Keep on Keeping On
As we enter the second month of 2025 with some anxiety and trepidation about what lies ahead, here are three resources to inspire and encourage you to put people first, prioritize equity, and share the wealth moving forward.
February Coffee Break Picks
STEPHANIE’S PICK
Start By Asking the Right Questions
“So much about this post by Rosie Siemer from the Museums as Progress Community resonates with me. Rosie argues that museums often collect the wrong kind of data about their audiences, focusing on things like satisfaction, net promoter scores, and demographics. These metrics do not capture the complexity behind audience motivations and the deeply held beliefs that drive audience decision making. Rosie argues for mixed methods (we agree!) and outlines a few research methods that may be new to the museum field. Ultimately, she says it all comes down to the questions we ask of audiences, regardless of methodology. 100%!”
HANNAH’S PICK
Learning As You Go
“In order to prepare for our visit to Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site (Eastern State) during our annual staff retreat, we read this article about their LEAD (Lived Experience Activating Dialogue) Fellowship program, formerly called the Returning Citizens Tour Guide Project, which employs recently incarcerated people as tour guides. I was struck by the similarities between Eastern State’s concerns around exploitation and mitigating the transactional nature of the museum’s relationship with the guides and our own concerns when collecting data from participants, especially those from marginalized groups. Ultimately it seems the same lessons apply in both contexts: be transparent, embrace ambiguity, and be open to learning as you go.”
RACHEL’S PICK
Inspiration in the Archives
“On January 8th, the Public Domain Review announced a new digital image repository featuring over 10,000 images sourced internationally from more than 200 libraries, archives, and museums. As an artist, I find public domain works incredibly valuable as a resource to draw inspiration from and I’m glad to see these institutions work with the Public Domain Review to build a database of this size!”
New on the Learning Hub
What’s New At Kera?
In January, we spent two days together at our staff retreat in Philadelphia. For an all remote team, this was a real treat! We visited the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, ate some wonderful meals, and had productive conversations about applying the Equitable Evaluation Framework to our work.
We’re finally caught up with all of our 2024 project summaries and have added them to our website. From mapping teens’ journeys in a Smithsonian youth leadership program, to evaluating visitors’ experiences in Vesterheim’s Folk Art galleries, to a four-season visitor study at the United States Botanic Garden, there’s lots to explore!
New year, new projects! We’re excited to be starting up projects with new and returning clients, including a National Science Foundation-funded evaluation to support Gallaudet University in developing the Deaf in Motion: One Step Closer to Space documentary, a growth-focused evaluation of Cooper Hewitt's Rural Education Program, and the next phase of testing inclusive interpretative approaches at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Moment of Wonder
“Now that we’re into February and winter finally decided to start here in Philly, I keep thinking back to my visit over holiday break to see my sister in Vermont. I drove up with my kid Charlie. We spent three days playing with his dog cousin, making latkes, and taking snowy stroller hikes. When the days seem too cold and spring feels too far away I look at this picture and channel Charlie’s relaxed vacation vibes."
— Hannah
