July 2019

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VAM News Welcome to the new VAM E-News. We have formatted the old newsletter to better serve our members. The E-News will still have a lot of the information you have seen and trusted over the years, but will now include new sections to make it easier for you to get the latest news in the Museum field! We hope you like the new look!!!! Session proposals are now being accepted through August 2 for VAM's 2020 Annual Conference in Northern Virginia. Together, we will discover what Making Museums Essential means to the museum, library and archive communities. Learn more . VAM is expanding our advocacy committee, and we would like to include a member from the western part of the state. If you are interested in advocacy, and in helping us to share how important museums are in our communities, please reach out to Jennfier Thomas for more information.   Jthomas@vamuseums.org In June, VAM staff visited: American Civil War Museum, Fralin Museum of Art, Menokin, Monticello, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, the University of Virginia and Salubria Manor.

Upcoming Events Join us this summer for our upcoming Summer Member MeetUps . Join us July 10 at the Steamboat Era Museum in Irvington to celebrate the conservation of the Steamboat Era Museum's Pilot House and its removal from the Top 10 Endangered Artifact list. Then get a first-hand look at the new American Civil War Museum in Richmond on August 6 with CEO Christy Coleman. Register today Tune in to a free educational webinar to learn more about the new Office Depot/OfficeMax member benefit discounts available to VAM members. Register

Member News The Stonewall Brigade Museum honored D-Day with a renovated exhibit on WWII. The upgrades included more space dedicated to the soldiers of the 116th Regiment during the conflict, the deadliest conflict in human history, claiming an estimated 60 million to 80 million lives between 1939-45. Much of the material in the revamped section was donated by veterans or their families. Congratulations to the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg for their exhibit award presented at the 31st annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition, presented by the American Alliance of Museums at the organization’s Annual Meeting. The award was given for the “Upholstery CSI: Reading the Evidence” for Innovative Behind-the-Scenes Personal Narrative. Congratulations to Chippokes Plantation Sate Park. The park was recently featured in Fredericksburg's Free Lance Star newspaper. The paper highlighted the heritage garden created by site manager Brenna Geraghty. The garden has been exhaustively researched to feature heirloom plants from different cultural groups that lived on the plantation founded in 1619—one of the oldest continuously farmed properties in the country.

Hails & Farewells Congratulations to M eg Hughes and Christina Vida on their new roles at The Valentine (Richmond). Meg has assumed the position of director of collections/chief curator. She had been the archives curator. Christina joins The Valentine as the new Elise H. Wright Curator of General Collections. Her recent position was as Virginia History Day Coordinator at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture . Congratulations to Robert Sigman , the new Director of the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke. Robert comes to Virginia from California, where he previously was Director of the Museum of Western Film History .

Professional Development Opportunities The Image Permanence Institute is offering a series of free webinars, and workshops designed to help teach cultural institution professionals how to set up an environmental monitoring program to be more environmentally sustainable. More information for the webinars and workshops can be found at i magepermanenceinstitute.org. The first webinar is July 25th. Are you interested in learning more about " Museums for All," an initiative dedicated to expanding community access? Join staff from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Children’s Museums on July 25 at 1 pm EST to learn more about how and why 400 museums participate in the program. Find more information on how to attend the informational webinar on the IMLS website. The American Evolution Forum on the Future of Representative Democracy   will take place July 30-August 1 in Williamsburg on the campus of William & Mary and at the Colonial Williamsburg Lodge.    The event is free and open to the public, but does require advance registration. Visit VAM's website for additional opportunities.

Funding Opportunities The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced grants supporting projects to preserve and create intellectual access to such collections as rare books, journals, manuscript and archival materials, maps, still and moving images, sound recordings, art, and objects of material culture.  Deadline: July 16, 2019

Headlines In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Gender Equity in Museums Movement (GEMM) developed a white paper, “Museums as a Pink-Collar Profession: The Consequences and How to Address Them,” exploring the implications of gender equity in the museum workforce. Visit our blog to read more Many Museums and historic sites are grappling with how to include information on the enslaved community and to share their stories. This New York Times article looks at how some sites are now including this information.

Career Center Search VAM's Career Center for information on the only museum management certificate offered by a state museum association, resume review help, job board listings, and more. Latest Job Postings:  Director of Education Director of Operations Senior Graphic Designer Lead Educator Facilities Manager And more!

Do you have news to share? Contact us at membership@vamuseums.org

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