Museum 2.0

APRIL 1, 2010

This is the final segment in a four-part series about writing The Participatory Museum. This posts explains why and how I self-published The Participatory Museum. While some aspects are quite technical and specific, it should be useful for anyone considering writing a book for a niche audience. Check out the other parts here.

Participatory 33

Participatory Museum Process Adobe 33

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. Each small group spent fifteen minutes brainstorming the needs for that community, and then another fifteen discussing potential projects and collaborators that could help meet those needs.

Program 49

Program Community Design Museum 49

Forum One

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

This Black History Month, we reflect on the strategy work that our team does through our partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture —much of which centers around expanding access. And for those who have, they quickly understand that the Museum has much more to offer than can be absorbed in a day.

History 74

History Accessibility Museum Award 74

Museum 2.0

APRIL 1, 2009

On Monday, I gave the keynote at the Museums in Conversation conference in Tarrytown, NY. I learned to cultivate creative greed while working on Operation Spy at the International Spy Museum, where I was lucky to be working on a project that was so new to us that we didn't have any pre-established models or structures for doing it.

Museum 20

Museum Conversation Columbus Local 20

Museum 2.0

APRIL 25, 2011

I've spent much of the past three years on the road giving workshops and talks about audience participation in museums. BROAD QUESTIONS ABOUT AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION 1. The Museum 2.0 For more on the differences among different types of museums (with examples), check out this post. Yes and no.

Question 49

Question Participatory Museum Evaluation 49

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

In this report, the authors describe three specific models for public participation: contribution, collaboration, and co-creation. In the collaborative model, visitors are invited to serve as active partners in the creation of an institutional project which is originated and ultimately controlled by the institution.

Public 36

Public Research Participatory Report 36

Museum 2.0

MAY 9, 2007

In January, I interviewed Sibley about the potential use of virtual worlds and Second Life by museums, but in the four months since then, the virtual world platform--and the hype around it--has exploded. It seems that Second Life is both the closest and farthest thing from many museum professionals' minds. Collaborative Experience.

Second Life 20

Second Life Museum Life Virtual 20

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 4, 2010

It's rare that a participatory museum project is more than a one-shot affair. But next month, Britain Loves Wikipedia will commence--the third instance of a strange and fascinating collaborative project between museums and the Wikipedia community (Wikimedians). Some of these challenges were about mission fit.

Wikipedia 40

Wikipedia Arts Museum Images 40

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.

Build 20

Build Community Museum Artist 20

Museum 2.0

MAY 3, 2011

Lots of museums these days have video comment booths to invite visitors to tell their stories, but how many of those booths really deliver high-impact content? Last week, I talked with Tina Olsen, Director of Education and Public Programs at the Portland Art Museum, about their extraordinary Object Stories project.

Story 53

Story Interview Museum Audio 53

Museum 2.0

APRIL 23, 2009

Like many people who've worked in science centers and interactive experience museums, I've always been perplexed by the fact that hands-on workshop audiences top out around age 14. They are more than just workshop spaces--they are member institutions, like museums. Isn't this one of our dreams for museums?

Museum 24

Museum North Carolina San Francisco Structure 24

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 24, 2011

This post features an interview with Sarah Schultz, a museum staffer at one of the institutions Light profiled in the book (the Walker Art Center). In my experience, innovation is about flexibility, capacity, and collaborative relationships. In the 1990s, we decided we wanted to engage a teen audience.

Arts 46

Arts Interview Teen Artist 46

Museum 2.0

JUNE 27, 2008

The VSA has replaced their keynotes with structured group dialogue. But the VSA has taken an intentional approach to these structured conversations with the goal of putting the (arguably) best part of conferences—the side conversations and hallway discussions—front and center. My first reaction was skepticism.

Studies 20

Studies Associations Houston Museum 20

Forum One

DECEMBER 13, 2023

Forum One worked closely with the AARP Livability Index team to meet the needs of its audiences with an easier-to-use website and accessible data that informs consumer and policy decisions nationwide. Forum One partnered with the Museum to launch their new brand to the world.

