tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52396932608120913062024-03-12T19:30:19.289-07:00The Museum MamboMaking Art | History | Museums MatterMiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-50987686448060460052023-01-19T12:08:00.002-08:002023-01-23T11:20:36.771-08:00A Fascinating Reimagining of History<div>I want to talk about this<a href="https://www.tvo.org/article/when-is-a-museum-not-a-museum" target="_blank"> follow-up article by Steve Paikin</a> about how people responded to his initial post. Paikin loves to play both sides, and in this case puts the artist responsible, <a href="https://www.gordonshadrach.com/" target="_blank">Gordon Shadrach</a>, on the defensive. It also doesn't bring in a voice from the museum, so, yet again, as is often the case, the media presents a lone Black voice defending their creativity and work from incensed white people. I bet few, if any, of the voices of detractors belong to someone who has actually been to see the exhibit. And Paikin, in trying to defend the reimagining (at least I think he's trying to defend), does a disservice to the museum, Shadrach, and courageous attempts to retell and contest dominant histories.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dis/Mantel is an art intervention, in a way, in an otherwise typical historic house. It bends and plays with history and truth, but truth is subjective. <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/history-art-culture/museums/spadina-museum/" target="_blank">Spadina House</a> is itself a subjective telling of 19th century Toronto. What folks don't realise is that in most cases, historic houses are already bolstered by "fictions" of the families that lived there, of the normalization of what is almost always upper-middle or upper class values, even the objects within them. Most historic homes are furnished, at least in part, with stand-ins that are period appropriate, but didn't belong to the owners. The Austins didn't live in an 19th century time capsule. A decision was made to portray a period and the house has been staged to look as it did in a particular time. This reimagining is just bringing that to the fore in a jarring way. Jarring for typical museum audiences, anyway. Most typical museum-goers are educated and white, and we (I am obviously one of them) are used to seeing history presented from our perspective. </div><div><br /></div><div>A more traditional means to do a show like this would be to highlight Louisa the family's Black laundress, and her role within the house. That would have been a solid interpretation 30 or 40 years ago, but no less problematic than excluding her altogether. Why? It situates and reinforces the narrative of Black servitude to whites. What this reimagining does is unsettle societal biases built in systemic racism and white privileges. It's not trying to show you objective truth, rather, it is asking you to confront how history is constructed and interpreted. Even if the exhibit is considered a failure, which is yet to be seen, I applaud Spadina House for making it possible and giving space to Shadrach to invert the traditional narrative and allowing visitors to confront their own biases.</div><div><br /></div><div>https://www.tvo.org/article/when-is-a-museum-not-a-museum</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-15781560778161257092022-12-15T10:30:00.215-08:002023-01-23T11:16:29.306-08:00Giving Thanks To... <p> I'm not busy enough, so I thought I'd apply for a professorship. Having never put together a Teaching Dossier before, because, let's be honest, I never really planned to become a university instructor, I have to figure out what my philosophy and strategy for teaching are, and I need to reflect on and summarise the teaching I've done. Thankfully, this application isn't due until later in January, because I can already tell it's going to be a lot of work for which I won't have time until all five-bazillion assignments have been graded. Anyway, one of the problems I've realised is that iSchool TAs don't get evaluations. We might be evaluated within course evals, but we don't see those. So, unless a professor puts something down on paper, it's hard to show what you've done and whether your work is good or appreciated. </p><p>Back in the autumn of 2020, when we were all reeling in the first year of the pandemic, I TA'd for Jenna Hartel, a professor for whom I'd never worked before. I was given two principle roles, to develop a lecture on Indigenous Ways of Knowing, and to help design and co-ordinate the novel assignment "Giving Thanks To..." which was a deep learning, reflective assignment in which students choose new or marginalised information scholars, researched their work, and then wrote them an old fashioned thank you card. Teaching the Indigenous Ways of Knowing lecture was interesting for me, but challenging for my person ethics as I am not Indigenous. Some of my curatorial work explored Indigenous-Settler interactions (Beads: patterns in time, 2007, and Unsettling the Thames, 2011) and I've always been interested in issues of repatriation and cultural appropriation, but to lead a class on an Indigenous topic, as a settler, was uncomfortable. In order to do it justice and to make sure I used the opportunity to raise Indigenous voices, I consulted with a number of friends who are Indigenous educators for advice (and their blessing), and chose readings from the book <i>Braiding Sweetgrass</i> by Robin Wall Kimmerer. In delivering the lecture, I spoke candidly about my discomfort leading the class, and made sure to clearly centre all the Indigenous scholars and Knowledge Keepers I quoted. I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it, but I hope future lectures were delivered by Indigenous teachers.</p><p>The so-called "gratitude project" was an entirely different experience. This work took a majority of my TA hours and I worked with Jenna to develop how the assignment would be structured and assessed. I helped with the writing of the brief, and in the end, I graded all the submissions. What I initially considered something of a "fluff" assignment for a class of Masters students, I came to see as a deeply meaningful, reflective, and pedagogically inspired project, not only for the students, but for me as well. Jenna seated the assignment within a deep-learning or "Sentipensante" pedagogy as a way for students to not only discover the works of new or marginalised information scholars, but to help students find emotional balance and gratitude in a world in chaos. Jenna presented this assignment as an alternative learning approach at a conference, paper, and video, and in all cases she made very sure to include the work that I put into the project. It remains the only work I've done as a TA that has earned public gratitude from the professor and for that I, too, am grateful. You can watch the video below, or <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2142/110936" target="_blank">read her paper here</a>.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OmhAtdSWfCU" width="320" youtube-src-id="OmhAtdSWfCU"></iframe></div><p>Working as Jenna Hartel's TA was an inspiring experience. I'm not quite sure how I landed the class, as I almost always spend my fall semesters grading two other courses, but this worked out very well. It was the first time I was heavily involved in course assessment design, but more importantly, it was an opportunity to see a very different pedagogical approach in action. Jenna was heart-felt and gentle in her course leadership and made an effort to profoundly connect with her students (and me!) although everything was done online. My personality is very different from hers and I don't think I could emulate her teaching style, but I can, and do, take her approach to deep meaning-making, empathy, and compassion to heart when I work with students. And, if I'm ever given the opportunity to teach a course (or courses), I will also take inspiration from her creative approach to teaching and student assessment. I am profoundly thankful for having had the chance to TA that class.<br /></p>MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-68835074259120100272022-06-27T10:58:00.000-07:002022-06-27T10:58:11.555-07:00Talking About Radar Connections<p> Back in June 2019, I was a keynote speaker for the Ontario Genealogical Society (OGS) annual conference, which was being held that year in London, ON. I don't consider myself a genealogist, not the least because I have never spent more than 20 minutes at a stretch digging into my family history, but the work I do in museums is "genealogically adjacent." All community museums hold material that may be useful for people trying to track down family history, stories, neighbourhood, regional, or community connections. Especially at the<a href="http://www.secretsofradar.com" target="_blank"> Secrets of Radar Museum</a>, the work I have done closely aligns with genealogy, where researchers are family members trying to understand what it was their parents/grandparents/aunts/uncles did during the Second World War. I help people track down service records, I cross reference names in books and memoirs, I search for their family members' within the archival and artefact collections. For the keynote address, I used the story of one radar veteran--a museum founder and volunteer--to illustrate how his experience intersected with information about another veteran, whose family had come with questions. <br /><br />That talk had some surprising spin-offs, namely that suddenly I became something of a sought-after speaker for genealogy groups. I was invited to present at The Genealogy Show, a massive event in the UK, which, due to the pandemic eventually was moved online, but I was also to a handful of smaller genealogy groups here in Ontario. The radar story isn't local, but national, and I can find links to through its personnel to most of Canada, but there are some regions that were something of a hotbed for producing radar technicians, and Southern and Southwestern Ontario are two. I was approached by the Huron Branch of the OGS (Ontario Ancestors) to give a talk centring that county's radar people, and also by the Bruce County Genealogy Society, a smaller group not officially affiliated with OGS. </p><p>The cool thing about my PhD research--okay, there are lots of cool things, but one especially important to this particular story--is that I've been able to delve into the Secrets of Radar Museum archives in a way I never had time for when I was the curator. The greatest historians of the radar program were the veterans themselves, as no one else in Canada could be arsed. Partly because the program was under a veil of secrecy that lasted fifty years, and partly because Canadian war histories are few and far between, and those historians that do write them seem bafflingly obsessed with Dieppe and other perceived failures, rather than the depth and breadth of the services, or, even worse, are happy to regurgitate the British and American centric narratives that downplay Canada's roles, even when those roles are central, like radar! Anyway, sorry to digress, but what that means is that there is no "authoritative" history of the radar program that hasn't been written by the veterans themselves. The veterans have done an excellent job chronicling their work and experiences, and have produced a number of authoritative volumes, and one of the great things they've done is track down as many radar veterans as possible, listing their service as well as post-war activities and communities. The archives also hold mailing lists for thousands of veterans and their spouses, which is a treasure trove for genealogical information, and can then be cross-referenced to cemeteries, obituaries, community histories, etc., which is exactly what I do to furnish my talks for regional genealogy organisations.</p><p>All this was really a preamble to link to the proceedings of the <a href="https://youtu.be/_sB62-wxMkg" target="_blank">Bruce County GS September 2021 meeting</a>, which includes my approximately hour-long talk to the group. I really enjoy speaking to local groups about how small museums can be boons for genealogical and historical research. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_sB62-wxMkg" width="320" youtube-src-id="_sB62-wxMkg"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-65868591866905911822022-04-21T09:15:00.001-07:002022-05-14T09:55:30.071-07:00When Life Gives You a Car Fire, Make it Art<p>The first thing you need to understand is that my next-door neighbours engage in nefarious and not-precisely-legal activities. As a result, our shared driveway is often the site for disruptive shenanigans at all hours of the day and night, but especially at night. Peak shenanigans were reached in February, when someone abandoned a stolen PT Cruiser convertible and lit it on fire <i>in the driveway</i>. It was, at the time, incredibly scary. And then, when the Police appeared to leave the burnt-out car there, blocking access, it became funny. I began referring to it as an art installation. And, as is my duty as a curator, originally of art, I created a didactic label for it. What else could I do?</p><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><b></b></span></p><blockquote><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><b>Partially Torched, 2022</b> Anonymous</span> <br /></p></blockquote><blockquote><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Mixed media, PT Cruiser </span></p><p><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"><i>Partially Torched</i> is a metaphor for two years of urban crisis during a pandemic. Emblematic of municipal window dressing, the car depicts atavistic style over function, the charred hood masking the health crisis beneath. </span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">The blackened, smashed windshield calls out racially motivated violence, poorly contained, yet defined by police action represented by the forgotten police tape. </span><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">Juxtaposed against the residential homes of Old East Village, this installation invites both critical appraisal of London's visible systemic imbalances and a gesture toward the wry irony that nothing ever changes.</span></p></blockquote><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ172j7Qpizj8VGEIhXqBvYwsZXjQZziV9FruYC4rbQmS1cXLSqIvbH1qaYKqHIqKEPBwKj7Pv5nmVK3cKRRkdO0HsymHZ-OB86C4aaLPZQPft_uoqa86eljzy0aQMg7HIpDOEp8DqgNBdPpxSKQpgqPiIsdlf5twshVngi-WsvZB5QVSpa9QC7nW8/s1440/IMG_20220225_135106_969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="PT Cruiser convertible with a scortched hood and burnt, broken windshield. An empty motor oil bottle lies on the ground." border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1301" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ172j7Qpizj8VGEIhXqBvYwsZXjQZziV9FruYC4rbQmS1cXLSqIvbH1qaYKqHIqKEPBwKj7Pv5nmVK3cKRRkdO0HsymHZ-OB86C4aaLPZQPft_uoqa86eljzy0aQMg7HIpDOEp8DqgNBdPpxSKQpgqPiIsdlf5twshVngi-WsvZB5QVSpa9QC7nW8/w289-h320/IMG_20220225_135106_969.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FidyX8HAz_yM40dvc2xYa8zfbCBbaZsaeXap_4YuXAJTdYfJDpETR2Lzb9Ah2IAamnd9NuuVt4_uOuKI8TPeNv2sO6AjwUIKHIaLJbAKog4yaCdw61DnsGmne-nBcskzKe-pI-tKYKFepXGPjgyHoXKXcVxE9vam9Z8cLzEnYxrUc0NcjX1WQBjZ/s1383/IMG_20220225_135106_930.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The same PT Cruiser now covered in about 3cm of snow." border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="1251" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FidyX8HAz_yM40dvc2xYa8zfbCBbaZsaeXap_4YuXAJTdYfJDpETR2Lzb9Ah2IAamnd9NuuVt4_uOuKI8TPeNv2sO6AjwUIKHIaLJbAKog4yaCdw61DnsGmne-nBcskzKe-pI-tKYKFepXGPjgyHoXKXcVxE9vam9Z8cLzEnYxrUc0NcjX1WQBjZ/w289-h320/IMG_20220225_135106_930.jpg" width="289" /></a></div><span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0"></span><p></p><p>After two days, the car was finally taken away, so all exhibition plans were cancelled.</p><p style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="Rectangle of gravel driveway surrounded by snow, with text stamped over it that says "Cancelled Exhibition"" class="ji94ytn4 d2edcug0 r9f5tntg r0294ipz" data-visualcompletion="media-vc-image" height="320" src="https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/274737070_10159452646055081_3488477742835025962_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-6&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=A0wgHgk8aNEAX_pVm0q&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.xx&oh=00_AT-u4aEHU95ke-Pgz4n68jLfDjJvPLpyof8UmYIWzsiAQQ&oe=62857F6F" width="256" /></p><p><br /><br />The original post was on Twitter, then shared to Instagram. You can view the<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaaTW-tFDxk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" target="_blank"> Insta post at this link</a>. </p><p>Here's the original Tweet thread about the car: </p><br /><br /><br /><p></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">There's a car on fire in my driveway. So how's your night going?