NEMA 2009

Tomorrow I'm off to Nashua, New Hampshire to attend my first New England Museum Association Annual Meeting. I have only a vague recollection of what the schedule is for tomorrow. The only thing I remember for sure is that I will be eating a pre-made turkey sandwich for lunch and I will be going to a Tufts-sponsored mixer in the evening. I will give an overview and reviews of the conference offerings upon my return.

to be continued...

Applying to Museum Studies is a Mystifying Experience

Despite dropping my phone in water and having our car towed, Carol and I had a wonderful time in Philadelphia! 

I really wish I had had the time to go to more museums in the City of Brotherly Love. My conference schedule was so hectic that I only had time to visit two, the Please Touch Museum and the UPenn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology. They were both amazing. 

Carol also went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to mingle and see the Cezanne exhibition. She claimed the museum was way better than the MFA in Boston. Its been a while since I was at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and all I remember is that they have stellar collection of works by my favorite artist, Marcel Duchamp.

My favorite workshop at the 2009 AAM conference was one I hadn't even planned on attending, a roundtable discussion about whether Museum Studies programs should be standardized. 

As a group we decided against it but agreed that aligning programs based on certain criteria might be a great idea, for example:

• themes
• a list of standard texts
• competencies
•  interests in history, art history, contemporary art, science, anthropology, etc.

Apparently some students complain that their program is either too theoretical/academic or too practical/professional. 

I say standards or no standards, what is really needed are clear explanations and expectations. At this point applying to Museum Studies programs feels like a crap shoot! 

Honestly all I was really looking for in a grad school was to attend a prestigious program that could help me get a job at one of the top museums in the country. If I have anything to do with it, this process of weeding out programs in Museum Studies, Arts Administration, Museum Education, etc will become much, much easier. 

This is both a promise and a threat!!! Muhahaha, you can "count" on it.

Rockin' My First AAM Meeting

After a long drive from Boston and a rocky start yesterday, things have really started to change for the better here at the 2009 AAM conference in Philadelphia. I've met some interesting folks here in Philadelphia, from the gospel organ player who let me jump the line at the Sprint store to the crazy Brown University professor determined to change the way museum studies is taught.

This is my first conference and I am learning quickly that the big shots in the field, and especially those who want to be big shots in the museum world do not have any time for students like myself. Even a former professor of mine barely managed to eek out a "hello" as she swooped by me in the AAM Bookstore. What a shock it is to be surrounded by hundreds of people you don't know, searching for a familiar face and once you find it, she blows you off!!!

Alas, I have managed to make some friends, maybe even real ones that I will keep in touch with. Thus far those friends are all students like me. Go figure.



I can't wait for the scavenger hunt this evening at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology & Anthropology!