December 2019
VAM News
VAM and Giving Tuesday

As we reach the end of another year, we hope that you will consider supporting VAM and its wonderful programs for Virginia museums through an end of year donation to VAM’s Annual Fund. This Giving Tuesday, consider supporting the work of VAM! You can make your donation on our website here. Thank you and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season!


Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts

Could your museum benefit from conservation funding? Nominations are now open for the Virginia's Top 10 Endangered Artifacts outreach program that provides collections care support for Virginia's museums. Nominate an artifact here to be part of the Top 10 public voting competition!

VAM Innovation award

VAM is still accepting nominations for the first VAM Innovation Award. This award will be given each year at the annual conference to a museum that demonstrates a commitment to use their platform as a trusted source of information to build relationships with and create meaningful impact within their community, and begin conversations around important topics affecting the museum field and the world at large. In each area, a successful nomination will include evidence of the impact that the museum’s innovative programs have had in furthering any of these areas. Don't forget the deadline for nominations is December 31. Learn more here.

2020 Virginia Museum Advocacy Day

Save the date for Virginia Museum Advocacy Day 2020! February 5 th we will go to the General Assembly and share the message of how essential museums are in our communities. If you would like to register now, click here!
Upcoming Events
Join us for the next installment of the VAM Workshop Series!

The December workshop Exhibit Planning: Design, Materials and Installation will take place December 16, 2019. It will be held at the National Sporting Library & Museum, Middleburg,VA. Learn from an experienced curator about available tools and materials for exhibit design and installation on a budget. Interested in this subject? Read the latest VAM book review: Exhibit Labels: An interpretive Approach here.

Please check the schedule and register here.

2020 VAM Conference

Registration for the 2020 Conference will begin soon. Be on the lookout next week for the preliminary event program. Please see our webpage here for more information.
Member News
The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia has named Laura Minton curator of exhibitions. Minton joins the Fralin from Museum of Fine Arts, Houston . Minton expands a curatorial department at the Fralin that includes Hannah Cattarin , who was also recently promoted to assistant curator. Cattarin served as curatorial assistant at the museum prior to her promotion.

American Evolution is holding the 2019 Commemoration's Finale Events on December 4 at the Jamestown Settlement in Williamsburg, VA . The ceremony at 2 pm is free and open to the public and will include speakers commemorating the first English Thanksgiving, which occurred on December 4, 1619 at Berkeley Hundred. Click here for more information .

The Muscarelle Museum of Art has recently opened the exhibition 1619 / 2019 for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first documented Africans in Colonial Virginia. The Muscarelle exhibition will feature works by emerging and established African American and Native American artists that address the complex experience of slavery and forced migration.

Congratulations to VAM members the Museum of Shenandoah Valley and National Museum of the US Army on their receiving accreditation from the American Association of Museums. 

Featured VAMONDE Story of the Month:

Want to create a story on VAM’s Virginia Museums App Channel? Learn how! And link to: https://www.vamuseums.org/vam-powered-by-vamonde
Hails & Farewells
Farewell to Casey Mallinckrodt , former assistant object conservator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts . Casey has started a new role as object conservator at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut. 

Farewell to Margaret Carlini, a former VAM Council member, who is retiring at the end of December from Henricus Historical Park. We wish her well in her retirement. She will be missed!
Professional Development Opportunities
VAM is proud to partner with John Tyler Community College (JTCC) on their Career Studies Certificate in Museum Studies. This online program is designed to provide an introduction to the museum field and professional development for those already employed by museums or other cultural organizations. Their short courses each provide 2 credits in VAM's own Certificate in Nonprofit Management. Learn about the program here.

The Virginia Commission for the Arts will present a series of statewide application assistance workshops in November and December 2019. Workshop locations include: Arlington, Leesburg, Buena Vista, Marion, Farmville, Richmond, Hampton, and Charlottesville.   Workshops are free and open to the public and pre-registration is not required. Workshops can be helpful for first-time applicants preparing requests for:
 
* General Operating Support Grants
* Project Grants
* Creative Community Partnership Grants
* Artists In Education and AIE Express (AIEx) Grants
* Technical and Organization Development Assistance Grants
* Performing Arts Touring Assistance for Presenters
* Applications to the Performing Arts Tour Directory and/or the Teaching Artist Roster
* Artist Fellowships

Participants are encouraged to read the g uidelines for funding and preview the online application webinar and tutorials at: http://www.arts.virginia.gov/grants.html . 

The Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Children’s Museums is hosting a webinar entitled: Museums for All at December 11 at 2pm.
Are you interested in learning more about an initiative dedicated to expanding community access? Find out about how and why more than 450 museums participate in the program. Find more information on attending the webinar on the IMLS website. 

SEMC Leadership Institute: Leading for Today’s Challenges will equip a new generation of museum leaders with outward-looking skills and strategies that increase their effectiveness as leaders and ability to create a productive and inclusive environment within the museum and among the museum’s board. Application date is December 31. Find more information here.

Visit VAM's website for additional opportunities. 
Funding & Marketing Opportunities
Cultural Heritage.org will begin accepting applications for the 2020 Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program November 1. The CAP program provides small and mid-size museums with support for a general conservation assessment. Applications are available from November 1, 2019, through February 1, 2020. 

Save America’s Treasures grants are administered by the National Park Service in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Deadline December 10, 2019. Apply here .

Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage Program
Applications are now open! Application deadline is December 17, 2019 . Apply here .

Headlines
Plans for a $5 million upgrade to Fort Monroe’s Casemate Museum on the drawing board

The Casemate Museum at Historic Fort Monroe in Hampton has ambitious plans for the old fort. Read about their renovation plans here.

Mansion in Big Stone Gap now a museum that tells history of Southwest Virginia
The Southwest Virginia Museum is unique in the state park system. It doesn’t have hiking trails, but does have a permanent outdoor exhibit called the Southwest Virginia Walk of Fame, which showcases the region’s heritage.
But when it comes to items on display, this 12,000-square-foot Victorian mansion built in the 1890s on the edge of Big Stone Gap easily surpasses other state parks. Read about this VAM member here .

Career Center
Search VAM's Career Center for information on the only museum management certificate offered by a museum association plus resume help and job listings.


  • Corporate and Foundation Relations Manager
  • Curator of Fine Art and Craft
  • Museum Executive Director
  • Director of Development
  • And more!
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