</p>— Maya H. (@mambolica) <a href="https://twitter.com/mambolica/status/1496768552308645892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-3696529101107646522021-10-21T16:19:00.000-07:002021-10-21T16:19:46.100-07:00<p>I'm grading PLE (Personal Learning Environment) maps and analyses, which help a person to map out their professional/academic/leisure learning environments, in order to understand their knowledge/experience strengths and weaknesses. One assignment triggered a very specific memory in response, about which I probably hadn't thought in many years. <br /><br />I remember in my undergrad, 25 years ago (!), when I still thought I would be an anthropologist, I was tasked with creating a kinship chart--sort of like a family tree, but with symbols that represent people, altered to reflect deceased or ostracized members. My chart was large, but almost every person who should have been intimately close in a traditional extended family, was shaded, meaning they were dead or estranged. Of course, knowing most of my family was deceased, on both sides, was not news, but seeing it laid bare before me was deeply uncomfortable. I stared at it a long time, uncertain of how I felt. A friend walked into my room and asked what I was doing. After the explanation, she too stared at it for a while, before bursting into laughter. She kept apologising for laughing at something that was so sad, but it was funny, in a tragic way. I, too, began to laugh, until we were both crying. We hugged and I thanked her. <br /><br />At the time, I couldn't tell you (or her) why I was thanking her, but today I can pinpoint that moment as one that was foundational to my desire to help create connections between people and my interest in community bonds and identity.</p><p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQWSwYVICJEN7I5KJUyUcXhx1iiGTXLdmmKC1BgemkK6mfX61ZfJdPTUqUzi8lahxeh_LPAWMPqhmV-JlVhdI7GCXMGur1FxNfKJfk-atSaBeTqLJXbNZR7Z3ROhXBljLxlICSSGOdLhk/s636/Screenshot+2021-10-21+at+19-06-19+KINSHIP+%2528Social+Science%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="636" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQWSwYVICJEN7I5KJUyUcXhx1iiGTXLdmmKC1BgemkK6mfX61ZfJdPTUqUzi8lahxeh_LPAWMPqhmV-JlVhdI7GCXMGur1FxNfKJfk-atSaBeTqLJXbNZR7Z3ROhXBljLxlICSSGOdLhk/s320/Screenshot+2021-10-21+at+19-06-19+KINSHIP+%2528Social+Science%2529.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legend of typical kinship relations, <a href="http://what-when-how.com/social-sciences/kinship-social-science/" target="_blank">scraped from Google</a>.<br /><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /></p>MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-70958969310056515472021-04-22T14:18:00.000-07:002021-04-22T14:18:10.584-07:00The Road to Candidacy<p>Some people have suggested I should use this blog to market my extensive knowledge and experience in museums. Consider the immediately preceding sentence as me doing just that. I've never been good at marketing myself, and I lack to dedication to this format I had, way back in 2001, when I first wrote a blog. I also suffer tremendous imposter syndrome and rarely think the work I produce (except in putting together exhibitions, which I don't do much of these days) is scholarly enough to share. What I am comfortable doing; however, is talking about emotional things, the feelings we humans get to work through when life bites us, and how we persevere.*<br /><br />On March 15, 2021, which happens to be my mother's birthday, I achieved PhD Candidacy. It's something that happens in most doctoral students' lives, if they make it past the halfway mark in their programme, but back in January, there were indications I wouldn't. You see, in spite of many drafts and revisions and meetings with all or part of my Committee, my original Thesis Proposal in December was rejected. I failed. I did not expect to fail. I'd expected provisional acceptance pending revisions, but failure was not on my radar. According to my Committee, it was a deliberation between provisional pass pending revisions or failure, and for various reasons that were probably sound, in the end they opted to reject my Proposal.</p><p>The Thesis Proposal, if you're unaware, is the document you provide that outlines the rationale for, theoretical underpinnings of, and methodology to carry out one's Thesis. It is not developed in a black box, it is guided to varying degrees by one's Supervisor and Committee members. The Thesis Proposal Defence, at least for my Faculty, is a meeting between the student, their full Committee, and an impartial Chair. The student explains their Thesis Proposal in a short presentation no more than 20 minutes, and then for another 80 minutes or so, the Committee asks the student questions. Those questions can be anything from critique and requests for elaboration to blue-sky questions to test how far the Thesis can go. In the process, the Committee discovers weaknesses in the Thesis Proposal that need to be addressed before it can go ahead. Then they deliberate<i> in-camera </i>for a while and come back with a decision. There are four (maybe five) possible outcomes:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Accept, as-is, no revisions;</li><li>Accept, with edits, and two weeks to make those edits;</li><li>Accept, with revisions, and one month to make those revisions, which may require revisiting the literature, or whatever;</li><li>Reject, with three months to redo and defend again;</li><li>and, if there's a fifth, in situations of egregious underperformance, I suppose it's removal from the programme. </li></ul><p>As I waited, and waited, and waited for my Committee's decision, I began to suspect that they were deliberating between Accept with revisions, or Reject. When we all reconvened almost 25 minutes after they went <i>in-camera</i>, the Chair announced their decision. The reason they gave for Rejecting was more about timing than how terrible my Thesis Proposal was (although it was flawed, remember, it had been through drafts and discussion with all members of my Committee over a period of months, and so it wasn't <i>terrible</i>), and they all agreed my presentation was very good. The reason was the time of year. It was, on that day, December 18. I was, as were they, in the thick of end of term grading, as well as the pressures of seasonal activities (even in a pandemic). Grading fills the Christmas break. How was I supposed to revise my Proposal while spending hours and hours grading. </p><p>Disappointment, self-doubt, and even despondency are common symptoms of PhD studies. (The summer of 2019 I considered dropping out as the pressures of my Qualifying Exams mounted and I felt I wasn't getting the support I needed. I didn't, and in the end, I passed my Quals.) But, initially, upon hearing my Committee's decision, I was merely bummed. I shrugged it off and planned a debrief with my Supervisor for the coming Monday. In that debrief, I was given the task of returning to the literature and to rethink my angle of attack. And then I spent the next two weeks grading for two classes, and although I read a handful of articles and chapters, I basically didn't think about my Thesis Proposal much at all. <br /><br />Suddenly, it was January 3rd. A new semester was starting. I'd picked up a pretty big TA contract, because I thought I'd have the time as I'd, at the time, believed my Proposal would be behind me. So now I had a contract <i>and</i> had to redo my Thesis Proposal. I was fairly sure I could do it. I usually rise to the challenge when I'm under pressure and I do my best work when I'm busy. My Supervisor and I began working out a plan as I realised I didn't actually want to focus my thesis on what I'd initially flagged, and my readings shifted and I began rewriting. I felt uncertain and scared, and my imposter syndrome was at an all-time high. You see, if you fail your Thesis Proposal a second time, the typical outcome is that you get ushered out the door. Add to this fresh pandemic restrictions, seasonal depression, and you have a recipe for emotional distress. I also felt a different pressure, one of keeping a promise to the veterans I work(ed) with at the museum, around whom my Thesis revolves; the promise to keep and share their stories, to write their histories. The idea I would fail them also weighed on me. And then came the emails from the Programme Director and the letter from the Graduate Committee on Standing. <br /><br />There is nothing so confidence shattering as having the Powers That Be tell you they have doubts. Doubts in my ability to see things through. Doubts that I have the emotional/mental resiliency to carry on. Doubts I can shoulder my other responsibilities at the same time. The Programme Director is a really good guy, but he has a sort of script he has to work from in cases of students who don't produce the work expected of them. One of the line items "offered" to those students is a Leave of Absence. In theory, Leaves of Absence are amazing. They give the student time to think things through, take a mental or emotional break, figure things out, or look after other life issues that need attending to. In practice, the way they are handled is kind of barbaric. A Leave of Absence provides a student a break, but also cuts them off from their TA work (source of income), school resources like the Health and Wellness programmes, and, their Benefits. Those benefits are the things that make if possible for students in distress to get help at low or no cost. As a student who has made use of those benefits, who uses the Health and Wellness resources, and who does not have a parent, spouse, or external funding shoring up her bank account so therefore needs TA contracts, being put on Leave would probably have devastating effects. Moreover, I knew my project was good and if they could just let me get on with it, I was sure I could pull it off. Through tears, I pleaded not to be put on Leave, and explained how my Supervisor and I had come up with a plan to get my Thesis Proposal done, in two months. Please, I said, "if you put me on Leave, my mental health will be at greater risk and you will cut me off from financial resources I desperately need. I will have no choice but to drop out and take whatever work I can find."<br /><br />I meant it. I cry about all kinds of things, like movies and sentimental adverts, and displays of random kindness, but crying in front of the Director, and begging to be allowed to do what I knew I could accomplish, was humiliating. My Supervisor had faith in me, so why couldn't he? I was given a week to demonstrate how I would be get it all done, and with the strong encouragement to drop or reduce my TA contract. Over a series of emails and another meeting, I was able to demonstrate a plan of action, and with the support of the professor for whom I was TAing, I was able to shift my hours to the second half of the term. I was given the go-ahead by the Director. Extension granted. The letter from the Graduate Committee on Standing was another kick in the teeth my fragile emotional well-being did not need. One sentence telling my my extension was granted. A much shorter sentence to wish me good luck, and a paragraph outlining how serious it all is.<br /></p><div><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 96px; top: 542.691px; transform: scaleX(0.968274);"></span><br /><i><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 96px; top: 406.691px; transform: scaleX(0.963295);">We wish you good luck moving forward.</span><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 96px; top: 445.571px; transform: scaleX(0.974761);"><br /><br />The grounds for approving extensions are based on our assessment of the progress you have made </span><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 96px; top: 464.931px; transform: scaleX(0.967264);">toward the successful completion of your thesis proposal and your supervisor’s confidence in your </span><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 96px; top: 484.291px; transform: scaleX(0.973533);">ability to defend your proposal by the end of the </span><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 404.32px; top: 484.291px; transform: scaleX(0.977322);">Winter 2021 term. <span style="background-color: #fff2cc;">If you do not defend your </span></span><span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 96px; top: 503.811px; transform: scaleX(0.972727);">proposal by the end of this extension, the Committee will be very reluctant to approve further </span><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 96px; top: 523.171px; transform: scaleX(0.971015);">extensions and if we do not recommend an extension, we will recommend to SGS that your </span><span style="font-family: serif; font-size: 16px; left: 96px; top: 542.691px; transform: scaleX(0.968274);">registration be terminated.</span></span></i></p></blockquote><p> </p><p>Looking back, it's not as bad a letter as I remember it. Presumably, this is because I was, as stated, immensely fragile, exhausted, and struggling to keep it all together, whereas now I am a full Candidate and all this is behind me. At the time, the letter almost undid the glimmer of hope I'd found after escaping a Leave of Absence. Almost, but not quite. Because if there's one thing I don't back down from, it's a threat (which is a blessing and often a curse). I also had tremendous support from my friends and my Mom, who were there to listen and to offer words of encouragement when needed. Hearing my mother say, "No matter what happens, I am proud of you and the work you've done," was much better than pep-talks about not giving up. Working for a professor empathetic to the struggles of PhD studies, being willing to accommodate my priorities, and lending both an ear and sharing his own difficult journey to doctorate, was a gift. Having continued access to antidepressants, and a doctor who understood why a temporary increase in dosage was the right move, was also tremendously important. And not losing the benefits to pay for them was a bonus.<br /></p><p></p><p>What followed was a month of the most dedicated, focused research and writing I have ever carried out in my entire life. And, what came out of that was a much, much better Thesis Proposal and the eventual decision to Accept it, as-is, no revisions, about which I am really rather proud. The Chair of my second Defence was the Programme Director, which was also quite satisfying, as was the follow-up letter from the Graduate Committee on Standing, congratulating me. </p><p>There's no moral to this story. I needed a break, but couldn't take one. I just wanted it to be over. And now it is, but not because I got put on Leave or I dropped out. I'm sure things will get crazy again, but for the moment, I'm in a lull and it's awesome. And I'm a fucking Doctoral Candidate. <br /><br /><br /></p><p> </p><p>* Persevere is a pretty weird word, don't you think? Of severity. That's kind of how it translates. How do we get the "pushing through" part from "of severity"? It probably comes from Latin. If you care, you can Google it. <br /><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-11003208261792477002021-01-27T20:43:00.002-08:002021-01-27T20:45:26.868-08:00Tante Ina's Jewish Children<p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql rrkovp55 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">Today
is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I'm half-Jewish, and strangely, my Holocaust connection comes from my Dutch Goyim family, not
my New York Jewish family. I mean, probably my Nana and Zaide lost
relatives, but I don't know who. I've never tried to find out.</span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql rrkovp55 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">I'd
like to share the story my mom posted yesterday, in her words, and I'm
including a photograph that I dug out of a box of random photos my
great-aunts ("the Tantes" as they were known) had sent mom three
decades ago. </span></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql rrkovp55 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"></span></p><blockquote>Today I have a short but intense story, regarding
my aunt in the Netherlands. She was a teacher in Amsterdam who had been
assigned to a Jewish school in the Ghetto round 1942*. She worked with
the Rabbi to ensure her curriculum was sensitive to Jewish culture
(unusual at that time). She loved the children she described as alert
and very bright. After many months, she arrived at school at the usual
time in the morning, to an empty school yard and a locked school. It was
eerily silent. She located the caretaker who informed my aunt that the
children were gone. The Nazis rounded them up overnight and put them
onto a train. My aunt stood stalk still processing this information.
