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What Is the Best Way to Reopen an Art Museum After Lockdown? A New Guide From the National Endowment for the Arts Offers Six Practical Tips

1/20/2021

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From Artnet News. Published 1/14/2021 
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The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has released a 42-page guide detailing best practices for US arts venues reopening their doors during the pandemic.  “The Art of Reopening,” as the document is called, is the result of interviews with nine arts organizations that have successfully resumed business in the past few months—albeit in a constricted, adaptive manner. 

The organizations comprise an intentionally diverse group that spans artistic disciplines, budget sizes, and geographic regions in the name of capturing a broad snapshot of the US arts landscape. Among the interviewees are representatives from Americans for the Arts and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, as well as performing arts operations like the Cincinnati Ballet and the GALA Hispanic Theatre. 

The guide lays out six bulleted lessons learned from these venues, with a focus less on specific safety measures than administrative and ideological approaches. 
“Adapting quickly to new circumstances and information, and communicating those lessons promptly and effectively to artists/staff, board members, donors, and the public will attract greater confidence in your endeavor,” reads one tip from the guide. 

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, for example, has consulted with the nearby Baylor College of Medicine on its reopening plans. “We have assembled a team to help us think through this, to help us move through this really challenging time,” says the museum’s chief development officer, Amy Purvis, in the report. “The team helps us navigate the different and evolving thoughts about how the disease is transmitted, its incubation period, and the viral load.”

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Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the Year Ahead for Museums

1/6/2021

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By Lonnie G. Bunch III. From Smithsonian Magazine. Published 1/6/2021
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As much as the new year is a time for new hopes and new resolutions, it also invites us to reflect. With the Smithsonian planning for the busy year ahead, I find myself looking back over my years at this institution, at the moments that have shaped my professional and personal life. Two decades have passed since my team raced to finish the exhibition “The American Presidency,” opening just ahead of the inauguration of President George W. Bush. This February marks the fourth Black History Month since the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, for which I proudly served as founding director. And the year I’ve spent as Smithsonian Secretary has been one of striving and sprinting to respond to seismic shifts that have shaken the foundations of this country. Each of these experiences, fraught with challenges, has shown me how much we can accomplish when we come together for a common purpose.

The past 12 months, especially, have been a lesson in how the Smithsonian can serve our public. We can grow our digital capabilities to reach new audiences. We can work closely with teachers, students and families to provide invaluable educational support. We can marshal our expertise and our collections to facilitate productive conversations around the most divisive issues.

In moments of crisis, people turn to institutions they trust. This past year demonstrated how important it is to protect our institutions, and in turn, how those institutions must work to help their communities. The challenges of a pandemic spurred the Smithsonian to collaborate more closely than ever with museum colleagues across the globe, with school districts across the country, and with leaders in local communities. Time and time again, I have been humbled by the faith they put in us.

Among all the resources that we have at our disposal-—historic collections, groundbreaking research, deep scholarly expertise—perhaps our most precious is public trust. For many years, museums have ranked among the nation’s most trusted institutions. As confidence in other public-facing institutions falters, museums remain safe havens. The public counts on us to safeguard culture, heritage and knowledge.

I am inspired by staff members across the Institution who are helping our audiences endure hardship and pursue hope. Together with you, our readers, and the entire Smithsonian community, I look forward to a creative and fulfilling new year.

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    ​The Museum Trustee Association views its mission of enhancing the effectiveness of museum trustees as educational and collaborative. As a group of past and current museum board members, we do not see ourselves as a policy-setting organization but rather as a source of information to equip Museum Trustees as they implement field-wide best practices in all of their governance affairs. The sharing of articles and opinion pieces on MTA social media and the News page of our website does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by MTA, its employees, or its board members. 

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  • Home
  • About us
    • Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Current Members >
      • Institutional Members
      • Individual Members
    • Contact
  • Membership
    • Benefits
    • Types >
      • Institutions
      • Patrons
      • Friends
    • Member Spotlights >
      • Heard Museum
      • Maryland Center for History & Culture
      • Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
      • Lehigh University Art Galleries
      • Cave Creek Museum
      • Thanksgiving Point
      • The Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum
      • Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
  • News
  • Events
    • Spring 2021 Virtual Forum
    • Fall 2020 Virtual Forum >
      • Details
      • Patron Collections Visits
  • Resources
    • Templates for Trustees
    • Tips for Trustees
    • Blackbaud Webinar Series
    • Member Resource Library
  • Donate