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As museums face ongoing challenges associated with the prolonged closures of their physical sites, communities are facing challenges of their own. Organizations are striving to produce vibrant, mission-driven content and programming, while also supporting the diverse needs of community members and constituents. How do you assess the needs of your community? How can your organization deliver content and resources that support the community? And how can museums imbue their mission into digital resources and programming?

On April 29, 2020 over 1,500 people joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO and Founder @ Cuseum), Terri Freeman (President @ National Civil Rights Museum) & Mara Kurlandsky (Director of Digital Engagement @ National Museum of Women in the Arts) as they discussed how museums can serve their communities and further their own missions through digital initiatives. This webinar strived to address aspects of community engagement, digital programming, creating educational content, and more.

View the video recording here.

Read some of the top takeaways below!

Increase Digital Engagement Through Inter-Departmental Collaboration

As institution-wide efforts to translate resources and content into digital material continue, organizations are collaborating with all departments to fulfill the increasing need.

The sudden rise in demand for online content has put digital front and center for many organizations. Mara stressed the importance of working horizontally with other departments to provide digital material that will have a lasting impact on your audience. As the demand for digital continues to increase, Mara suggested that larger organizations establish a dedicated digital department. The National Museum of Women in Arts has made this shift. They originally housed their digital program in their education department, but as Mara explained, establishing a digital-specific department has allowed them to spread out the staff resources in a way that has helped accomplish more as an entire organization. Keeping the digital department functionally separate but still maintaining a cross-departmental relationship has ensured that every department has a say in what digital content is produced. She said that organizations should look to using digital as a conduit to everything else that their museum is doing.

The National Civil Rights Museum has also been enterprising in using digital tools, especially now.

"What this has done is forced us to really think more strategically about how we continue to have that level of engagement and be out there as a thought leader in this space and present people to our audiences that will keep them engaged during this time and still focus on issues that continue to be very, very relevant. The virus environment has forced our hand in thinking more strategically about how to utilize the digital tools that are at our disposal."
– Terri Freeman

In our previous webinars, many panelists have discussed how they're using virtual lectures and workshops to bring the museum experience to audiences at home. As institutions are looking to start to generate revenue from some of these projects, Terri and Mara discussed how their museums are exploring this idea for future projects. The National Civil Rights Museum is considering charging a fee for a film and are also considering a for-a-fee seminar that will be conducted virtually. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is still planning on offering their day-to-day digital media free of charge, but are looking into possibly taking their special programming "Fresh Talks" into the virtual realm. Mara is considering a $5 fee but plans to include language that encourages attendees to consider donating more.

Create an Audience and a Community Will Follow

Over these past two months, many organizations have experienced rapid growth in their online following. Through this rapid expansion, maintaining a community feel may prove challenging to some institutions.

As organizations continue to experiment with digital content, they are finding that they are attracting a variety of different demographics. School closures have attracted many teachers and parents, and now institutions are turning their focus to providing educational resources. The National Museum of Women in the Arts saw an opportunity to expand their programming for young kids and are now offering Story Time videos, which feature books written or illustrated by women and are read by different members of their staff. By experimenting with community-focused projects such as these, your audience will inevitably grow. As Mara stated, whether people want to continue to engage will determine whether or not they are part of an audience or your community. At the end of the day, that decision is theirs. As Mara went on to say, gathering as much feedback as possible is one way to get a pulse on how much a feeling of community is resonating with your audience.

“For social media, we're always trying to expand our audience to find more people who want to engage with what we're putting out there. We're sticking to what we already do, which is just making really good content that speaks to people and turning them into our champions in spreading the word for us."
– Mara Kurlandsky

Museums will always have a variety of different digital audiences. Some are more focused on social media posts, while others may be interested in a specific topic offered in a seminar. While the medium for conveying your message may differ, it is essential to consider all different audiences as part of a broader community that is interested in learning something that relates to your institution. Both panelists agreed that digital could contribute to a more geographically diverse audience, which will ultimately create a more diverse community.

Engage and Support All Members in Your Community, Including Artists

Although we have been isolated these past few months, institutions have found a way to work collaboratively with different departments, artists, and organizations to better their community.

Museums are turning to programming to bring a little inspiration into people's houses during this somber time. The National Civil Rights Museum was able to bring together artists, poets, and scholars from across the nation to create a streamed program titled "Remembering MLK: The Man. The Movement. The Moment" on April 4th, 2020. Although the day marked the 50th anniversary of King's assassination, the programming consisted of uplifting messaging that attracted over 21,000 people to the virtual event.

"We're specifically looking for resources that are targeted towards marginalized artists so that we can then publish that information on our website and in our emails so that we can connect people who are related to our museum to very specific kinds of resources."
– Mara Kurlandsky

Many museums are looking at options to help artists through this challenging time. With 90% of artists within the United States reporting they have lost income during this time, the National Museum of Women in Arts is circulating a Google Doc that contains information about grants and emergency funding specifically targeted towards marginalized artists. They also led a mini social campaign thanking health heroes as they were inspired by larger museums donating all of their excess supplies, masks, and gloves.

Provide Resources to the Community

As we continue through this difficult time, it is important to remember the pivotal role that museums play in the community.

Over the past few months, many people have looked towards museums to provide them some relief from the news that they hear every day. Through experimentation with digital content, many institutions have been successful in bringing engaging content into people's homes. Mara explained that during this time, there is no playbook for precisely what a museum should do. She stated that museums should be open to thinking about doing things differently and not be held back from experimenting with new ideas. Her advice? Focus on where your community is located and what role you're already playing in the community.

Terrie echoed this sentiment.

"Every museum, regardless of if you have a mission that is a social justice mission, or one that even is emphasizing equity, there is information and facts that you have that you can present to our broad community that helps them better understand the world around them. That's ultimately what museums do. They help us understand the world around us and help us bridge into other communities in a lot of ways by understanding specific pieces of information."
– Terri Freeman

As Mara stated, inequality doesn't pause in a panic or a crisis. Institutions need to remember the pivotal role that they play in the everyday lives of their communities. Whether it is supporting teachers and parents with educational material or providing information on resources for local artists, cultural institutions continue to play a role in engaging and supporting all members of their community.

The support that museums have given their communities during this time has been inspiring to watch. The upcoming weeks and months will continue to pose new challenges, but it is important to remember that we, too, are a strong community, and we will get through this together!

Looking for more information? Check out our coronavirus resources page.

Further Reading:

How Museums Are Leveraging Their Mobile Apps During Covid-19