Then, her tears began to flow and continued to flow for the rest of her
life. Then and there she decided to join the Dutch Resistance. In her
eighties, near the end of life and suffering from dementia, she still
remembered those absent children. Her tears would roll silently down her
cheeks and she’d keep saying: “I should have done more”. Her name was
Ina Hogenkamp and she went on to do much more.</blockquote><p></p><p><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql rrkovp55 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto">These are her Jewish children, when they were still alive with bright futures ahead of them. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7niGYbpfn4PTH8Z-ZCjBZku1VuUCgDY1zOb5sJ3teovWNX_AgKmvqbQvgpnBgg1fFfkPSahBe_-s4izVA_YVySrMeYP9ohHyh8l2iriqikXkKERD4ky3L35jYsMdZeDv4AZKtoypgxM/s915/2021-01-27+%25282%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A large group of children are aranged seated and standing, along with a few adults among them, in a paved courtyard in front of trees and a building with a bell tower." border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="915" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7niGYbpfn4PTH8Z-ZCjBZku1VuUCgDY1zOb5sJ3teovWNX_AgKmvqbQvgpnBgg1fFfkPSahBe_-s4izVA_YVySrMeYP9ohHyh8l2iriqikXkKERD4ky3L35jYsMdZeDv4AZKtoypgxM/w400-h280/2021-01-27+%25282%2529.png" title="Class photograph, 1941, Netherlands" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql rrkovp55 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id" dir="auto"><br />*It was 1941.<br /><br /><br /></span><p></p>MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-5786278600955643312019-09-17T12:19:00.000-07:002019-09-17T12:19:44.177-07:00We Return Now to Our Previous BroadcastIt's been almost three years since I last published anything in this blog. Not that I believe I have any readers, but I feel a bit guilty for neglecting what was shaping up to be a pretty nifty (to me) blog about things museumish in nature. <br /><br />What happened? Everything, just about.<br />
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Following the previous post, my personal life took a sudden left turn, mashing me up against the side window, and taking me on a dramatic journey of rediscovery. In a bid to stop the mad spiral, and find renewed purpose, I applied to the University of Toronto Faculty of Information doctoral studies. This was not my first attempt to commence a PhD, although it was my first attempt to do it at UofT (my undergraduate <i>alma mater</i>). Fearing the worst, I decided that if I was not accepted, I would completely change careers and go drive motorcoaches for Greyhound. <br />
<br />
UofT's gain is Greyhound's loss, I suppose. In March of 2017, I was accepted and so that's where I've been for the last 2 years. I continue(d) to work and volunteer with community museums and had to learn how to go from thinking at a purely practical level to a theoretical level. This has been both tremendously challenging and rewarding. There are many places where museum practice and museum theory intersect, but often the barriers to smooth intersection (such as language, funding, politics, timelines, etc.) are enormous. Hopefully, when I'm all done, whenever that is, and I have my fancy piece of paper, cap and gown, I'll be in a much better position to intervene in how theory is applied in practice, and how practice can influence theory. <br />
<br />
PhD studies are a very special kind of struggle. Imposter syndrome and anxiety are rampant among students, young and old, regardless of gender. Many's the time I have felt baffled by my assignments, undermined by my lack of understanding of what others seemingly grasp with ease, and honestly re-evaluated my life decisions. It's a slog. But it's also exciting, eye-opening, satisfying, and I am grateful to have been accepted into the program. <br />
<br />
With that said, I hope to breathe new life into this blog, talk about some of the things I've studied and experienced, as well as just museum talk as before. <br />
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<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-40476836735772369822016-10-09T15:11:00.000-07:002016-10-09T15:16:39.564-07:00MacAllister "Mac" JohnsonAs we passed the Mac Johnson Wildlife area near Brockville, on the way to the family cabin, I thought of my old prof, MacAllister "Mac" Johnson. I wondered if it was the same person. One of the few profs I had at UofT for whom I had a true fondness, I decided to look him up to find out. Sadly, what I learned was my professor passed away in August this year.<br />
<br />
Mac referred to himself as a "dinosaur" because he was a relic of a time when art history was examined through a philosophical lens that married aesthetics and history. He loved that I was utterly unable to separate art from the context in which it occurred. He, like his own professor, Erwin Panofsky, loved iconography and the meanings behind everything.<br />
<br />
He was, I believe, a confirmed bachelor who liked movie dates with Millie, his chihuahua, and once astounded us with the statement that 'The Mummy', starring Brendan Fraser, was an aesthetic and artistic triumph and really "a lot of fun". He made me like frou-frou 18th century art because he steeped it in the history of its time, the hidden messages, and the technological advances of print making. RIP, Mac, you were poorly understood by your department, thought quite eccentric by many of your students, but I always wished I'd known you better. <br />
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McAllister-JohnsonMiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-74741157057999526522016-08-28T12:24:00.000-07:002016-10-12T12:27:43.899-07:00Thinking About MemoryMemory is a tricky thing. Few of us have perfect recall, and many of us have deeply flawed memories at the best of time. Our ability to recall past events changes as we age, and brain injuries, illness, medical intervention, and substances have an impact on how our brain stores and retrieves memories. I, for instance, am terrible at remembering names and rarely remember small talk. I often need prompting in social situations, because I remember faces far better than anything else. (So, if I don't introduce you to someone, it's because I either can't remember your name, or the other person's.) Yet my early childhood memory is phenomenal, as is my memory of events. I can remember trivial knowledge, which is great for Quiz night down at the pub, but not so great when I'm trying to remember the little details I need to know for the work I do. Good thing I keep excellent reference files, eh?<br />
<br />
I work with the memories of others. It's the nature of working with the history of the recent past. The work I do is heavily infused with oral history and lived experience, but I receive that history second-hand. For many of the veterans with whom I've worked, the memories of their Second World War are remarkable in their clarity and vividness. For each and every one I've interviewed, their experience is Truth. Some will say that they don't remember all the details, some will offer a disclaimer that they "may be wrong, but this is how [they] remember it." When two veterans recall the same story, they often remember it differently. Everyone brings their own biases to their experience, too, at the time and again when the event is remembered. This can significantly alter how something is perceived. Occasionally, their stories conflict in names, dates, or the sequence of events, but to each, theirs is True. Yet they can't both be accurate. Or can they?<br />
<br />
How do I, as a curator and historian, parse these divergent oral histories, knowing that our unsteady, inconstant memory makes them potentially unreliable? <br />
<br />
I have been thinking pretty hard about these questions lately. I don't yet have an answer good enough to share, but I am reading about memory and oral history when I have free time. If I am going to progress with that book about Canadians on radar during WWII, I need to figure out how to balance the authority of History with the authenticity of lived experience.<br />
<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-39736619897083029992016-06-23T10:53:00.000-07:002016-06-23T10:53:13.053-07:00Where Credit's Due<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuUkrok0VOB7OKNPPfbNQj49_5Ib-soawc-fH8DKNr37QrvZFGXkAOf3zdWrsvVPB8UjkLisqEqS1U9RZH7uz-ucoKpC2butyCTA5OcmOnZUqmNuBk0jVwdZ2l__FBay99m1XRZkmovA/s1600/IMG_20160623_134245_edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuUkrok0VOB7OKNPPfbNQj49_5Ib-soawc-fH8DKNr37QrvZFGXkAOf3zdWrsvVPB8UjkLisqEqS1U9RZH7uz-ucoKpC2butyCTA5OcmOnZUqmNuBk0jVwdZ2l__FBay99m1XRZkmovA/s400/IMG_20160623_134245_edit.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a terrible screenshot from the Vanastra episode of <i>Still Standing</i> taken with my phone.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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About eleven months ago, I consulted with a major motion picture studio to provide information on Cold War radar. The researcher found <a href="http://secretsofradar.com/" target="_blank">Secrets of Radar Museum</a> (and therefore, me) and I helped her find the information she needed. It was a lot of fun and I'd love to do more of it, but I can't help be a little disappointed that neither the museum nor I received a credit line. Especially with a movie of this size (you might have heard of it, <i>X-Men: Apocalypse</i>) and a captive audience waiting for a post-credit teaser, it would have been really great exposure. <br />
<br />
Which is why I am very happy that CBC's quirky TV stand-up comedy show <i>Still Standing</i> did provide credits for both SoRM and myself for the work we did helping to fact-check their recent Vanastra, Ontario epidsode. We also put the studio in touch with a spry Second World War veteran, Jim Sands, who was able to make the trip across the province to participate. I am very grateful that <i>Still Standing</i> made the effort to thank those who helped. Sure, it won't get the viewership of an X-Men movie, but it matters. So thanks, CBC and Frantic Films !</div>
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You can <a href="http://watch.cbc.ca/still-standing/season-2/episode-2/38e815a-00a1b788c69" target="_blank">watch the Vanastra episode of <i>Still Standing </i>here</a>. It's 22 entertaining and fascinating minutes about one of the strangest, coolest little communities in Ontario. </div>
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And, if you're looking for someone to provide some history research for your project, I am looking to do more !</div>
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MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-50244088103260304522016-05-26T11:08:00.000-07:002016-05-26T11:08:22.327-07:00The Unnecessary Evils of Necessary EvilsThis is a (very raw) primer for understanding the stress of submitting grant applications. It's a necessary evil if you work in galleries, museums, culture centres, theatres, and all the culture drivers therein (such as curators, artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, etc.). If you already understand the perils of grant-based funding, none of this will come as a surprise. It's more of a validation of the challenges you face. I'm not offering solutions, or even taking a particularly deep look at this. Maybe I'm just venting. Some of what I'm talking about here relates to personal experience, but it's also anecdotal. I've worked in the culture sector long enough to have heard all kinds of horror stories. So, there you go. Read on, if you dare.<br />
<br />Imagine, if you will, you work in the culture sector - okay maybe <i>you</i> don't - but you probably know someone who does. This post probably applies to research scientists, too, for that matter, or anyone whose livelihood is directly tied to grant-based funding, donations, and sponsorship. Even the big institutions and organisations, yes even the ones that appear sustainable (what's that mean, again?), survive in part on fundraising. Big institutions tend to be better at finding funders because they have the resources to look for funders. They have departments with people devoted to researching possible funders and donors, they have marketing departments to get the word out and drum up support. Money breeds money, so they say. So let's leave them out of this conversation, because when small and mid-sized culture organisations go up against the big'uns, most of the time, they lose.<br />
<br />
For small institutions, the ones that don't have enormous donor bases, or large memberships, or who have subject area or interest that may not be immediately relatable for the average person, the struggle to find funding, especially long-term funding, is real. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the majority of culture organisations fall into this category. In the science world, this probably equates to exploratory science, pure research. It's where many of the most life-changing discoveries have happened, and yet these research labs are the ones most frequently scrambling to find funding to keep their research alive. Small culture orgs are also often the innovators in their fields, because they have to do more with so much less. They don't have access to the funds for big tech, or flashy exhibits, swish publications. Usually, there are a few key individuals, maybe only one or two, who try to figure out how to create buzz, develop engaging programs, figure out how rent or utilities will be paid, etc., and very often, they don't work full-time, or they're volunteers, or they're only paid through project grants. Often, they're highly educated, and typically, they're passionate about what they do. So passionate, in fact, that the rest of the world takes for granted that these folks will just keep doing what they do for shockingly low wages. And, sadly, many of them (myself included) will, at least for a while.<br />
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So, back to fundraising and writing grants.<br />
