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Tapestry Newsletter
August 30, 2017


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ADVOCACY MATTERS Save


It's Day 61 with a complete Pennsylvania budget for 2017-2018, and yesterday marked the due date for the repayment of a $750 million loan to continue the Commonwealth's operations. Governor Wolf and Senator Joe Scarnati have talked to news reporters regarding the budget situation. To keep Pennsylvania's doors open, there was a fund transfer that should keep things going until September 15. While the tension builds, it is expected that the house will return to session on September 11. Here's a story from WITF, Harrisburg's PBS affiliate, that sheds some light on what is happening.
 
The Pennsylvania Museum Preservation Act was not included in this year's budget discussions around the spending plan. PA Museums has supported the Pennsylvania Museum Preservation Act from its introduction, and we continue to feel this bill is an important one. It may be taken up again when the legislature returns to session after their summer break and after the budget is settled. We will continue to monitor its progress.
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CALL FOR SESSION PROPOSALS Save

Find Your Centre: Cultivating Community Connections  PA Museums Annual Statewide Museum Conference
Centre County 
April 15-17, 2018 
 
Museums and historical organizations are used to being pulled in different directions. One moment, an institution is protecting its collection for future generations mostly out of the view of the public. The next moment there is a wedding being celebrated, caterers rolling carts down hallways, and musicians setting up to perform in a room. At the same time, someone is leaving a voicemail about something they have found in their attic, and the accountant just sent an email about the organization's 990. Whether it is hectic or not, the day to day work sometimes needs to be set aside for time to reflect, relax, and rejuvenate.

Centre County, with its rich agricultural landscape, beautiful and industrious towns, and the presence of Penn State University, is in the center of Pennsylvania, and it provides an ideal backdrop for us to find our center together at our annual statewide museum conference. Our museum community will connect and learn as we enjoy special events showcasing our member museums, educational sessions and excellent speakers, honoring the winners of our annual Special Achievement Awards, and opportunities to connect with our colleagues. We look forward to seeing you there!

Pennsylvania's cultural community is rich and diverse. Museums, galleries, zoos, science centers, visitor centers, historic sites, monuments, parks, libraries, archives, and educational institutions all contribute to our cultural community in the Commonwealth by connecting our past with future generations. 
 
The PA Museums Annual Conference offers museum professionals an interactive forum for the exchange of ideas, sharing best practices, professional networking and discussion of trends in the museum field.  The event is an excellent opportunity for p rofessionals to reconnect and recharge as well as learn from colleagues.

We are seeking proposals echoing our theme, Find Your Centre: Cultivating Community Connections, for presentation at the conference. The deadline to submit session proposals is November 1.

To submit a proposal, please email the following information to Chrisoula Randas Perdziola, Programming Specialist by November 1, 2017. The Programs Committee will announce selected sessions by January 15, 2018. Please contact Chrisoula if you have any questions.

Tentative Title
(concise and catchy!)

Description - Please include the concept, area of relevance (e.g. collections, fundraising, etc.), and the intended audience. This description will be used to promote the conference and for content in our final program.

Participant(s) - Name, title, institution, address, phone and email of each participant. Please designate main contact if there are two or more participants.  
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MEMBERSHIP Save

Thanks to the individuals, institutions, organizations, and businesses that have joined PA Museums or renewed! Those members with September quarterly renewal dates will soon receive our request to renew.

Has PA Museums helped you? Did you find a job through our job bank? Did you learn something important at one of our workshops or conferences? PA Museums is looking for your story. We are seeking testimonials about the value of being part of our statewide association. If you have a story to tell, send it our way!
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SURVEY ANNOUNCEMENT Save

A museum studies student at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia is engaged in a project exploring how museums serve Latino communities and how Latino parents engage with museums.
 
This survey is meant for museum education staff, specifically those who work in family programs. The following questions will be regarding your and your institution's experiences with audience research and engaging Latino audiences, specifically parents and families. It will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete.

Thank you for your help!
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Save


The Museum Council of Greater Philadelphia announced two grant opportunities earlier this week for museums or employees of museums in the Philadelphia region.

The Gretchen Worden Memorial Award is a stipend awarded to a cultural professional to attend a national or regional conference, or to participate in a professional development opportunity. This year, thanks to the generosity of the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the successful applicant for this award will receive a $1,000 grant to put toward their chosen conference. The award is named in honor of Gretchen Worden, who spent her career at the Mütter Museum and was an avid supporter of local, national, and international professional organizations. Click to learn more and apply. 


The new John Alviti Fund For Museum Innovation is accepting applications from local cultural institutions. From this fund, Museum Council will award one grant in the amount of $2,000 to support an institution in the Philadelphia region as it tests a new or expanded approach in programming, exhibitions, community engagement, and/or audience development. As this is a new program, Museum Council is open to ideas varying in size, scope, and impact that have the potential to benefit both visitors and the field. The fund honors cultural leader John Alviti, an important member of Museum Council known for sharing his deep knowledge of history, science, and technology, and for mentoring emerging museum colleagues. Applications for each of these awards are due no later than September 30, 2017


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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTeducation
   
  
September 7-8 
Cost: Varies ($60-$180)
Registration has been extended through September 1! 




