Welcome to the fifth edition of MuseNews, the official newsletter of the Museum Scholarship and Material Culture Graduate Certificate Program and the University of Maryland! We hope this newsletter finds you healthy and safe.
If you would like to contribute to the next newsletter, please contact kenna@umd.edu.
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If you are interested in applying to complete the MSMC Graduate Certificate, please note that the application deadline has been extended. Please use this form to apply by June 1, 2020. Please let Kenna (kenna@umd.edu) know if you have any trouble using the form and let Mary (alexander_schou@msn.com) know if you have any questions about the program.
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Ennis Barbery Smith earned a Masters in Applied Anthropology and Certificate in Museum Scholarship and Material Culture at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2013. She completed her museum practicum, which focused on cultural landscape research, in collaboration with the Greenbelt Museum. Since graduating, she held leadership roles at several small museums, including a stint as Executive Director for the Museum of Chincoteague Island. She now works as Assistant Administrator for the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA). MHAA’s state-funded grant program awards over $5 million dollars in grants annually to organizations across Maryland, including many museums, for heritage tourism and education projects.
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Mary's Museum Musings from the MSMC Director
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A week ago I was assuming that by the end of this week we’d be free to “move about.” Well, that was last week and now I’m struggling with a sense of entrapment (more than when I thought I could see the finish line). So, in my captured state, I’ve been thinking about how museums might emerge from this crisis.
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1. Opening collections to public access has been controversial stemming from the need for control of museum resources (and protection of donors’ identities?), often personified by the role/training/personality of curators. How often have I heard a curator refer to a museum collection as “my collection”?
The internet first challenged this sense of control. As the virus has kept us out of museums, some have opened collections access online, inviting “visitors” in. Will this be a sea change or only a response in time of crisis?
2. Schools, colleges and universities have quickly adapted to long distance learning techniques, replacing in-person class discussions with zoom or skype connections. Parents have assumed roles as teachers of their kids. What’s the effect of these changes (and growing comfort?) with technology for future class visits to museums? Museum budgets often rely on field trip numbers. Or, what about families heading back to the museum? Will the real thing have lost its importance?
3. Who are museum donors? Should museums consider the source of their wealth or simply accept their largess while creating policies that keep them at arms length, somehow protecting the museum as a public institution? How can museums balance their social responsibilities with their need for financial support?
4. In the United States museums have occupied a non-governmental space, relying on tax incentives, access to governmental grants (federal, state and local) and corporate and individual largess. Will this crisis alter this role for the arts? How? As the government and businesses seek to return to “normal,” what will that look like for arts and culture? What should it look like? In 1991, AAM’s Excellence and Equity Report concluded: “Museums can no longer confine themselves simply to preservation, scholarship and exhibition independent of the social context…They … perform the public service of education—a term that in its broadest sense includes exploration, study, observation, critical thinking, contemplation and dialogue.” That was nearly 20 years ago, long before this crisis.
5. As I step away from my museum career (I think that’s called “retirement”), what’s the future for an emerging museum professional? Somehow, unpaid internships seem unrealistic in these unsettled economic times. How do you enter the profession when its future is so unclear and economically fragile? Where will you find mentors as current museum professionals struggle with the new employment landscape? I suggest you stay in touch with those you have studied with, they are even more important now than in the past.
What would you add to these ideas? I would love to hear from you.
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Here are a mixture of resources MSMC students and staff wanted to share with you this month:
Museum News:
Resources for you:
- UMD's Keep Creating Platform
- Mental Health America. A one-stop shopping resource for a variety of mental health resources, including immediate response sites/crisis intervention; tools for connecting to others, mental health screening tools and tools for coping with anxiety; webinars, live events and workshops; resources for parents, caregivers, older adults, domestic violence survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans; and how-to articles, plus general information about COVID-19.
- EveryMind.org. An online resource for coping with COVID-19 anxiety.
- Crisis Text Line. A resource for any type of crisis. Send a text to 741741 and following minimal screening questions the caller is connected (via text) to a crisis counselor.
- Alcoholics Anonymous Online Meetings. Provides guidance on attending an AA meeting online and how to host your own online meeting.
- Way Forward Webinar. A half-hour webinar that gives helpful tips on dealing with excessive worry; stress and time management; coping and effective planning; how to stay informed without obsessing; and how to practice mindfulness.
- Healthy Place.com. An online compilation of self-help groups, both virtual and in-person that is focused on self-help/support groups, but can also be used to locate many mental health services.
- Working From Home and Work Life Balance
- Best Way to Beat a Bad Mood
- That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief
Virtual Outdoors:
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Smithsonian Fall Internships
Deadline: July 1
The following departments are looking for Fall Interns: Archives, Gardens, Museum of African Art, Museum of American History, Office of Advancement, and Smithsonian Associates.
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National Park Service Internships
Deadline: Various
NPS offers a selection of internships. Check them out now for the Fall.
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Call for papers: Museum & Society
The editors of Museum & Society seek initial responses for their November 2020 issue: short (1000-1500 words) papers reflecting on the impact of COVID-19 on cultural organizations; new challenges, realities, and practices emerging during the pandemic; and the impact of the pandemic on planning activities and institutional discourses.
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