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We in the culture sector know the tear-jerking, breakdown-inducing stress of writing grants. We put ourselves in front of funder after funder trying desperately to find one who will take an interest. We take time and resources away from our often struggling organisations in order to lock ourselves up for a week at a time to write grant applications. And we write many, many grant applications, don't we? Oh yes we do. It's like applying for a job: sometimes it's for a highly paid job, sometimes its for short-term unskilled labour, but every time, we have to make the case for why we're the right one for it - in this case, funds. Only instead of applying for a job or two that will, hopefully, pay a living wage, culture orgs are applying for dozens of jobs. Instead of one or two jobs paying the bills and allowing for a few new toys or a small renovation, it's more like one job to repair the roof, one job to put food on the table, one job to clothe, another to cover utilities, another to buy school supplies for the kids, another to keep the lights on... because <i>none</i> of the jobs alone will do more than one thing. And every application has different requirements, different rules, and quite often, a host of invisible prerequisites you never knew the committees were looking for.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMa_OcVq8HfSrxqKkQUe9kMZg92p-DRYz7YqTRofRQGutM4-hAGe5S1YUxV7SnN9lbV4ydUDthKqTzl40ZM3wHDMQGjQ2mhzsWjCXPbTzXyaXrxjh6G_WmdGGZnfUUOUvaVSKV9jFng8/s1600/application-declined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiMa_OcVq8HfSrxqKkQUe9kMZg92p-DRYz7YqTRofRQGutM4-hAGe5S1YUxV7SnN9lbV4ydUDthKqTzl40ZM3wHDMQGjQ2mhzsWjCXPbTzXyaXrxjh6G_WmdGGZnfUUOUvaVSKV9jFng8/s320/application-declined.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Like any worker who works multiple jobs, trying to make ends meet, culture organisations spend a lot of energy just making sure they can make it to the next month. They exist, like so many people who just scrape by, hand to mouth, too concerned with where the next buck is coming from to spend time investing in their futures. And, like so many salaries, funding is static or going down. More requests on funders, for fewer dollars.<br />
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Then there are the funders. There are any number of types out there, and if you've ever spent any time looking at the granting websites, you know that every single one of them has different (and sometimes variable) eligibility requirements. This grant won't fund operations expenses (you know, like rent, utilities, light bulbs, toilet paper, etc.); that grant won't fund organisations with a military bias; this other grant will cover projects, but not the salary for the person who is working on the project; this one is only available in these three communities; that grant won't cover anything unless it supports literacy, or whatever. Some grants look perfect, but when you research the projects they've funded, you discover that they only give money to projects at a university. Sometimes a granting organisation will only allow applicants who they have invited and, please, no phone calls, emails, faxes, or any other form of outside solicitation, so unless you know so-and-so on the Board, forget about it.<br />
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Often, culture organisations rely heavily, some might say too heavily, on government and government supported funders. Often, government grants are the only ones which cover operations. They usually have a lofty mandate to support and empower organisations and to assist in making those organisations sustainable. Of course, sustainability in the culture sector, especially as it is currently laid out, is more myth than reality for most orgs, because they are<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
a) not-for-profit,<br />
b) subject to the whims and interests of membership and volunteers, and,<br />
c) the culture of philanthropy in Canada is under developed and under rewarded by current tax laws. </blockquote>
I'm sure there are other reasons that sustainability is more myth than reality for many orgs, but those are what came to me off the top of my head.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvSWnLGcWS91IEAX9Ig11nAHH-QQMaOzZRfRkbsZVszJroNfvI50ChevhwM92kfMttpADbz1tvN6ivexpfKFNIc-m0ZpxnyJC9b1yAWazA7xzeh9zUX43vBQpjqV8G-OO1i8_h6aEzmE/s1600/budget+-+iStock_000041295790_Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvSWnLGcWS91IEAX9Ig11nAHH-QQMaOzZRfRkbsZVszJroNfvI50ChevhwM92kfMttpADbz1tvN6ivexpfKFNIc-m0ZpxnyJC9b1yAWazA7xzeh9zUX43vBQpjqV8G-OO1i8_h6aEzmE/s320/budget+-+iStock_000041295790_Large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Typically, and for very good reasons, government grants require the most paperwork. No ministry or department wants to have backlash because "taxpayer dollars" have been wasted/misspent on a culture organisation that has misappropriated funds, or bought a desk chair and printer cart when the rules clearly stated that office fixtures are <i>ineligible</i> expenses! They want to show that funds are being used for their intended purposes, and that both the funder and the recipient are accountable. But sometimes, the hoops organisations are expected to jump through to secure often meagre funds, are unnecessarily evil. There are grants that require orgs to submit an audit. Audits are important, but they're also expensive. To an organisation with a budget of less than $50,000, an audit that costs over $4,000 may well be prohibitive. Especially since the audit comes before the grant, and the costs of the audit may not be eligible expenditures for the grant. Imagine being required to submit an audit for a grant that won't provide more than $8,000, and the grant will take a solid 25 hours to complete. Is that worth the pain? Imagine your organisation has only one staff person. And that person is paid out of a project grant which won't cover these unrelated costs! Now imagine that you took the time, unpaid, to write that grant, your organisation paid for the audit, and then your organisation still failed to secure the funds... <br />
<br />So you contact the funder to find out what you did wrong, or what you could improve for next time. Sometimes, rarely, they offer real, meaningful advice. I just recently learned a grant I'd applied for was declined, but they followed up with an invitation to re-apply and to contact them to find out how to improve for the next intake. We did, and much to our surprise, we were told just how close we came to being funded and three ways we could strengthen our already strong application. Wow. You can bet we will reapply. but, like all those HR departments who promise to get back to you, but rarely do, with their hiring decisions, culture orgs are lucky to get a form letter informing them their request was declined. I've called funders to find out how to improve future applications and often they can provide so little feedback that I'm left wondering whether all the applications were just thrown in the air and those that landed face-up were selected and those that landed face-down weren't. A colleague of mine told me about the time they weren't funded because their organisation didn't have a business plan. A business plan was not on the list of required supporting documents, nor was it refered to anywhere in the grant guidelines. Understandably, my colleague was pretty upset, but as with most funders, there was no appeal process. <br />
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Sometimes an org is invited to reapply, is offered advice on how to improve, and then they still don't get funded, for any number of reasons.Maybe it was a financial short-fall on the funder's end, or a policy
change at a top government level, or maybe the decision committee
changed their mind - it doesn't even have to be a problem with the
culture organisation's application. Then you have to tell your
membership where the money went, why it didn't come, which breeds little
in the way of security or confidence, and then other potential funders
become concerned... you can see how this might affect a museum's
sustainability pretty quickly.<br />
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I am happy to report that while I've lived through the chest-clutching, hair-pulling horror of having desperately needed grants not come through, and will likely live through it again, I can demonstrate a 65% success rate for receiving funds or at least partial funds to support my organisations (and my livelihood). But I probably spend a solid third of my time researching, planning, and writing grant applications, most of which do not in a real way support day-to-day operations, and usually not my salary, either. So, there you go. I hope this shed some light on a mysterious and often traumatising aspect of trying to run a culture org. The challenges differ from place to place, country to country, but with few exceptions (lucky bastards), this struggle is very real. <br /><br />The next thing I write about, I promise, will induce fewer panic attacks. <br />
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Want to read more about the horrors of budget cuts, demands on granting organisations, making do with less? Here's what the Province of Ontario learned from its province-wide Culture Talks sessions? <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/culture-talks-summary-what-we-heard-ontarians" target="_blank">You can download their summary here</a>. Here's <a href="http://canadianart.ca/features/whats-the-future-of-canadas-museums/" target="_blank">a recent article about the situation for Canadian art museums</a> (mind you, bigger, well-funded museums) from <i>Canadian Art</i> magazine. Here's a 2015 <a href="http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/06052015-staff-stress" target="_blank">summary article relating budget cuts and stress levels</a> from the Museum Association (UK).<br />
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<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-8517075698861180532016-03-27T12:57:00.002-07:002016-03-27T20:21:00.571-07:00New ROM CEO and a Museum's FutureOnce upon a time, I worked at Canada's second largest museum, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. I worked there over seven years in several front-line capacities from Membership and Visitor Services to Education animation of blockbuster exhibits. Prior to that, I volunteered there in Vertebrate Palaeontology and as a co-op student in the Outreach Department. I also did some contract communications work in New Media. As a kid, I went to ROM camp and spent many a Saturday and Sunday afternoon noodling about. Now, I haven't worked at the ROM since 2005, and while I have friends who still do, and sometimes they talk to me about the state of the museum, I am certainly not current. That said, my opinions about the Museum are based in lived experience as part of the ROM family as much as my academic background.<br />
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When I read the <a href="https://beta.thestar.com/entertainment/2016/03/27/new-rom-ceo-will-roll-out-the-welcome-mat.html" target="_blank">Toronto Star article about the ROM's new CEO</a>, Joshua Basseches, written by Martin Knelman, two things struck me. Firstly, Janet Carding, the ROM's former CEO, is given no credit for anything. She came in after William Thorsell's overlong tenure, and found herself heading up a demoralised workforce and a museum in the midst of an identity crisis, brought about largely by the newly opened and controversial Crystal. Under Carding's watch, the ROM developed an exceptional social media presence, influenced at least in part by her regular attendance in the galleries, watching and interacting. Knelman doesn't seem to understand that the exhibition schedule of this year and last, which he acknowledges for numbers and buzz, were set by her, whereas her first two years at the ROM were under the programming theme dictated by Thorsell. Carding's forward thinking and vision was stymied by the previous Board direction and executive, which was also a reflection of the years under Thorsell. During her time at the Museum, that Board dramatically turned around under new leadership. Basseches is inheriting a ROM that is a far cry from the monument to a questionable architectural vision and CEO's hubris to which Carding arrived.<br />
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The other thing that bothers me in this article is that the author refers to the Rotunda as "gloomy". It most certainly isn't, but it has lost its purpose and is woefully under used. Does Knelman remember the bright, vibrant space it was when it was the ROM's entrance? It once teemed with life, laughter, flowers, meetings, partings, and expressions of awe. That it seems gloomy now speaks to the entrance that was returned to Bloor St when the Crystal was built. I spent a lot of hours meeting and greeting people in the Rotunda, and it was many things, but never gloomy. <br />
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My compaints with the article end here. For the most part I am cautiously optimistic. The ROM is, at its best, a beacon to curiosity, engagement, and imagination. The ROM staff and volunteers work incredibly hard to make the Museum a place of wonder and enjoyment. The collections are among some of the best in the world, and it's curatorial departments breed excellence in scholarship. At its worst, and in my opinion, largely due to the ill-conceived architectural monstrocity that is the Crystal, the ROM is an unfriendly, exhausting magnum opus to elitism and pretention. The floors and walls are angled, the white walls harsh, the flow of traffic illogical, and everything is custom sized and therefore expensive to repair and replace. The Crystal set back museum architectural theory by 40 years. The Crystal's effective and intended uses (for instance the restaurant C5) didn't even last a decade, when public buildings usually have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years. So, yes, Basseches has his work cut out for him.<br />
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If I have any words of advice for the incoming CEO, I suggest he establish an open, transparent dialogue with the ROM staff - at every level - immediately. The institutional memory is a long one; many staff have been there for 30+ years and they have experienced several dissonant and conflicting leadership and pedagogical philosophies in a relatively short timeframe. Build trust, don't pander, and offer respect to a diverse group of educated, dedicated, professionals, Mr. Basseches, and you will have a loyal, profoundly grateful staff to return a gem of a museum to its rightful place as a paragon of culture, learning, emotional and intellectual engagement, entertainment, and scholarship. You do that, and the people of Toronto will return in droves and, I believe, forgive the sins of past leadership.<br />
