No Backing Down
Museums continue to face growing pressures and censorship threats, yet crises like this can spark new pathways forward. With this in mind, this month we recommend the annual TrendsWatch from the American Alliance of Museums, a story of not backing down, and a proposition for museums to embrace a new paradigm.
What’s Making Us Curious?
Working Through Uncertainty
“This year’s TrendsWatch from the American Alliance of Museums felt particularly important since last year proved to be a big disruptor to the field. As Elizabeth Merritt writes, the three trends identified in the report are “scary” and challenge some longheld assumptions, but there are things we can do to address these challenging trends we face. ”
Fighting Back
“Last month, we shared an article reporting censorship of a National Park Service exhibit about the history of slavery as just one example of how the current administration is trying to control and reframe the historical narrative. We were happy to see that a preliminary ruling by a Philadelphia federal judge has since ordered that the exhibit be reinstated. And, it is promising that a coalition including the American Association for State and Local History and other cultural associations, represented by Democracy Forward, is taking action with a lawsuit challenging the Executive Order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which was designed with intentions to censor America’s historical narrative.”
Expanding Purpose
“In this article from 2023, Emlyn Koster reminds us that historically museums have faced many challenges. He highlights that crises—from the Depression to WWII, 9/11, and the COVID-19 era—have repeatedly tested the sector, yet also spurred opportunities for museums to reflect upon and redefine their role. Koster argues for museums to widen their purpose beyond siloed content (e.g., art versus science) and really clarify their vision, referencing Simon Sinek’s why/how/what framework–why (your values-driven purpose), how (specific approaches) and what (the outcomes). American Alliance of Museum members can access the article below.”
What’s New At Kera?
A new post is live on our Learning Hub. For the last few years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been something we at Kera have regularly talked and written about. Inspired by those conversations, we decided it was time to set some guidance for how we approach AI in our work with clients. Given the rapidly evolving contexts of the AI landscape, we opted for a values-driven guidance versus prescriptive directives on AI use.
We’ve added new project summaries to our website! Check out our recent multi-phase evaluation of a National Science Foundation-funded nature documentary for the University of Richmond and how we explored walk-in visitors’ perceptions of and experiences with interpretation at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Moment of Wonder
“Laurie Anderson’s installation Four Talks at the Hirshhorn enthralled me. There is so much about the installation to see, hear, and unpack that I look forward to spending more time there in the future!"
— Amanda