Celebrate 68

Celebrate Award Colorado Museum 68

Nonprofit Tech for Good

DECEMBER 14, 2022

You can collaborate with other nonprofits in your region or in your issue area to investigate whether you can all offer benefits for each other. For example, if you join a modern art museum, there is a good chance you won’t have to pay admission to other modern art museums. This can include museums, archives, galleries, etc.

Donor 343

Donor Sponsor Accessibility Music 343

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 25, 2009

Rabinowitz commented that "as a 40-year veteran of history museum interpretation, I can say that I never learned so much from and about visitors." If you feel that your audience needs monitoring or social support, position the talkback stations in open settings.

Design 31

Design Goal Difference Platform 31

Forum One

DECEMBER 13, 2023

Forum One helped the AARP Livability Index meet the needs of its audiences with an easier-to-use website and accessible data that informs consumer and policy decisions nationwide. We partnered with the Museum to launch their new brand to the world. This beautifully designed branding and website won five awards this year!

Celebrate 46

Celebrate Award Colorado Museum 46

Museum 2.0

JUNE 16, 2020

Andrea has been a leader in the museum technology field. At large, I am proud of the countless hours of cross-departmental and community collaborations that will inspire me forever, hand-in-hand with colleagues who have invested their best efforts on behalf of the people we are committed to serving.

Museum 22

Museum Detroit Arts Leadership 22

Bloomerang

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Having a diverse board allows us to reach a broader audience. Number one, it will allow us to expand our donor base and reach a broader audience. They’re collaborative, they’re passionate about your mission. Again, how many of you have attended an event or go to a museum?

Leadership 60

Leadership Fundraising Gift Slides 60

Museum 2.0

MARCH 29, 2020

Now, onto the question: (Blog research) what’s one thing about living in this phase of museum work you need to share? Collaboration, sharing, respecting skills. I wrote on [link] about this and more :-) ) — Mar Dixon (@MarDixon) March 28, 2020 museum folk are magic. 4) To all the other departments in our museums.[gif].let’s

Museum 47

Museum Phase Exercise Storytelling 47

Museum 2.0

MAY 14, 2009

I've become convinced that successful paths to participation in museums start with self-identification. The easiest way to do that is to acknowledge their uniqueness and validate their ability to connect with the museum on their own terms. Who is the "me" in the museum experience? Not so at museums.

Museum 20

Museum Personal Experiment Profile 20

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

DECEMBER 16, 2010

Does crowdsourced creativity reach a different (younger) and new audience segment? How to structure crowd sourced philanthropy based on voting or feedback depends on the outcomes of the project, a theory of change. Brooklyn Museum implemented a crowdsourced photography exhibit experiment called “ Click!

Measure 96

Measure Fund Impact Minnesota 96

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 11, 2011

The longer I consult with museums and cultural institutions, the more time I spend peering into people's eyes, wondering: do folks here feel able to innovate? Because the focus of the book is on organizational structure and not on specific acts or events, Light spends almost no time describing each organization or its particular innovations.

Discussion 39

Discussion Minnesota Phoenix Structure 39

Museum 2.0

JUNE 11, 2014

This post was written by my colleague Nora Grant, Community Programs Coordinator at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Pop Up” has become an international buzz term to describe ephemeral, experimental projects--from pop up restaurants to pop up boutiques--but a “Pop Up Museum” is still somewhat mystifying.

Museum 49

Museum Grant Lesson History 49

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

AUGUST 27, 2009

In the last few years, the Smithsonian American Art Museum. has been looking at our museum’s online information in the same way. A few weeks ago, American Art’s director, Elizabeth Broun, continued the discussion by holding an unprecedented all-day staff retreat to discuss the use of social media within the museum. • • •.

Museum 82

Museum Arts Artist Conservancy 82