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<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-48461126216826605982015-11-12T11:25:00.001-08:002015-11-12T11:25:19.144-08:00Remembrance Day +1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggz_Z-M3P2ljhcPl99Vm5cs8nWC4QnUKZ4M20gB3U0wC0vSRtU3-feEVZJYUaHLws8Qs80Fo9-frncYIiLMnRfYyKeqtCd3VhQfEfTRgJi3D2-mWCMnqxjwgeaJEclzAmOPN4ItFPNOYs/s1600/1280px-Poppies_by_Benoit_Aubry_of_Ottawa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggz_Z-M3P2ljhcPl99Vm5cs8nWC4QnUKZ4M20gB3U0wC0vSRtU3-feEVZJYUaHLws8Qs80Fo9-frncYIiLMnRfYyKeqtCd3VhQfEfTRgJi3D2-mWCMnqxjwgeaJEclzAmOPN4ItFPNOYs/s640/1280px-Poppies_by_Benoit_Aubry_of_Ottawa.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="fbPhotoSnowliftCaption" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption">Original photo by Benoit Aubry, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poppies_by_Benoit_Aubry_of_Ottawa.JPG#/media/File:Poppies_by_Benoit_Aubry_of_Ottawa.JPG" target="_blank">available here</a>.<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poppies_by_Benoit_Aubry_of_Ottawa.JPG#/media/File:Poppies_by_Benoit_Aubry_of_Ottawa.JPG" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"></a></span></span></td></tr>
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Yesterday was Remembrance Day here in Canada. It's celebrated in various parts of the world as Poppy Day, Armistice Day, and Veterans Day. It's history is pretty well chronicled, as is the Poppy pin, an international memorial symbol directly linked to the history of Remembrance Day. (If you're interested, the Canadian War Museum provides a good explanation, <a href="http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/remember/poppy_e.shtml" target="_blank">here</a>.) This isn't about the day, or the pin, <i>per se</i>. This is about remembering and gratitude.<br />
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My mother's father, Jan Hogenkamp, was either mounted artillery or mounted infantry with the Dutch Army. He died long before I was born, so his story of riding out to face the vastly superior German Army and the embarrassment of surrender came to me second hand through my mother. He would continue to fight, however, as a committed member of the Dutch Resistance, along with his sister Ina, and his best friend Gert. I am fiercely proud of their selfless dedication to their cause, and to the anonymous numbers of people their actions assisted. I'm also grateful that they all survived, because many of their compatriots did not.<br />
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My Zaida - my father's father, Paul Hirschman - wanted to serve in the war and enlisted, but family lore says he never got further than New Jersey. I don't know if that's true, but knowing him, it probably was. He had lousy luck. Or, in this case, maybe great good fortune, since he never saw combat. My understanding is that he, as an optician, ended up making glasses for service men and his skill set was too important to sacrifice. Maybe. He was also really short and himself bespectacled, but I do have the vaguest memory of seeing a black and white photo of him in uniform.<br />
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Until I came to The Secrets of Radar Museum, those were my personal connections to the Second World War. Certainly, I must have had distant family in Europe who perished in the Holocaust, but most of my immediate Jewish family arrived in the first two decades of the 20th century. This is not to say my connections are no less important than those of people whose family members fought and died (or survived), but they were outside the realm of battles and frontlines. Since arriving at SORM, however, I've had the
distinct honour of working with, speaking to, and developing friendships
with numerous veterans of the Second World War. I am routinely asked how I got into radar, and while I used to say my background was in museums and history, not actually radar, I have genuinely become interested in radar, but not because it is electronics, or radio, or any of that. I am interested now, because of the people. The war-time radar program gathered all manner of Canadians into its fold, all united by a few things: intelligence, curiosity, ingenuity, and a fifty-year oath of secrecy. Every one of these men and woman has a story to tell. <br />
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The great tragedy for me is that there are so few of them left now. Even ten years ago, there were three times as many radar veterans living as there are now. And in the three years-and-a-bit I've worked at SORM, we have lost several veterans, some of whom I never had the chance to meet, but a few whose lives briefly touched mine. This Remembrance Day, I reflected on how lucky I have been to get to know the radar veterans I have. Some of them have become my friends. I've met their family and friends, and I can see first-hand how wide a net these men and women have cast into their communities. I am grateful to know them, to share meals and drinks with them, to record their stories, and share their stories with the public. I wish I had known many of them, or known them better, but I am grateful to know their histories, handle their photographs and mementoes. <br />
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Although the number of ancient veterans marching in the parade wanes thinly, now, my list of names has grown. My feelings for Remembrance Day have deepened, as has my resolve to preserve their stories. I will remember them.<br />
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#LestWeForget<br />
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MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-76472644101539326042015-10-24T13:06:00.001-07:002015-10-24T13:06:30.489-07:00Writing a Mosaic<br />
One of the great pleasures of my work, for which I never lose interest, is examining, listening to, and reading history shared by those who were there. We call these primary sources. They may be illustrations, photographs, witness testimony, letters and other correspondence, oral histories, memoirs, diaries, and the like. Of course, they are the products of people, and human memory is fallable, biased, and sometimes completely incorrect, but none of that really matters when you start applying multiple primary sources over each other. Layers of primary sources create mosaics of experience and emotion.<br />
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Back in late July, I spent an afternoon and evening listening to the personal experiences of radar veterans of the Second World War. These were follow-up interviews. I had the pleasure of joining the Ottawa-area radar veterans for lunch and a day of oral history interviews the previous summer. I now have several hours of recordings from numerous veterans, which adds to the recordings that were made by the Secrets of Radar Museum between 2002 and 2008. Time is of the essence for capturing the voices of the men and women who served in WW2. The youngest among them are 88 years old, the majority in their 90s. Their numbers are dwindling fast.<br />
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More than simply carrying out interviews, I found myself being handed numerous items to take back to the museum. These included correspondence, self-published memoirs and accounts, books, CDs, and more. These objects were given to me for the museum, for my research, for "the book". What book? "The book you're going to write." So I brought it all back with me and I thought about the book they all expect me to write.<br />
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I have been approached in the past about writing Canada's radar history,
there's even a publisher that has expressed interest. I've never
really thought seriously about it, though. I felt I wasn't expert
enough, or I lacked the time, or the will, or the interest. The only
book I ever wanted to write was my mother's family's experiences during
the Occupation of the Netherlands, and I've never gotten very far with
that. The idea of writing a book about radar is daunting, particularly
as I have only the barest understanding of radio, physics, or
electronics. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVqzl7y48Vi0vwJ9YO8Girr7OVTvxdPbambK3wFHl-KSb_HRKRhntd6jmba98lx73R40rKzZ0rz6X832GJO6UC1cdAmwhdVW3Ihw8Iw_a4RVY2selGz8mKH6aRSG_-DzQZ2_Oy1W-pKaE/s1600/author-writing-writer.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVqzl7y48Vi0vwJ9YO8Girr7OVTvxdPbambK3wFHl-KSb_HRKRhntd6jmba98lx73R40rKzZ0rz6X832GJO6UC1cdAmwhdVW3Ihw8Iw_a4RVY2selGz8mKH6aRSG_-DzQZ2_Oy1W-pKaE/s320/author-writing-writer.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmm, tastes like chicken...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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So there I was, surrounded by material that these veterans gave to me for "the book". I thought about their faces as they put their histories in my hands. In their eyes was the certainty that I would do it. There was trust that I would tell their stories with dignity and respect. When I accepted the materials into my hands, I was unknowingly accepting the responsibility for their histories. <br />
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I've never written a book. I have no idea how to go about it. I have read a lot of books, and certainly plenty of history books dealing with World War Two. A few of them are excellent reads. Some of them are interesting. Too many of them are dry, or inaccessible, even boring. I want my attempt to do justice to the personalities of the veterans, to have the levity and approachability of comfortable conversation, even when talking about difficult subjects. I honestly don't know if I can do it. But this summer I decided I'd give it a try. <br /><br />I have started writing "the book". My hope is that I can take all that has been put down before me, those works that have been published, those which have only been circulated amongst friends and family, the letters, the photographs, the maps, documents, and mementos, and most of all, the hours of oral history recordings, and turn them into something worth reading. I have no timeline, I only hope I can create for them the mosaic of history, experience and emotion they long for and deserve.<br />
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<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-24822917800011335102015-06-29T12:51:00.001-07:002015-06-29T12:51:57.318-07:00Catching Up with MuseumsI've been doing some contemplation about museums lately, inspired by the <a href="http://www.le.ac.uk/" target="_blank">University of Leicester</a>'s Massively Open Online Course (called a 'MOOC' for short), <b>Behind the Scenes at the 21st Century Museum</b> offered via <a href="http://www.futurelearn.com/" target="_blank">FutureLearn</a>. Okay, I'm always contemplating museums, but I'm doing <i>more</i> of it right now, primarily due to this course.<br />
<a href="http://www.le.ac.uk/" target="_blank"></a><br />
As many of you know, Leicester's museum studies programme is one of the oldest in the world, and probably the highest respected in English speaking countries. Many of the most significant thinkers in museum studies are among its faculty and alumni. It attracts a substantial number of museum professionals, working in the field, into its courses. It's also my <i>alma mater</i>, and a pioneer in distance learning, so, since I am not in a position to be able to jump across the pond to do my PhD with them, this little MOOC is perfect for keeping me aprised of the latest goings-on in museum thinking.<br />
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Although it's really meant as an introductory course, many of the participants are museum professionals doing exactly what I'm doing, and as we are encouraged to share and discuss our thoughts at every possible opportunity, it feels very much like a conference. Not the kind of conference where executive directors go and drink a lot and jaw in the lobby, but the kind where educated and experienced peers from across an industry share their case studies, offer lessons, bring learning tools, minds meet, and real professional development occurs. That said, it also is an opportunity for museum pros to meet and gather thoughts and ideas from non-sector learners as the course is open to all, and there are plenty of folks participating who have no museum background whatsoever. I can't speak for other MOOCs, but this course really feels like proper education, is thought-out, eye-opening, and meaningful. <br />
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This course is particularly interesting to me, not just because I get to think about museums in a semi-structured environment, but because my museum, the Secrets of Radar, is currently re-examining its exhibits and looking at ways to reorganise them for a greater impact and more positive experience. SoRM is an amazing gem of a museum, and it's absolutely brimming with information and cool, weird 'stuff', but it's not really what I would consider a super fun or engaging space. Its displays have been geared to people with a basic knowledge of radio and electronics, and it struggles to be welcoming for families with younger children. I love the depth of information, but it isn't intellectually accessible. Nor is it emotionally accessible. When it was founded, the philosophy behind the original didactic panels was to get the unknown, secret history of Canadian World War II radar veterans out, to tell as much of the story as possible in a limited space. This was absolutely the priority of the veterans who created the museum. Now, it's time to refresh the exhibits through which those veterans no longer lead tours, no longer sharing their personal anecdotes. It falls to me and volunteers to put the human aspect into the museum, which is a second-hand experience due to the passing of those founding vets. It's challenging, but the MOOC is helping me think about how to reinvent SoRM without messing with its original purpose, while creating an open, engaging, accessible centre for history and learning.<br />
