President’s Message: San Diego Sun, Sustainability and Seriousness

By Aldona Jonaitis

Aldona Jonaitis, President

First, I want to thank everyone involved for making the annual WMA Conference in San Diego such a successful event.  Special thanks go to Elida Zelaya and Valerie Huaco who worked tirelessly to welcome our arrival in San Diego.  I also want to thank the Program Committee and the Host Committee, both of whom corralled the collective wit and experience of colleagues and volunteers to present an excellent series of sessions, workshops and social events – many of which concentrated on issues of sustainability – a topic that is on everyone’s mind.   Finally, I would like to thank the vendors and sponsors who supported the Conference, including our lead sponsor, the Barona Cultural Center and Museum.

WMA San Diego 2009

As you may have heard at the Conference, the Western Museum Association is undergoing a restructuring process to ensure that our 74 year old organization continues to thrive.  Despite careful monitoring of the budget by the Board of Directors, WMA revenue is far below target, an unfortunate result of the strain felt by all not-for-profits during the current recession.

The goals of the restructure are to create a business model that cuts overhead costs and thus streamlines administrative activities.  The new model includes eliminating  the positions of Executive Director and Publications and Media Manager, closing the physical office located in Berkeley, CA, and investing in digital communications vs. printed materials, among other administrative cost reductions.

In the next few weeks, the Executive Committee and Task Force will create various business models that will consider 1.) maintaining the organization at a base level 2.) estimating costs and overhead associated with the 2010 Annual Meeting in Portland and 3.)possibly suspending the 2010 Annual Conference in Portland to invest resources in the 2011 Annual Meeting in Hawaii.  Each of these business models will take the best interests of the membership as our first priority.

We will also investigate  innovative ways to keep the membership involved and networking throughout the next three years.  We have discussed developing a series of regional events, sessions, webinars and partnerships with like professional organizations in an effort to serve you better. We welcome your ideas as we explore more ways to network throughout the region.

Each of our institutions have been faced with making difficult decisions in the last year and no decision is harder than that which involves talented  and devoted employees.  Please join me in thanking Elida Zelaya and Valerie Huaco for their hard work and dedication in serving the WMA.  On behalf of the Board and membership, I would like to thank each of them for their valued professional service and their heartfelt commitment to the organization.

We will continue to keep our members up to date on the progress of the objectives mentioned here.  Together with the Board, I am committed to the health and well being of this spectacular organization.  I am gratified that so many members and friends have already stepped forward to volunteer their help and I look forward to many more doing so.  Together we will thrive and celebrate happily the 75th anniversary of WMA in 2010!

I welcome your comments and invite you to contact me with any questions, concerns or ideas you would like to share.  My direct e-mail address and phone number are aldona@jonaitis.net and (907) 978-1903.

Oregon Heritage Commission: Facing Adversity

By David Porter

To follow up on my earlier post, I wanted to note that the Oregon Heritage Commission,  a state chartered entity which oversees grant programs and other similar activities, heard testimony about the challenging state of affairs among heritage groups across the state at a meeting early this summer.

Under the leadership of Chairman George Kramer,  the Commission pledged to charter an investigation of the situation and to use its standing to make recommendations to the Legislature early in 2010.

The starvation budget which Oregon’s government is operating under, combined with the continuing economic gloom, will make their work more challenging.  Importantly,  the idea of engaging in global scrutiny of the situation and looking for broad solutions is a first.

It may well set the stage for a stronger fabric to support heritage museums and related institutions in the future.

SFMOMA Social Media Happenin’: Who’s Doin’ It?

Sebastian Chan, Manager of the Web Services Unit at the Powerhouse Museum

Tomorrow there’s the free strategic social media seminar for the cultural sector, feat. Sebastian Chan @ SFMOMA.  It all came together, beautifully, pretty quickly and through a small social network.  The twitter hashtag’ll be #sfmetrix.

Who is doing it?

Sebastian Chan leads the Digital, Social and Emerging Technologies department at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. His teams include the museum’s web unit, audio visual and photography, rights & permission and the photo library, the research library and Thinkspace, the Powerhouse’s digital media teaching laboratories. He is a researcher in several Australian Research Council Linkage projects researching social media, museums, and technology; and speaks internationally about the use of cutting edge technology in the cultural sector. He is on the international programme committees of Museums and the Web (USA), Digital Strategies for Heritage (Eu), the Horizon.Au New Media Consortium, and is an International Steering Committee member of Culturemondo, an international group of representatives of cultural portal strategists. Seb is also a member of the Australian Government’s Government 2.0 Taskforce examining ways of improving citizen engagement with government and opening access to public sector information.

Rich Cherry is the Director of the Balboa Park Online Collaborative, whose mission is to facilitate and execute a fundamentally change the way museums, cultural arts and science institutions in Balboa Park San Diego use of online technology.  Formerly he was the director of Operations at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, where he oversaw Information Technology, Operations, Admissions, Facilities, Security, capital projects and more than $70 million in ongoing construction.  His has also held positions as the CIO and Director of Facilities at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the CIO of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. He has also taught New Media theory, web design and animation in the Media Studies department at the State University of New York at Buffalo.  He is a board member of the Museum Computer Network serving on the finance committee and as chair for vendor relations, serves on the advisory panel of Fluid Engage, a Mellon Foundation funded project involving an international group of designers, developers, volunteers, and advisers who focus improving the user experience of community and open source web applications with an emphasis on addressing some of the challenges faced by museums and cultural institutions as they work to incorporate new technology into their web, mobile, and physical spaces and he is a founding member of Steve.Museum.

