MUSEUM TRUSTEE ASSOCIATION
  • Home
  • About us
    • Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Current Members >
      • Institutional Members
      • Individual Members
    • Contact
  • Membership
    • Benefits
    • Types >
      • Institutions
      • Patrons
      • Friends
    • Member Spotlights >
      • San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts
      • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
      • Greensboro History Museum
      • Mingei International Museum
      • Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
      • Heard Museum
      • Maryland Center for History & Culture
      • Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
      • Lehigh University Art Galleries
  • News
  • Events
    • Denver 2023 >
      • Details >
        • Register for Denver 2023
        • Patron Weekend
        • Scholarships
  • Resources
    • MTA On-Demand
    • Templates for Trustees
    • Tips for Trustees
    • Blackbaud Webinar Series
    • Member Resource Library
    • IDEA Resources & Information
  • Donate
  • Patron Weekend

Secretary Lonnie Bunch on the Year Ahead for Museums

1/6/2021

0 Comments

 
By Lonnie G. Bunch III. From Smithsonian Magazine. Published 1/6/2021
Picture
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.

Continue Reading
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    ​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. 

    Categories

    All
    And Inclusion
    Art And Law
    Art And Politics
    Art Market
    Board Governance
    Communication
    Data
    Deaccessioning
    DEAI
    Decolonize
    Democracy
    Design
    Diversity
    Endowment
    Equity
    Foundation
    Funding
    Government
    Grants
    MTA Member Museum
    Museum Insights
    Museum News
    Philanthropy
    Restitution
    Social Impact
    Social Justice
    Strategy
    Tax Exempt

    Archives

    October 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    RSS Feed

SIGN UP FOR MTA E-NEWS

Members of the MTA automatically receive the association's monthly emailed newsletter, MTA E-News, and may also take advantage of access to past issues in our archives here.
Donate

BECOME A MEMBER

Institutional Membership
Patron Membership
Friend Membership

​CONTACT MTA

Museum Trustee Association
211 East Lombard Street, Suite 179
Baltimore, MD 21202-6102
410-402-0954
​
​
Contact Us
© Copyright 2018 Museum Trustee Association. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • About us
    • Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Current Members >
      • Institutional Members
      • Individual Members
    • Contact
  • Membership
    • Benefits
    • Types >
      • Institutions
      • Patrons
      • Friends
    • Member Spotlights >
      • San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts
      • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
      • Greensboro History Museum
      • Mingei International Museum
      • Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
      • Heard Museum
      • Maryland Center for History & Culture
      • Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
      • Lehigh University Art Galleries
  • News
  • Events
    • Denver 2023 >
      • Details >
        • Register for Denver 2023
        • Patron Weekend
        • Scholarships
  • Resources
    • MTA On-Demand
    • Templates for Trustees
    • Tips for Trustees
    • Blackbaud Webinar Series
    • Member Resource Library
    • IDEA Resources & Information
  • Donate
  • Patron Weekend