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When the course is finished, I'm sure I'll have more to share.MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-73370785710943529052015-06-22T12:41:00.000-07:002015-06-29T12:42:52.011-07:00CAHS Convention Photo Round-upIn my last post, I talked briefly about the pleasure of presenting at the Canadian Aviation Historical Society annual convention and let me follow-up by saying the whole event was terrific. Aviators, historians, retired (and serving) Air Force personnel, museum staff, and aircraft restorers all came together to learn about this country's incredible aviation history. Canada has had an enormous impact on the global aviation sector from its infancy right through the 20th century. I can't possibly talk about everything I learned or the people I met, but I can share some photos. I also had the most incredible experience of spending two hours with a 99-year-old radar veteran living in Hamilton, ON. If only I'd remembered my tape recorder.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7qrk1X34VAigLDhOP7pktqTPvnpoWBlCCW7jkq7uC11guuIrMWOjs0GnASd90L2nmkHcnAV0eP64fJEU0EU3hA_czZhCLB3cSq4TteAs5vWg36e3M1xbDAEXmSayxfmeVjTbxKMyRVA/s1600/bolingbroke+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7qrk1X34VAigLDhOP7pktqTPvnpoWBlCCW7jkq7uC11guuIrMWOjs0GnASd90L2nmkHcnAV0eP64fJEU0EU3hA_czZhCLB3cSq4TteAs5vWg36e3M1xbDAEXmSayxfmeVjTbxKMyRVA/s320/bolingbroke+poster.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had a behind-the-scenes tour of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's Bolingbroke restoration project. That poster is a one-of-a-kind original.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbO-j6mD7OrHvhyphenhyphenHbQkRfWoUcd3r_iAX56Et1dtvQsV_sbNYALe46CgtiVi3LS5-BOOuWTUeQy9vwopvHfRvWNraeW0EhWK8wGWpsfzBpJRvJpiDPMwDx1dlF5c8365gdBEhL-tT-AU28/s1600/lancaster+victory+aircraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbO-j6mD7OrHvhyphenhyphenHbQkRfWoUcd3r_iAX56Et1dtvQsV_sbNYALe46CgtiVi3LS5-BOOuWTUeQy9vwopvHfRvWNraeW0EhWK8wGWpsfzBpJRvJpiDPMwDx1dlF5c8365gdBEhL-tT-AU28/s320/lancaster+victory+aircraft.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I finally had an opportunity to tour "Vera" the CWHM's Mynarski Memorial Lancaster, which was built by A.V. Roe at Toronto's Victory Aircraft Ltd. site in Malton. This was definitely a highlight.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomC9SK7dnP9jG0x0EYp6AA-OGCxsG8Sa-rYrZlyvnjXraJPN_TH7gCYxDVRAU1aXGJHNTAAdf4zt0CBNVArx4qIgUOjrn_i2WKGufoVtGmQOKsGOSEbZckix71KLWTk2LONoXMtd1Q9Q/s1600/the+secret+projects+of+avro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomC9SK7dnP9jG0x0EYp6AA-OGCxsG8Sa-rYrZlyvnjXraJPN_TH7gCYxDVRAU1aXGJHNTAAdf4zt0CBNVArx4qIgUOjrn_i2WKGufoVtGmQOKsGOSEbZckix71KLWTk2LONoXMtd1Q9Q/s320/the+secret+projects+of+avro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fascinating presentation on the secret projects carried out by Avro in the 1950s, not just the "Arrow".</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbIKr8U_S5zgSQbYUoVoHQbnRfG4-ocY38XoyKaouzN-8psuSmhrEVlxZNrV36XKRSoql5BucfddmMDDDRF59HDr2E9RzVHh4CQvJVuKsfhjAnynqIx9UJVlZHVg0NHfeDLv-p9gmqE8/s1600/Vera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRbIKr8U_S5zgSQbYUoVoHQbnRfG4-ocY38XoyKaouzN-8psuSmhrEVlxZNrV36XKRSoql5BucfddmMDDDRF59HDr2E9RzVHh4CQvJVuKsfhjAnynqIx9UJVlZHVg0NHfeDLv-p9gmqE8/s320/Vera.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Vera" in the hangar at the CWH Museum. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckt633m4N3EpL0YhhfQi4aUBUbTyx8kjKX6FTNFiVTOTE00Xf3EcEk2JIwcc6SwkM-mD0t-ytCiuCvzEGheUA1Gx0hhexTmCNXkozpYw-5qs7mV6XZXYhBbkuwn0KPjny7u4JfFxII2M/s1600/vi+milstead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckt633m4N3EpL0YhhfQi4aUBUbTyx8kjKX6FTNFiVTOTE00Xf3EcEk2JIwcc6SwkM-mD0t-ytCiuCvzEGheUA1Gx0hhexTmCNXkozpYw-5qs7mV6XZXYhBbkuwn0KPjny7u4JfFxII2M/s320/vi+milstead.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A presentation about Vi Milstead, who led a very interesting career in aviation at a time when few women were flying.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-53615200437925199582015-06-21T18:30:00.000-07:002015-06-29T12:20:01.398-07:00Canadian Aviation Historical Society ConventionI had the great privilege to present about my beloved museum today (June 18, 2015) at the <a href="http://www.cahs.ca/" target="_blank">CAHS</a> annual convention, which is being held in Hamilton, Ontario. I've never attended one of their conferences before, and, so far, I'm thoroughly loving it. I'm not an aviator, nor do I have an aeronautical background, but the joy of the CAHS is that it makes aviation history accessible to all. Presenting at the conference was a pleasure, although I was quite nervous that everyone would know more about radar than me. I decided not to focus on the technical aspects of radar or the technical advances through WWII, but to talk about the work the museum does, and to share some of my favourite stories as originally told to me by veterans at the museum. That's what I love most about my job, the ability to share true stories and make connections between the past and the present through personal anecdotes and memories. I'm looking forward to the rest of this conference, although I probably won't get a chance to post this, or any further entries until I return home in a few days.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk4EgAJsGivIBKUe8QL9p3dfA6htz0DqjZxIwTIcfW6SACptMlX1Ne2l-qQ5DkFWabU4f-D6vBXFKD1_pBKK89AuUBP8w5rKbJ8nWCLvmkp6VAmI-GVjACTCtkiAJ1CF3MVoZqntEWJ0/s1600/journal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk4EgAJsGivIBKUe8QL9p3dfA6htz0DqjZxIwTIcfW6SACptMlX1Ne2l-qQ5DkFWabU4f-D6vBXFKD1_pBKK89AuUBP8w5rKbJ8nWCLvmkp6VAmI-GVjACTCtkiAJ1CF3MVoZqntEWJ0/s320/journal.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Membership in the CAHS is worth it, just for this amazing journal. Seriously.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-45214213185883366592015-05-16T13:39:00.000-07:002015-05-16T13:39:04.872-07:00Some Nifty Canadian MuseumsBuzzfeed has a list of <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/jadayounghatchett/night-or-day-at-the-museum#.nvZJkRezAE" target="_blank">39 museums to visit</a> before you die. Unlike many BF lists, this one is pretty well rounded. I would go so far as to say it's a good list. Sure, it skews heavily to America with a nod to Europe and, I think, one Canadian entry (the Canadian War Museum, which really <i>is </i>an incredible experience and you should totally visit), but you don't see much from Asia or pretty much the entirety of the Southern Hemisphere. Considering that the Buzzfeed community, while global, is largely centred in the English speaking West, it's not surprising. And, frankly, I can't add much more to the list because I am not well travelled, not in a global sense.<br />
<br />
But, I am well travelled enough through Canada to add a few more selections. Not necessarily suggested for their big budgets or blockbuster exhibits, here are five museums, in no particular order, you should totally visit in this diverse and gigantic country I call home.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.manitobamuseum.ca/" target="_blank">Manitoba Museum</a>, Winnipeg:</b> it has a sailing ship inside it. They built the wing that houses <i>The Nonsuch</i> around the 17th century naval ketch. It also houses the spectacular HBC gallery, which showcases some of the incredible artefacts collected by the Hudson's Bay Company over three hundred years. Also, it's the home of the world's largest trilobite.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.pier21.ca/home" target="_blank">Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21</a>, Halifax:</b> Canada's version of Ellis Island and no less emotionally charged, this museum of immigration focuses heavily on the lived experience, using oral history effectively within simple, but aesthetic exhibits.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.macbridemuseum.com/" target="_blank">MacBride Museum of Yukon History</a>, Whitehorse:</b> There are a number of wonderful, unique museums in Yukon, and I had some trouble deciding to pick this one over the others. That said, this museum has a pretty diverse collection and touches on natural and cultural history in a place where nature and culture are intimately entwined.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.canoemuseum.ca/" target="_blank">The Canoe Museum,</a> Peterborough: </b>It's not just a museum about canoes. This is a museum about Canada. It encompasses First Nations histrories, colonial and settler histories, art & craft, mechanisation, industry, tourism... I could go on. Also, it's just plain nifty.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.buxtonmuseum.com/" target="_blank">Buxton Museum National Historic Site,</a> North Buxton (Chatham):</b> This little museum in southwestern Ontario blows my mind. The story of Buxton is one of the Slave Trade and the Underground Railroad as much as it is of success and struggles, percerverance, and community. While you're in the area, you can also visit the real <a href="http://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/Uncle-Tom-s-Cabin-Historic-Site/Home.aspx" target="_blank">Uncle Tom's Cabin</a> and just driving through the region you can also find plenty of colonial and 1812 history, too. It's not all corn and tobacco fields.<br />
<br />
Have you visited any of these sites? What did you think of them? Leave a comment.<br />
<br />
<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-55314229802237091412015-05-13T14:22:00.001-07:002015-05-13T14:22:22.610-07:00Thinking About Education in (or out of) MuseumsLet me be very clear: I do not consider myself a museum educator. That said, what I do have is many years worth of experience leading, developing, and evaluating museum education programs. I also have a degree in museum interpretation, which is certainly related to learning in museums, though not strictly curriculum based. I consider myself to be a museum curator with an excellent grasp on the many facets that interlink to create great, engaging museum content.<br />
<br />
There are lots of different types of museum education programs out there. Some are rigidly scripted, others are more free-form. I've had experience delivering both and the spectrum in between. There are multiple ways to teach in a museum setting, just as there are multiple kinds of learning styles. Some work better than others, depending on the subject, age-level, or venue. The point of this post is not to judge.<br />
<br />
Recently, I've had occasion to think about museum education as I have been developing brand new outreach programming for the <a href="http://secretsofradar.com/" target="_blank">Secrets of Radar Museum</a>. At one time, the Museum actively courted school groups as visitors, participating in local programs to drive in attendance. I think it's safe to say that, as a niche museum, somewhat off the beaten path, it was never overwhelmed by the response from regional schools. Having great education programs alone will not bring in the buses. In fact, the buses are one of the biggest obstacles to bringing classes to the Museum. As a small venue, it is logistically challenging to host more than one full-size class at a time. Busing is an expense, and schools naturally want to get their money's worth by making sure field trip buses are filled to capacity. This can mean 50-60 children, or the equivalent of two large classes.<br />
<br />
In order to successfully combat the busing challenge, the Museum Board President, Katrina Urban, herself an accomplished museum educator (for real, and whom you should totally <a href="http://newmuseumkat.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">check out online</a>), suggested creating Outreach programming for 'Radar' to bring into the classroom. She's had success developing and delivering outreach programming. Outreach is already central to the Museum's public engagement policy, in that we regularly attend and participate in off-site events through presentations, activities, and displays. Why not in education programming?<br />
<br />
Together, Katrina and I decided to focus our initial programming push at two grade levels: grade 6 for an introduction to the mechanics of flight, and grade 10 for a focus on local experience in WW2 and Cold War. Both dovetail with the Museum's narrative, with radar being a tool developed initially to locate aerial objects, and the Museum's mandate to share the personal experiences of Canadian radar personnel. Katrina laid out the program model which she found most successful, incorporating a visuals-heavy presentation, hands-on artefact handling, and small group-based exploratory assignments. There are multiple opportunities to discuss and demonstrate, both for the educator and the students. Although the subjects are different for the two outreach programs, the model doesn't change. <br />
<br />
Here's the thing about the model we're using: we get that students don't all learn in the same way. We're not cookie-cutter identical at any age, really, but I digress. This model allows students who prefer or benefit from passive receipt of information to do so, as well as those who need to learn through active participation, both non-judgementally. There is also an opportunity for students to work independently and to lead and teach each other, which can be very beneficial for those with social anxieties or problems with authority figures. Using image-heavy presentations is helpful for visual learners for whom pictures are another layer of language, or for those with dyslexia or similar learning challenges. In this model, every child is able to take something away, regardless of how they learn.<br />
<br />
The Museum used a grant from the Agape Foundation of London, Ontario to pay for the development of the new programs and materials, and to provide an honorarium to the educators that lead the outreach. Material was distributed through the school boards and <a href="http://secretsofradar.com/education/" target="_blank">posted on the website</a> and, so far, in the program's first month, we've fielded a lot of interest, at least at the grade 6 level, and delivered two programs. My feeling is that at the high school level, the programming will be a hot commodity coming up around Remembrance Day.<br />
<br />
I have naturally spent a lot more time with the Ontario Curriculum than I have in a long while, and I've dipped into a number of museum education support materials that have languished on my shelf since completing my MA. While I have never forgotten the intrinsic part education plays in museums, I had begun to look at it in an abstracted, theoretical way, which doesn't actually help me deliver programs to anyone. While there are roles in the museum world that need no exposure to public or education programming, I firmly believe that museum professionals who prepare content for exhibitions and publication should have some understanding of, if not direct experience in, museum education. Even if it means a curator shadows a school tour to observe how students interact, or does a rotation on an outreach event during March Break or a Camp, it's incredibly beneficial to remember that engaged children grow up to be engaged adults and engaged adults become museum supporters.<br />
