Curator's Friend

Looking to increase attendance?

megs — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:54:24 +0000

Why not hold a music festival. Mass MoCA did just that last weekend, with great results. In an interview with Mass MoCA Executive Director Joseph Thompson, he informed the press that “there were more strollers in the gallery this weekend” than they have had in a long time, and attendance reached 5,000 people on Saturday.

Certainly most, if not all, of the visitors were there for the music festival, but talk about a way to advertise your museum. Are there other creative ways to pump up attendance and remind the world that your museum exists?

Name that artifact

megs — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:29:08 +0000

Anyone seen this before? It’s a monochrome, hand painted, pearlware dish. Any info on the pattern?

Empty Mansions

megs — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:38:53 +0000

Here’s an interesting story about mansions sitting empty and their owner, a recluse hidden away in a hospital, not for her health, but for her privacy.

Museum Apps become the New Tour Guide

megs — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:38:26 +0000

The American Museum of Natural History launched a mobile app Thursday that serves as a high tech map/tour guide, complete with activities and additional information about the items on exhibit. They did this in hopes of attracting the 20-something crowds. And the best part is, they loan out mobile devices, such as iPads so that no one is left out.

Creators of the Dead Sea Scrolls Revealed?

megs — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 01:40:11 +0000

Interesting article from National Geographic about new theories regarding the creators of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Dead Sea Scrolls Mystery Solved?

When art is more than just art

megs — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 23:12:50 +0000

Does knowing the provenance of a piece of artwork help us to better appreciate it? Does this make art more or less than what it is? Check out this article from the WSJ which looks at how we distort artwork by using them as icons of money, power, politics, etc: What is Lost When Works are Trophies

Computer translates lost language

megs — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 21:18:54 +0000

A computer program created at MIT is being used to decode previously untranslated languages, and it seems to be producing successful results. What implications will this have for scholars? For museums? Think of all the untranslated texts sitting in basements and random storage closets, waiting for their secrets to be revealed? It will be exciting to follow this technology and see how successfully it continues to be used for work traditionally thought to be best handled by humans.

Cool find at Stonehenge

megs — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:58:30 +0000

Archaeologists discovered a second structure near Stonehenge. Check out this article for details.

Live in a museum

megs — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:02:24 +0000

Talk about a great marketing campaign (and a potential security nightmare). The Museum of Science and Industry Chicago is searching for someone to live in the museum for 1 month. The selected tenant will have to blog and tweet daily about their experiences living in the museum, creating a great social media space for the museum. I can’t wait to see how this plays out and to see if other museums follow suit.

the world’s oldest drinkable champagne?

megs — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:31:32 +0000

Divers find 200-year old champagne in Baltic wreck

The article suggests that these bottles will be for sale once their age and validity is confirmed. Is this problematic? How should we treat edible artifacts?