Leadership in Small Museums 
A Workshop with the Small Museum Association
September 25, 2017
Bowie, MD

Topics explored will be: Small Museums leadership in the 21st century, capital campaign feasibility and leadership, challenges in development and fundraising, and creating lasting relationships with foundations and granting organizations.
 
Please click here for more information.



Making Museums Matter: From Advocacy to Action
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums
October 19-21, 2017
Pittsburgh, PA

The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) is pleased to announce that this year's annual conference will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel from October 19-21, 2017. This year's theme is "Making Museums Matter: From Advocacy to Action." We will be highlighting stories of how staff at museums take the next step and create real change through their actions.
Please visit MAAM's website for more information.


Museum Trustee Association
Director/Trustee Forum
November 2-3, 2017
Philadelphia, PA

The Museum Trustee Association will convene a forum for Directors and Trustees in Philadelphia. Have a look at the schedule. Registration is open.



Digital Provenance Symposium 
Carnegie Museum of Art
November 6, 2017
Pittsburgh, PA
FREE! 
 
Carnegie Museum of Art's 2017 Digital Provenance Symposium promotes vigorous discussion of the role of museums in understanding, researching, disseminating, and digitally publishing museum collections. The symposium will showcase innovative approaches to problems around the representation of events in digital collections, and discuss standardization, collaboration, and communication across the cultural heritage field.

 
The morning session of this one-day event reports on current projects that use digital methods to track objects over time and space-the intellectual and technological structures supporting event-based art history. In the afternoon, three panels will consider how such structures have the potential to transform museum policy and practice, academic inquiry, and the future of art history in a digital environment. 

Click here for tickets and information. 
 
 
 
 
The Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts
Exploring Museum Collections Storage
November 8-9, 2017
Philadelphia

Participants in this  two-day conference will hear experts in design, space planning, environmental control, and conservation speak about methods and applications to improve museum collection storage spaces.  Sessions will include case studies that demonstrate how museums of various sizes have implemented storage initiatives. Please click here for more information and registration.



Call for Session Proposals 
Building Museums
Mid Atlantic Association of Museums  
March 9-11, 2018
Philadelphia, PA
  
Join museum colleagues, architects, other design and construction professionals, and project funders in lively conversation about what is involved in a museum building project. 
 
Attend a day-long workshop on all the elements you need to know to plan, design, and build a successful and sustainable new museum or addition to an existing museum. Learn about planning and building best practices, and how to identify project "red flags."

Visit new and refurbished museums by attending behind-the-scenes tours. Meet the 2018 winners of the prestigious Buildy Award given to honor exemplary museum building projects. Network with conferees at special receptions and informal "birds of a feather" gatherings.

Please visit MAAM's website to view the Call for Sessions and other information.


Call for Buildy Awards Nominations 
Building Museums 
Mid Atlantic Association of Museums 
March 9-11, 2018 

The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) recognizes institutions whose construction projects demonstrate high achievement in the areas of planning, implementing, and surviving  with the Buildy Award at the the Building Museums® Symposium each year.

About the Award:

The purpose of the Buildy Award is to increase awareness within the field, and by the public at large, of the value of museums and the need for their ongoing rehabilitation and expansion to serve future generations.

Nominations are solicited from all Museum Directors with qualifying projects. Architects and other project team members are encouraged to collaborate with the Museum Directors to complete the nomination. Nominations submitted previously are eligible for resubmission if the project still meets the requirements. You can find nomination forms here.
 
Please submit all nominations by 5:00 pm on September 15, 2017 to:  
 
Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums 
Building Museums® Symposium 
Attention: 2018 Buildy Award 
PO Box 4 
Cooperstown, NY 13326
 
 


Save The Date! 
 
Find Your Centre: Cultivating Community Connections 
PA Museums Annual Statewide Museum Conference
Centre County
April 15-17, 2018



Annual Meeting and Museum Expo
The American Alliance of Museums
May 6-9, 2018
Phoenix, AZ

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PA MUSEUMS IN THE NEWS inthenews

Museums in Philadelphia are offering free admission during the Benjamin Franklin Parkway Centennial Celebration.
 
Uncovering PA and Pennlive featured Pennsylvania's aviation museums.
 
Christine Turner has been named the new Executive Director at the John Harris Mansion, Historical Society of Dauphin County.
 
Trib Live had a look at Fort Ligonier's new mural and the contributions of young re-enactors in keeping history alive.  
 
Chinese terracotta warriors will return to Philadelphia at the Franklin Institute for the first time in 30 years.
 
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History has reopened its Cenozoic Era exhibition hall.
 
Here's your chance to contribute to naming two new lambs at Pennsbury Manor
 
VISIT PA MUSEUMS! explore  
Check out the PA Museums directory for all member museums and historic sites to get ideas for i nteresting activities at home or away and be sure to spread the word!  If your institution is not on our list, please let us know
234 North Third St. | Harrisburg, PA 17101
717-909-4950 |  rusty.baker@pamuseums.org
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