<br />
<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-83728418440686068872015-04-10T11:13:00.000-07:002015-04-10T11:13:19.788-07:00#Curating - it's trending and trendy<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<u>CURATOR</u>: (ky<img align="bottom" border="0" height="22" name="Image8" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAA0AAAAWCAMAAAAsJOYWAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAADVJREFUeJxj+I8MGMjlMTLC2YyMDCACCgiaAtUJUQkkQFwwxQCWYPwPofDyUPWhmUkV/6HwANQ59DXA9kVTAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" width="13" />-r<img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image9" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAcAAAAPCAMAAAAf3yWMAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAACpJREFUeJxj+A8BDDCaEQLg/P9ADlgcSDAi0SCKESKPIs6ILM6IMBeNBgBnM0zQ/S28gAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" width="7" /><img align="bottom" border="0" height="22" name="Image10" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAAWCAMAAADQMc3cAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAABlJREFUeJxj+A8EDFgJRkZU4j+MwKmDIAEAhx5Puf2U/0oAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" width="4" />t<img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image11" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAYAAAAPCAMAAADwHU6yAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAACdJREFUeJxj+A8GDHgpRkZGIAXE/xkh1H9GiBwjAyMYwOSgKrGZAgAjY0bNSRF0mgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" width="6" />r,
ky<img align="bottom" border="0" height="22" name="Image12" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAA0AAAAWCAMAAAAsJOYWAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAADVJREFUeJxj+I8MGMjlMTLC2YyMDCACCgiaAtUJUQkkQFwwxQCWYPwPofDyUPWhmUkV/6HwANQ59DXA9kVTAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" width="13" />r<img align="bottom" border="0" height="22" name="Image13" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAAWCAMAAADQMc3cAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAABlJREFUeJxj+A8EDFgJRkZU4j+MwKmDIAEAhx5Puf2U/0oAAAAASUVORK5CYII=" width="4" /><img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image14" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAYAAAAPCAMAAADwHU6yAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAACdJREFUeJxj+A8GDHgpRkZGIAXE/xkh1H9GiBwjAyMYwOSgKrGZAgAjY0bNSRF0mgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" width="6" />-t<img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image15" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAYAAAAPCAMAAADwHU6yAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAACdJREFUeJxj+A8GDHgpRkZGIAXE/xkh1H9GiBwjAyMYwOSgKrGZAgAjY0bNSRF0mgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" width="6" />r)
<i>n.</i>
</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 1.27cm;">
One who manages or oversees, as the administrative director of a
museum collection or a library.</div>
<div class="western" lang="en-US" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
[Middle English<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">
curatour</span></span></span>, <i>legal guardian</i>, from Old French<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">
curateur</span></span></span>, from Latin<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">
c</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image16" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAgAAAAPCAMAAADu1H4BAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAAChJREFUeJxj+A8FDHAGIxQwYEr9Z2T8D8JAESDjPxEMiGIQhd1AKAAA2LZcv9dgGq0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=" width="8" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">r</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image17" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAcAAAAPCAMAAAAf3yWMAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAACpJREFUeJxj+A8BDDCaEQLg/P9ADlgcSDAi0SCKESKPIs6ILM6IMBeNBgBnM0zQ/S28gAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" width="7" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">tor</span></span></span>,
<i>overseer</i>, from<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">
c</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image18" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAgAAAAPCAMAAADu1H4BAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAAChJREFUeJxj+A8FDHAGIxQwYEr9Z2T8D8JAESDjPxEMiGIQhd1AKAAA2LZcv9dgGq0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=" width="8" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">r</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image19" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAcAAAAPCAMAAAAf3yWMAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAACpJREFUeJxj+A8BDDCaEQLg/P9ADlgcSDAi0SCKESKPIs6ILM6IMBeNBgBnM0zQ/S28gAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" width="7" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">tus</span></span></span>,
past participle of<span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">
c</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image20" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAgAAAAPCAMAAADu1H4BAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAAChJREFUeJxj+A8FDHAGIxQwYEr9Z2T8D8JAESDjPxEMiGIQhd1AKAAA2LZcv9dgGq0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=" width="8" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">r</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><img align="bottom" border="0" height="15" name="Image21" src="data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAcAAAAPCAMAAAAf3yWMAAADAFBMVEX///8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD8A/u2v0UCAAABAHRSTlP///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////8AU/cHJQAAACpJREFUeJxj+A8BDDCaEQLg/P9ADlgcSDAi0SCKESKPIs6ILM6IMBeNBgBnM0zQ/S28gAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==" width="7" /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, monospace;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">re</span></span></span>,
<i>to take care of</i>.]<sup></sup></div>
<br />
Due in part to the Curatorial Ethics conference taking place (*gasp* without me!) in Vienna, "curating" is trending right now. Just yesterday, I was talking with my friend who is the curator of <a href="https://bantinghousenhsc.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Banting House National Historic Site</a>, about just how much we dislike "curate" and "curator" as buzzwords. The discussion stemmed from one of my tweets:<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Ugh. I am so tired of hearing how people 'curate' things. Your Pinterest board does NOT make you a curator. Even if it's pretty. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/juststop?src=hash">#juststop</a><br />
— Maya H. (@mambolica) <a href="https://twitter.com/mambolica/status/586057272805167104">April 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Imagine my surprise today when I saw that very subject trending. I told my friend at Banting House that I might just have to blog about how much the over-use of "curator" irks me. So here we are.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure when the word made the jump into the popular vernacular, but someone latched on and it took off. It's been gaining popularity over the last few years. And I hate it. <br />
<br />
I love the idea that people want to be curators, except that most people using the word to describe their audio playlists have absolutely no idea what curation is actually about. There is this conference going on right now, and they're talking abut big issues in curatorial practice, like ethics, the commercial art market, and politics. Yes, it is terrific you want to take ownership of your expression, and perhaps you're putting a fair bit of thought into it, but there's a whole lot more to curating than an aesthetic or organised display of stuff. Here's what the Curatorial Ethics conference introductory text says:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The verb ‘curate’ derives from the Latin <i>curare </i>and means to attend to
something and thus also to take responsibility – for an exhibition, for
the participating artists, for the works etc. In the business world the
code of ethics, which defines what is legitimate and what is not, is
becoming ever more important. In the curatorial field too, important
parameters have been shifting in recent years. We have seen subtle but
lasting changes in the relationship between public and private
collections, together with the handling of the latter, in the
relationship between the institutional art establishment and the art
market, and finally in the relationship between curators and artists.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />So
the time is ripe to talk about a curatorial code of ethics: where are
the boundaries, what are the grey areas? The point of departure for this
three-day conference, in which international representatives of various
sectors of the art world will present their viewpoints, is not so much
to discuss deficiencies and problems, but instead to fundamentally
acknowledge that these exist.</span></span><br />
<br />
Being a curator is a practice of intention and responsibility. Although the role can vary widely depending on whether it is done in an art gallery or museum, whether it's a large or small organisation, public or private, there are certain key aspects that are integral to curatorial practice. A curator is a keeper or steward of a museum or other collection. They are responsible for advice on new acquisitions for the collections, the administration of the collections, as well as their documentation, research, and exhibition. <br />
<br />
Professional curators are frequently experts in their field or subject matter. Very often they have devoted years to reasearching their areas. Many curators publish their research in academic journals, write texts and articles, present at conferences and symposia. Not all curators have PhDs, but many of them have devoted enough effort and scholarship to rival the equivalent of numerous higher degrees. Curators spend a lot of time considering the selection and placement of objects in their exhibitions and publications to create and enhance narratives, to create dialogues between works of art, to share ideas, to (in)validate arguements. All the while, curators are expected to work within the ethical parameters of their fields, work within often very strict budgets, share their knowledge, mentor students, and always remain responsible for their collections. Concerns of marketing, SEO tools, and superficial categories or tags do not enter the minds of most proefessional curators when they're in the midst of curatorial practice. <br /><br />Curators are, with few exceptions, committed, dedicated, thoughtful, educated, and trained professionals. So, next time you talk about curating your iTunes library, or your
website, your brand affiliations, Instagram, or whatever else, please
consider that curators do a whole lot more than simply hanging pictures,
making things look or sound pleasing, and mincing about in white
gloves, elbow patches and horn-rimmed glasses. <br />
<br />
What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with me? Don't be afraid to weigh in.<br />
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<br /><br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-49487118216336075562015-03-26T18:06:00.001-07:002015-03-26T18:06:35.594-07:00Museum Week 2015: InspirationMWIt's <a href="http://museumweek2015.org/en/" target="_blank">Museum Week 2015</a> on Twitter. Check it out. Each day of the week has a specific theme on which we are encouraged to tweet. Today's theme is inspiration and this post stems from a conversation I had with @ROMToronto wherein I said my favourite souvenir of the ROM was a career in museums.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/SheratonYYZ">@SheratonYYZ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ROMtoronto">@ROMtoronto</a> My favourite souvenir from the ROM is a career in museums carved from a life-long love affair with the place.<br />
— Maya H. (@mambolica) <a href="https://twitter.com/mambolica/status/580359041043587072">March 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
We would love to post that blog <a href="https://twitter.com/mambolica">@mambolica</a>! Maybe for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/inspirationMW?src=hash">#inspirationMW</a>? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/souvenirsMW?src=hash">#souvenirsMW</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SheratonYYZ">@SheratonYYZ</a><br />
— Royal Ontario Museum (@ROMtoronto) <a href="https://twitter.com/ROMtoronto/status/580370292280791040">March 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>If you're at all familiar with my career path, long and winding as it has been to this point, you'll know I was already working in museums before I decided I wanted to make it my life's work, and the Royal Ontario Museum is central to the story. If you'll allow the anthropomorphising, the ROM was kind of like the
mysterious relative in children's stories; you know the type: the one who
seemingly takes no interest in the protagonists, but turns out to have
been supportive and guiding all along. <br />
<br />
I do not work for the ROM now; in fact, this coming August, it will be 10 years since I left. When I left, I went in bitterness. I left during a difficult time. 2005 was the peak of the renovations which saw a giant crystal (some have
called it a 'space pyramid' others an 'iceberg') attached to an
historic, if traditional Romanesque and Byzantine-styled building. Change in any institution, especially one steeped in history and academia, can cause paroxysms of angst, fear, and anger. I left to take a 4-month internship at the Manitoba Museum, for which I had requested an academic leave of absence, not unheard of, but my supervisor said no, so I said "buh-bye." Not only was I watching beloved gallery spaces being torn apart and staff being reorganised, I personally felt slighted. I left. It turned out to be the best thing I could do.<br />
<br />
