Redefining Narrative
Redefining Narrative, a series of YouTube videos featuring leaders in the cultural sector whose ideas and initiatives change the way we work and plan for the future. This series of five videos features the voices of thought leaders in the cultural sector, followed by conversations between our featured speakers and MAAM Vice President Deborah Schwartz.
Redefining Narrative is a project created by the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums and funded in part by Humanities New York with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Find all five videos on our YouTube Channel here.
Programs, Collections, and Curatorial
Collections Sustainability Rubric
Collections stewardship is not an island and not the sole responsibility of the collections management and curatorial staff. An institution that is stable and sustainable is one in which collections management is seen and treated as an integral and strategic aspect of the museum’s educational mission; its management, organizational health, and governance; and maintaining its relevance to its communities. Collections management staff, management and leadership, and the governing authority must work together and with equal diligence to promote institutional sustainability.
Deaccessioning is part of the life-cycle of an institution and an appropriate collections management practice. Generally speaking, deaccessioning does not cause institutional failure. However, deaccessioning is often a symptom of institutional challenge if it is considered as a means to financially stabilize an institution.
When ethical practices in administration and collections management are overlooked and when the necessary human and financial resources and support for collections and their management are neglected, sustainability is at risk.
The Collections Sustainability Rubric is an assessment tool to help you:
- gauge the health of your institution and stability of its collections
- self-check if your museum is going down a pathway towards a crisis that could lead to a decision to improperly deaccession collections