 49

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

Originally posted in April of 2011, just before I hung up my consulting hat for my current job at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. In 2008 and 2009, there were many conference sessions and and documents presenting participatory case studies, most notably Wendy Pollock and Kathy McLean''s book Visitor Voices in Museum Exhibitions.

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Museum Question Participatory Evaluation 45

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 4, 2010

It's rare that a participatory museum project is more than a one-shot affair. Wikipedia Loves Art, Take One The first version of Wikipedia Loves Art first took place in February 2009. In contrast, the Wikimedians were focused on making cultural content digitally available online using as open a licensing structure as possible.

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Wikipedia Arts Museum Images 40

Museum 2.0

JULY 1, 2011

I've now been the Director of The Museum of Art & History in Santa Cruz for two months. It really reflects what we're trying to do here to transform our institution into as relevant, dynamic, and successful an organization as possible. Lots more on this in the months to come, but I thought you might like to read the article.

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Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Last week I was honored to be a counselor at Museum Camp , an annual professional development event hosted by the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH). Nina Simon, the executive director of the museum, is an expert in participatory design and fantastic facilitator. Being Intentional About Your To Do List.

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Causes Change Museum Social 50

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

JANUARY 18, 2011

Establish local networks of individuals and organizations using social media to help build stronger organizations and more participatory societies. The debriefing question encouraged us to reflect on points of connection and reciprocity. Experience with Middle Eastern Culture and no experience. Some Connection Points: Learning.

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Network Build Yemen Morocco 95

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 11, 2012

For years, I'd give talks about community participation in museums and cultural institutions, and I'd always get the inevitable question: "but what value does this really have when it comes to dollars and cents?" This community was ready for a museum that reflected the unique creative identity of Santa Cruz. Community response.

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Audience Museum Participatory History 47

Museum 2.0

APRIL 25, 2011

I've seen this line of questioning almost completely disappear in the past two years due to many research studies and reports on the value and rise of participation, but in 2006-7, social media and participatory culture was still seen as nascent (and possibly a passing fad). Yes and no.

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Question Participatory Museum Evaluation 49

Museum 2.0

MAY 21, 2014

It has some of the same feel as the disconnected affection of people wishing you a happy birthday on Facebook, with professional reflection baked in. Seeing so many cheerful one-liners in my inbox made me think about how different my work situation is today than the last time I reflected on it in public in 2012, at my one-year anniversary.

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Museum 2.0

JULY 17, 2012

But we've just compiled all our attendance data for the past year at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (our fiscal year ends on June 30), and several people have written to me asking for the numbers behind our turnaround. I promise--after this post, I'll stop writing about this. actively sought out community needs to respond to.

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Museum History Arts Artist 47

Museum 2.0

MARCH 14, 2017

This is the second installation in a series of posts on the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH)'s development of Abbott Square , a new creative community plaza in downtown Santa Cruz. The MAH fundamentally has two jobs: we bring art and history out into our community, and we invite our community in. We want to break out.

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Public Museum Arts History 27

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

AUGUST 29, 2006

I met Janet Salmons many years ago while I working on various arts and technology projects in New York State for the New York Foundation for the Arts. I started in the Cornell University Center for Theatre Arts , where I founded and directed two programs: Cornell Theatre Outreach and the Community-Based Arts Project.

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Arts Community Online Intergenerational 50

Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Recently, I was giving a presentation about participatory techniques at an art museum, when a staff member raised her hand and asked, "Did you have to look really hard to find examples from art museums? Aren't art museums less open to participation than other kinds of museums?" I was surprised by her question.

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Museum Difference Participatory History 29

Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 5, 2008

Reason #258 I'm glad to live in California: Cultural Connections. Cultural Connections is a group of museum professionals who meet up a few times a year and host excellent programs on a variety of topics. I was captivated by Chris Alexander 's story about participatory online/onsite efforts at the San Jose Museum of Art (SJMA).

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Case Study Participatory Studies Museum 20

Museum 2.0

APRIL 29, 2015

These are the slides and notes for the talk I gave at the American Alliance of Museums conference on Monday, April 27 about the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. When I became the director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History four years ago, I took this work with me. They talked about community building.

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Build Community Museum Artist 20

Museum 2.0

MARCH 28, 2012

At the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH), we've started experimenting with a "community first" approach to program development. There are many amazing community representatives from business, arts, education, and social services who connect us to powerful ideas and partners. Six goals for MAH community programs.

