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Bill Adair
David Young
Stephen Hague
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MUSEUMS
AND THEIR COMMUNITIES:
A BERMAN MUSEUM OF ART – SPEAKER’S HOUSE
JOINT PUBLIC PROGRAM
Collegeville
– A public forum, Museums and Their Communities:
Negotiating Preservation, Interpretation and Relevance,
jointly sponsored by The Speaker’s House and the
Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College, will be held
at the Berman Museum of Art, Ursinus College campus,
on Wednesday, March 19 at 7 pm. A reception will follow
the program. There is no admission fee.
Using
The Speaker’s House as a case study, panelists
Bill Adair, Director of Education at the Rosenbach Museum,
Stephen Hague, Executive Director of Stenton, and David
Young, Executive Director of Cliveden, will examine
how 21st century museums can achieve sustainability
while negotiating the ground between “behind the
scenes” and “front of the house” activities.
How does a successful museum stay true to its preservation
and educational mission while also remaining relevant
to its community?
The
Speaker’s House, the home of Frederick A. Muhlenberg,
first Speaker of the House of Representatives, is embarking
on a multi-year restoration of the house, with plans
to turn it into an educational center and museum. “Our
organization is at a crossroads,” says Speaker’s
House Executive Director Allison Weiss. “There
are hundreds of historic properties and museums in the
Philadelphia metro region. We need to develop a plan
for differentiating The Speaker’s House.”
The panelists will be speaking about their own experiences
in developing organizations that are both sustainable
and meaningful to their constituents, and providing
lessons from which The Speaker’s House can learn.
The
panel will be moderated by Susan Shifrin, Associate
Director for Education at the Berman. Students from
Dr. Shifrin’s course “Museums and Their
Communities” are helping plan the forum in order
to gain real-life experience in a museum setting. Says
Dr. Shifrin, “The students will conduct background
research, assist with marketing, identify stakeholders,
and develop an evaluation of the program. It is an excellent
opportunity to involve them in the local cultural arts
community in a meaningful way.”
For
more information about the program, please contact The
Speaker’s House at (610) 489-2105 or the Berman
Museum of Art at (610) 409-3500.
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