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ADVOCACY MATTERS
Pennsylvania's budget remains a work in progress. It's been 117 days since the June 30 deadline, and lawmakers held discussions earlier this week in hopes of finding a way to come together on a revenue plan. City and State published a summary yesterday that provides a snapshot of where things stand.
On Tuesday, October 17 the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee held an informational hearing with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). Andrea Lowery, Executive Director of the PHMC, kicked off the hearing by introducing herself and speaking about the PHMC's mission. She introduced her leadership team, and the PHMC's Bureau Directors in turn described the responsibilities and activities of the State Museum, the State Historic Preservation Office, the State Archives, and the PHMC's Sites and Museums. House Committee members had questions about the plans for the new State Archives facility, PHMC projects in the Capital Budget process, deaccessioning, mitigation funds, the National Historic Register program, Historic Tax Credits, the PHMC's earned income, and Friends Groups.
The Senate Appropriations Committee held a meeting off the floor on Monday, October 23 and voted the Pennsylvania Museum Preservation Act out of committee. In June the bill needed a few changes, and two very small changes were added on Monday to clarify language. The bill will now return to the Senate for final consideration. We will be keeping our eyes out for this bill on the Senate calendar. We invite our members to contact their Pennsylvania Senators to ask them to support the bill when it is considered.
The American Alliance of Museums is organizing Museums Advocacy Day in Washington, DC to bring its members together with U.S. House and Senate offices. Museums Advocacy Day is a unique opportunity to join with other museum professionals and supporters to make the case for museums. The 2017 event brought together over 380 advocates in Washington, D.C. Save the dates, February 26-27, 2018. Registration will open soon.
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WE ARE LOOKING FOR CONFERENCE SESSION PROPOSALS
Find Your Centre: Cultivating Community Connections
PA Museums Annual Statewide Museum Conference
Centre County
April
15-17, 2018
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!
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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WIN AN AWARD FROM PA MUSEUMS
Each year, PA Museums recognizes the special achievements of museums and historical organizations in Pennsylvania. This is your invitation to submit a nomination for a project, process, or individual that you know is exemplary.
A PA Museums Special Achievement Award distinguishes your organization by:
- Serving as public recognition of staff or volunteers, and providing an incentive to continue developing new and exciting projects;
- Encourage your staff to establish and maintain standards of excellence in your institution;
- Providing a vehicle to promote your institution through media news releases, and membership and fundraising campaigns;
- Reinforcing your case for the quality of your programs in grant or sponsorship proposals; and
- Publicly honoring awardees before peers and invited guests at a special awards ceremony during PA Museums' statewide conference.
Please visit
our website to see eligibility guidelines, award categories, and other nominating details.
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PA MUSEUMS WORKSHOP
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) is excited to announce that applications will open for the 2018
Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program on
November 1st 2017 with a deadline to apply of February 1, 2018.
The CAP program is open to small and medium-sized museums, zoos, aquariums, arboreta, and botanical gardens in the United States. Participating institutions receive funding for a general conservation assessment from a qualified collections and building assessor.
The assessment is a study of all the institution's collections, buildings, and building systems, as well as its policies and procedures relating to collections care. The two assessors work collaboratively to provide institutions with prioritized recommendations for improved collections care. Assessments consist of preparatory work, a two-day site visit, a written report, and a one-year follow-up consultation.
CAP is often a first step for small institutions that wish to improve the condition of their collections or develop a long-range preservation plan, and can serve as a fundraising tool for future collections projects. Additional information on the CAP process, eligibility, and applications are available at
www.conservation-us.org/cap.
In anticipation of the application cycle, FAIC will host an informational webinar on
CAP is administered by FAIC under a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Programs with the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH)
November 2
Cost: FREE for members/$40 nonmembers
November 7
Cost: $40 members/$65 nonmembers
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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.
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.
Telling Compelling Stories via Digital Experiences
Webinar
Interactive Mechanics
November 21, 2017, 3 p.m.
FREE
Wondering what goes into telling a captivating story? Are you ready to learn how can you use digital technology to enhance your storytelling?
In this workshop led by Interactive Mechanics' Creative Director Mike Tedeschi we'll discuss trends in digital storytelling tools and technologies with real world industry case study examples. Get an understanding of the elements of a compelling story, including themes, learning objectives, story structure, style and tone. Learn how to develop your story and determine whether or not digital is the right tool for your project and audience. Get first-hand knowledge of how a company like Interactive Mechanics crafts a story for digital and learn about low-cost and free tools to help you tell your stories digitally. You'll walk away with a toolkit to help you understand how to develop a compelling story for digital platforms that can educate or entertain your audiences.
Designing for Outrage: Inviting Disruption into Exhibitions
Webinar
The American Alliance of Museums
December 14 , 2017, 2 p.m.
Violent murders, rampant xenophobia, homophobia, racism, and gender and economic injustices vibrate around us. Is there a way that exhibitions can create spaces that authentically address these issues in all of their moral messiness without rushing to feel-good emotions, harmony or even empathy? Can there be space for outrage? An exploration of four sites that are innovating to startle, puzzle, enrage, delight, surprise, and evoke outrage will offer critical examples and challenges for creating exhibits that invite marginal, subversive, or fragmented narratives and that give visitors an opportunity to explore a full range of issues and emotions. Find out how you can design for outrage in your institution.
Find Your Centre: Cultivating Community Connections
PA Museums Annual Statewide Museum Conference
Centre County
April 15-17, 2018
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PA MUSEUMS IN THE NEWS
A restored Studebaker was donated to Williamsport's
Taber Museum.
The Laurel Highlands Tourism Bureau will present a Tourism Employee of the Year award to Matt Gault, Assistant Director of Education at
Fort Ligonier.
The Inquirer checked in with the
Barnes Foundation after its first five years on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Recommended Reading
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