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Program Community Design Museum 49

Museum 2.0

JUNE 12, 2012

It made me think in ways that I haven't before about the relation of art--as expressive culture--to democracy. It is multi-disciplinary, incorporates diverse voices from our community, and provides interactive and participatory opportunities for visitor involvement.

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Participatory Museum Blackboard Game 51

Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 14, 2009

I used the example of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, which has a mission statement that includes unusual words like “bold” and “fearless.” What new projects might allow you to better reflect those aspirations? Third, you need to align your idea with institutional culture. Ask leaders to be accountable to the mission.

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Project Museum Teen North Carolina 22

Museum 2.0

JUNE 10, 2010

I spent last week working with staff at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) on ways to make this encyclopedic art museum more open to visitor participation across programs, exhibitions, and events. While there, I was lucky to get to experience a highly participatory exhibition that the MIA mounts once a decade: Foot in the Door.

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Participatory Museum Arts Artist 46

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 8, 2008

Today, the Luce Center at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) is launching what they claim is the first ever alternate reality game (ARG) in a museum. Why would an art museum create an ARG? To tap into maker culture. But comments on the gamers' forum like: An internet collaborative [sic] art display in a national museum?

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Game Museum Arts Alternative 20

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

We need translators within each cultural context. Our museum in Santa Cruz has been slammed by those who believe participatory experiences have gone too far. We always knew that the inclusion of participatory and community-centered practices in arts institutions was controversial. Some people commune with the art.

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Participatory Museum Arts History 53

Museum 2.0

JUNE 12, 2009

Here’s what happened: an art critic named Jerry Saltz posted an incendiary note on Facebook about the very low representation of women artists on the 4th and 5th floors (painting and sculpture) of MoMA. This is why I always say that participatory tools are about relationships, not technology. Let’s start there.

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Conversation Museum Artist Minneapolis 21

Bloomerang

MAY 21, 2021

The kind of strategic planning processes that I lead are inclusive and participatory which means that the group is consulted, the vision of the group, the energy, we kind of tap into the energy, vision, knowledge, experience of the people who will be doing the work in order to make plans. Where are we not putting our energy?

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Video Nonprofit San Francisco Question 122

Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 22, 2012

What happens when a formal art museum invites a group of collaborative, participatory artists to be in residence for a year? But for museum and art wonks, it could be. Several artists offer surprising insights into making participatory projects appealing to visitors. No, this is not a reality TV show.

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Artist Museum Project Public 39

Everyaction

OCTOBER 5, 2016

The Digital Media and Learning Conference is meant to be an inclusive, international and annual gathering of scholars and practitioners in the field, focused on fostering interdisciplinary and participatory dialogue and linking theory, empirical study, policy, and practice. National Arts Marketing Project Conference. 11/10/2016.

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Conference Calendar DC Washington 111

Museum 2.0

JULY 23, 2013

We are hiring for a School Programs Coordinator to wrangle the 3,500+ students and their teachers who come to the museum every year for a tour and hands-on experience in our art and history exhibitions. Museum of Art and History Quick Hits professional development' Most school tours are for intact groups—a single class or grade.

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Program Museum Work History 39

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

He defined museums as “a lifeline between its community and the wider cultural landscape. — Art + Museum Transparency (@AMTransparency) September 21, 2019 Museum Transparency brought up the fact that museums are work places. Chris Totten summed up many of these threads well. A museum is a workplace. They most certainly are.

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Museum Place Life Ohio 36

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 6, 2019

I spent 2007-2011 traveling the world, doing participatory projects and consulting gigs, and writing my first book. You gave me support as I struggled to lead a museum through a participatory rebirth. Blogging is precious because it is an opportunity to reflect in writing. The response to this blog changed my life. Museum 2.0

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Museum Reflection Participatory Attitude 27

Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

I was talking this week with Mark Allen, the founder of Machine Project (an alternative arts space in LA), about different models for community engagement in cultural institutions. For example, consider two independent arts organizations in Los Angeles -- Machine Project and The Public School.

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Voice Los Angeles Denver Museum 42

Museum 2.0

MARCH 6, 2019

This week, I've had multiple conversations with colleagues in the arts, symphonies, and urban planning about the fear professionals have about "losing control" when opening up new opportunities for people to participate. While I originally wrote this post to advocate for more participatory practice (i.e. Content expertise matters.

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Authoring Share Museum YouTube 44