The reason I'm sharing the negative stuff is because it's part of the story of how the ROM inspired my decisions. Inspiration can come from wonderful, positive events, but it can also come from painful, negative experiences, too. We draw inspiration from many places, and for some people, negative emotions can be very powerful tools to rise up above and do great things. I don't see my leaving the ROM negatively now, and the anger I felt during the renovation upheaval has dissipated. Rather, like a grown-up child leaving their parents' home, or the fledgeling bird leaving the nest, leaving the ROM was what I needed to do, and it took equal measures opportunity and dissatisfaction to make it happen.<br />
<br />
When I left, I had been employed in front-line work and education for seven years, which for a 20-something is a long time with a single employer, but my relationship with the ROM actually stretched far back into my early childhood. I first visited when I was 5 or 6, I think, right after the museum re-opened following its 1982 renovation. We had just moved to Toronto from Brooklyn, NY. Although my earliest museum memories are from the American Museum of Natural History, which remains a favourite museum of mine, the ROM's dinosaurs were mounted in mind-blowing dioramas and had cool lighting and sound effects. There was a rattle snake whose tail rattled when you stepped on a certain floor tile. It was awesome! And there was this brilliant little gallery space in the sub-basement, called 'The Discovery Room' where kids (and adults) could explore the artefactual world though touch and interaction. A visit to the ROM was an all-day affair for curious kids and I spent many, many days exploring.<br />
<br />
My mom signed us up as members in 1984 and I remained a member until I moved across the country and was living in Whitehorse, some 22 years later. Christmas, March Break, PD days, Members' Previews saw us paying a visit. We dined in the Members' Lounge. And when I was a little older, my mom started sending me to ROM camp. It was expensive, so it was balanced with other ways to fill my summers while my mom worked, but I can look back and recognise that it was hands-down the most creative, thought-provoking, intelligent camp experience I ever had. I learned about photography, biology, archaeology, different cultures, architecture, and so much more. It was a place where a nerdy girl, picked on at school, could be surrounded by other intellectually curious kids from all over the city. It was a place where I fit in. <br />
<br />
Those early experiences directed me to choose the ROM as the place where would do my co-op. I remember that the co-op placement office had a hard time figuring out how to get me in, as most of the available work experience placements went to university students. I remember being interviewed for a placement with the Ethnography department. I was heartbroken when I didn't get the co-op, because I would have been working with archaeological collections, and I was so sure I wanted to be an archaeologist. But then I got a call from the Outreach department. "Do you have a portfolio?" they asked. I told them yes, though I didn't, yet. My mom helped me put a little portfolio together from the work I did in my studio arts classes. I took it in for my interview, which I don't even remember now, but I got the co-op placement and suddenly, three half-days a week I was spending working with artists and designers, writers, and a taxidermist, building a travelling exhibit, and repairing and cleaning school case resource boxes. It was heaven. Each shift was supposed to reflect my school day schedule, but I usually stayed late. I was surrounded by glorious weirdos, just like me, and they immersed me in their wonderful, creative world where the core purpose was to create content that could be sent out all over the province to engage kids, adults, even whole communities. <br />
<br />
I didn't understand the value of that work until years later. Growing up, I was spoiled for high quality school programs and overnight field trips to other places. I have since taught museum programs for diverse populations and demographics in Toronto, Winnipeg, Whitehorse, and most recently London, Ontario. I have met people whose only childhood museum experience was receiving a travelling school resource box from the ROM, because they lived on a reserve in northern Ontario. I have seen how outreach can amaze and inspire as much as a physical visit, sometimes more. But, as a teenager doing a co-op at the ROM, I just knew what I was doing was fun and it meant I could do it in my favourite place. <br />
<br />
It's no wonder that as a third-year student, living in my first appartment and suddenly needing food money, that I found myself answering an ad for part-time work selling memberships at the ROM. I'd only ever worked in the deli of a small grocery and mucking out a horse barn. I had no sales experience. But I had solid 15 years of ROM experience and probably knew its floorplan better than most of its own staff. I was hired on the basis of my enthusiasm, how I gushed about the ROM's importance as a destination for people of all ages, but especially the coveted family market. I talked about the ROM in a way that made people want to go there.<br />
<br />
There have been two geographical constants in my life for which I give equal credit in 'raising' me. The first is my family cottage in the ancient Laurentian mountains, and the second is the Royal Ontario Museum. I'm not saying the ROM is the best museum in the world, or that it is a model of museological perfection, because it isn't. Its history is not without controversy, its directors have made difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions, it has objects in its collections and on display that have frought, contested histories, it has mounted exhibitions that baffled, and occasionally offended, its audiences. At best, some of these have become incredible learning opportunities for other museums, designers, curators, historians, etc., usually, they become interesting (albeit sometimes heated) conversations. No museum has a perfect record, and I'm sure there are plenty of detractors out there ready to argue with me over the ROM's strengths and importance as a landmark museum in Canada. I accept that. At the very least, the ROM continues to strive for excellence, for engagement, for education, creativity, discovery, and inspiration.<br />
<br />
I'm just one person who was deeply inspired by a museum. But I have taken that inspiration and run with it. If I can inspire someone to look at history in a new light, to dig a little deeper into a story, to engage in their community, to look at a challenging subject with fresh eyes, or to make a point of visiting a museum when they might have done something else, then I'm doing it right. I'm good with it. Leaving the ROM put me on an amazing journey that has taken several turns, and like the museum itself, occasionally not without its challenges, but I am grateful now to that supervisor who wouldn't grant the leave of absence. I love returning to the ROM now, an alumna, if you will, feeling proud of what I did and accomplished in my years there, even though I was just one of hundreds of worker bees in big, complex hive. The ROM was the catalyst for my passion and helped me become the person I am today. I won't become wealthy for working in museums, but I will be doing what I love, and I will be rich with passion, experience, and inspiration. <br /><br />Thanks, <a href="http://www.rom.on.ca/en" target="_blank">ROM</a>, for always having my back and encouraging me to do awesome things, even when I neither realised it nor appreciated it.<br /><br />#inspirationMW #souvenirsMW <br />
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<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-45245239321348334582015-03-15T12:22:00.000-07:002015-03-21T12:23:19.667-07:00Thanks MomWhen I talk about my memorable early museum moments, I talk about my experiences at the American Museum of Natural History (New York), the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto), and the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam). I could also talk about my mother, Claire. My mom is the person who schlepped me to every museum I attended until I was probably 8 or 10 years old, and believe me when I tell you, that was a LOT of museum visits. So, on the occasion of her birth, which is a pretty significant milestone corresponding to the Second World War in the Netherlands (also the place of her birth), I want to say "thank you" for all that schlepping !<br />
<br />
My mom comes from a long line of Dutch culture and history lovers, educators, and intellectuals, so it's not surprising that she grew up steeped in art, culture, galleries, museums, theatre and such. From before I was speaking in sentences, I was thrown headlong into the world where I'd end up building this career. No matter what challenges life threw at my mom, she found time to share this wonderful world, it's diversity, history, technology, and beauty with me. I still cherish these outings with her, though they happen far less frequently due to geographical separation, and we often make due with richly plated art books on the sofa, when I come home for a brief visit.<br />
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Here's a recent selfie of us, taken at the ROM, after a wonderful, museumish day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByEGaIN3b-KS8eRZly5C6nrmqavTiJtPy6XeSjgOe8_8NqIU36uxSATuVfsQxZemtZzjB06p_hVbETydiOe19RnVak8OFtxFnV7XRsvMMPWD50Masl1DdmdMtlyJahZDerDj5W-2HjA8/s1600/mom+and+me+march+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByEGaIN3b-KS8eRZly5C6nrmqavTiJtPy6XeSjgOe8_8NqIU36uxSATuVfsQxZemtZzjB06p_hVbETydiOe19RnVak8OFtxFnV7XRsvMMPWD50Masl1DdmdMtlyJahZDerDj5W-2HjA8/s1600/mom+and+me+march+2015.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLAIRE !</span></b></div>
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<br />MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-77366345116118447942015-03-13T11:42:00.000-07:002015-03-21T11:44:46.655-07:00Making Culture Matter 2015I want to congratulate the students of Centennial College's <a href="http://makingculturematter.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Culture & Heritage Institute</a> on planning and producing an exceptional symposium. Making Culture Matter 2015 was, hands down, the most well thought-out one-day professional or academic (in this case both) learning event I have had the pleasure attending. That I was invited to speak is irrelevant. I believe that whomever the organisers found to speak in my timeslot would have been entertaining and informative. Every talk and presentation was excellent, from Keynote, to discussion panel.<br />
<br />
One of the most interesting aspects for me, beyond the content of the discussions, was which established professionals were in attendance. Many of the Centennial students' internship placement supervisors were present, all representing Toronto-based heritage and archival organisations. These organisations were large and small, and the professionals involved represented directors, programmers, curators, educators, costumers, archivists, and collections managers. It was refreshing to see such a diverse mix of immersed professionals, working at all institutional levels. Many of the program faculty were also present, which shows everyone how committed they are to their students' success. I was impressed. The students themselves were on the whole interested, articulate, mature, and enthusiastic. Again, I was impressed.*<br />
<br />
Often when one attends large annual conferences, especially in Canada, one finds that the professionals are in managerial, directorial, and Board level. It's usually simple math: conferences are expensive and travel budgets often go to those controlling the departmental budgets. Although larger conferences try to entice smaller museums and non-managerial staff, the reality is that few museums have the resources to send multiple representatives to conferences. Sometimes, travel grants can help, but not always.<br />
<br />
Anyway, what I'm really trying to say is that I really enjoyed seeing some of the GTA's smaller, community museums represented and actively participating. <br />
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Also, on a personal point, it was pretty awesome to be a museum rockstar for a day. My presentation, <i>An Engaging Paradox</i> on museum engagement, was really well received. Remember, like Muppet performers, we, as museum professionals "are the glorious weirdos with our hands up the bums of our museums."<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* I am a graduate of Fleming College's Museum Management & Curatorship post-graduate program, so I'm always biased in its favour, but I am pretty confident that Centennial's Culture & Heritage students graduate with very similar practical and theoretical skills.</span>MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5239693260812091306.post-88353650321226236902015-03-02T21:09:00.001-08:002015-03-02T21:09:15.523-08:00Making Culture Matter 2015 SymposiumThis Friday, March 6th, I'll be presenting at Hart House, U of Toronto, about one of my favourite subjects: museum engagement !<br /><br />I'll be in good company, too, sharing the day with Keynote speaker <b>Christine Castle</b>, Museum Consultant and owner/editor of the <i>Museum Education Monitor</i>, <b>Melissa Smith</b> of the AGO, <b>Elka Weinstein</b> of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Sport, <b>Christina Kerr</b> of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, <b>Karen Edwards</b> & <b>Ilena Aldini-Messina</b> of the Spadina House Museum, and <b>Elysse Leonard</b> of TIFF.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfeb84knkf8s09PYDcBFwS5QI1UPTpieJf4F5tRLhyphenhyphenjjx59JiAzwoGrpqyG_LOToEyP9Ny2x0KgvB69Eo2qpkVq94tYMqAmCzYtS02jXRI7zya1MQZk610YLwgh_Lcot325yxUoZlwkA/s1600/1423532428.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHfeb84knkf8s09PYDcBFwS5QI1UPTpieJf4F5tRLhyphenhyphenjjx59JiAzwoGrpqyG_LOToEyP9Ny2x0KgvB69Eo2qpkVq94tYMqAmCzYtS02jXRI7zya1MQZk610YLwgh_Lcot325yxUoZlwkA/s1600/1423532428.png" /></a></div>
Learn more about this exciting symposium put on by the Culture & Heritage Institute of Centennial College by visiting <a href="http://makingculturematter.weebly.com/" target="_blank">the Making Culture Matter website</a>. There's still time to register. <br />
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Hopefully I'll see you there! MiRSCHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855414650943852187noreply@blogger.com0