James G. Leventhal is the Director of Development and Marketing for the Judah L. Magnes Museum (Berkeley, CA) and is responsible for all fundraising, public relations and marketing for the Magnes. He worked for eight years at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, first as a Research Intern in the Museum’s Department of European Paintings, then as a manager in the development of the Ratti Center, and the Museum’s first consolidated, digital inventory and image management system that was the springboard for one of the now museum-industry standard software solutions TMS.  James went on to spend six years as a lead technologist and Senior Development Officer in the Museum’s Executive Offices at the time when the Metropolitan was first embracing web strategies and the development of the Museum’s first site.  Before joining the team at the Magnes, James worked most recently as a fundraising consultant for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to help the Museums wrap up the Campaign for the New de Young. He completed his undergraduate studies in Art History, Anthropology and Studio Art at NYU. James has done Master’s work in Art History and Museology at the City College of New York and has an M.B.A. from John F. Kennedy University, with a specialization in Museum Studies. James has also worked as an educator at the Baltimore Museum of Art and at The Phillips Collection.  Since joining the Magnes, James has served on grant making panels for the San Francisco Arts Commission and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Museum Loan Network. He has also presented nationally on the use of technology for audience development and engagement in museums. As a member of the Western Museums Associations (WMA) Programs Committee, James helped WMA launch a digital presence through Facebook, LinkedIn and its blog http://westmuse.wordpress.com.

Dana Mitroff Silvers is the Head of Online Services at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. For over twelve years, she has worked on the design, development, and production of large-scale educational websites, including sites for the UC Berkeley Interactive University project and Computer Curriculum Corporation. She recently led the multi-year redesign of sfmoma.org, and oversees all aspects of the public-facing SFMOMA website.  Dana is on the international program committee of Museums and the Web, and is a frequent presenter and moderator at the annual Museums and the Web conference.  She has also presented at the annual conferences of the Museum Computer Network, IMLS Web Wise, and the American Association of Museums. She is a past board member of the Museum Computer Network, where she directed the redesign of the MCN website.  She has taught and lectured at both the undergraduate and graduate-level for numerous local institutions, including the University of San Francisco, JFK University, Cal State Monterey Bay, and San Francisco City College. Dana holds an MA in art history from the University of Chicago and a BA from the University of Southern California.

Perian Sully is the Collections Information Manager and Web Program Strategist for the Judah L. Magnes Museum (Berkeley, CA).  She holds a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies, Interdisciplinary concentration (Collection Management and Technology) from John F. Kennedy University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art (sculpture) at University of California, Davis and began her museum career at the Richard L. Nelson Gallery at Davis. Perian has a deep interest in the intersection of technology, culture, and the arts, particularly as they relate to museum collections and emerging technologies. She is a contributor to the Musematic blog (http://www.musematic.org), a joint venture between the American Association of Museums Media and Technology Standing Professional Committee and the Museum Computer Network, and she is on the board of the Media and Technology SPC as Programs Chair. In addition, she is an active member of the American Association of Museums Registrar’s Committee. In her free time, she researches and recreates 18th- and 19th-century costumes and makes her own modern clothing designs.

THANK YOU, National Arts Marketing Program! The National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) is a program of Americans for the Arts and is sponsored nationally by American Express. In the Bay Area, these free workshops are further supported and developed with a grant from The Wallace Foundation in partnership with The San Francisco Foundation, Grants for the Arts/ San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund and Theatre Bay Area.

CALL TO ACTION: Arizona Historical Society Threatened

The Arizona Historical Society Museum, in its beautiful desert setting at the edge of Papago Park.

Dear Friends of AHS,

We are in crisis and need your help now!  Governor Brewer released her budget.  The Governor’s budget completely eliminates funding for the Arizona Historical Society by phasing out state appropriated dollars over the next five years.  If her proposal is approved, the Arizona Historical Society will cease to exist.  Please contact her immediately on behalf of the Arizona Historical Society to express your opposition to this provision in her budget.

The following message should be conveyed in the strongest possible terms by phone, email, or letter:

Dear Governor Brewer:

I/We respectfully request that you do not pursue your five year plan to phase out all state appropriated funding for the Arizona Historical Society.  To do so will result in the elimination of the Arizona Historical Society that was established by an Act of the First Territorial Legislature in 1864.  Instead, we ask that you support the Legislature’s proposal for the Arizona Historical Society’s budget, which reduces funding at more manageable levels and will enable the agency to continue.

I/We call for your support of our state’s oldest historical agency and its mission that engages, illuminates, educates, and inspires our communities in the rich history that shaped our state and contributes to the quality of life for all Arizonans.

Please eliminate this proposal from further consideration.

Governor Brewer’s contact information:

The Honorable Jan Brewer                 Telephone  602-542-4331
Governor of Arizona                           Toll Free  1-800-253-0883
1700 West Washington                       Fax  602-542-1381
Phoenix, AZ 85007

To submit a comment to Governor Brewer online, visit her website at: http://azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Anne I. Woosley, Ph. D.
Executive Director

To submit a letter download, print, sign and send.

The Tucson library and archives contains thousands of unpublished manuscripts, memoirs, diaries, company records, organizational papers, correspondence, biographical files, surveys, and government reports, as well as more than 50,000 books documenting the history of Arizona. (click photo to search on-line)

Special thanks to Kaia Landon of the Mesa Historical Museum for tweeting about this to spread the word!