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Research and Reports
Museums and Trust 2021
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Museums consistently rank among the most trusted institutions in the US. Research commissioned by AAM in 2001 found almost 9 out of 10 Americans find museums to be trustworthy—and no other …
New Resource—Strategies for Engaging and Representing Latinos in Museums
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The Latino Network of the American Alliance of Museums has released Strategies for Engaging and Representing Latinos in Museums, a new in-depth resource which provides background …
National Snapshot of COVID-19 Impact on United States Museums (fielded April 2021)
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Between April 6-30, 2021, AAM and Seattle-based Wilkening Consulting conducted the third iteration of a survey of museum directors to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on the museum field. The …
New Report—Museums and Creative Aging: A Healthful Partnership
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This landmark report commissioned by the American Alliance of Museums and written by Marjorie Schwarzer is a call to action for museums to change the narrative about what it means to grow …
Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on People in the Museum Field
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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on the US arts and culture sector—both on the nonprofit organizations that form an essential part of our civic infrastructure and on the …
Invite Your Visitors and Participants To Be Seen in a National Research Portrait — Especially if Your Museum Serves BIPOC or Rural Communities
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Sometimes “anyone can participate” isn’t as inclusive as it seems. There can be all sorts of invisible barriers, including who even hears the invitation to begin with. …
Audiences and Inclusion: A Primer for Cultivating More Inclusive Attitudes Among the Public
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In a deeply divided nation, museums can play an essential role in creating safe and welcoming spaces for the most marginalized and at-risk communities. A component of this work is in …
New TrendsWatch! Navigating a Disrupted Future
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In a normal year, TrendsWatch explores the impact emerging forces of change may have on museums in the next decade or longer. Some, such as demographic shifts, affect all museums in the …
National Snapshot of COVID-19 Impact on United States Museums (October 2020)
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Between October 15-28, AAM and Seattle-based Wilkening Consulting conducted the second iteration of a survey of 850 museum directors to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on the museum field. …
Art Museum Director Survey 2020
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Foreword This inaugural Art Museum Director Survey launched in early 2020. At the time, we did not know that a global pandemic would claim the lives of millions over the following months, …
A Snapshot of US Museums’ Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic (June 2020)
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On June 8, 2020, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) launched a survey designed to capture a snapshot of the state of US museums during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the …
TrendsWatch: Building Financial Resilience in a Time of Crisis
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Support Free COVID-19 Resources for the Field: The current crisis is taking a distressing financial toll on cultural organizations, and AAM is no different. The Center for the Future …
Latest Stories from AAM
Museums as Economic Engines
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Category:
Research and Reports
Museums play an essential role in cultural and social life across the US. They tell our stories, preserve our heritage, interpret the past, and explore the future. In this way, museums …
A Q&A with Dirk Hiscock, Designer of This Year’s Winner for Excellence in Publication Design
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Category:
Alliance Blog
After reviewing hundreds of entries every year, the jury for AAM’s annual Museum Publications Design Competition awards only one publication with the Frances Smyth-Ravenel Prize for …
Pushing the Boundaries
Category:
Museum Magazine
The Whitney Plantation Museum confronts the truth of its history in all facets of its …