Image courtesy of AAM
It’s been one month since we gathered with over 3,000 of our peers, partners, and museum professionals for this year’s American Alliance of Museums (AAM) conference in Boston. And it’s been a busy month – as the arts and culture sector works hard to evolve and keep pace with the global transition to a post-pandemic era, it’s worth reflecting on some relevant insights and tools gained at the conference.
Here, we’ve identified three key takeaways from AAM 2022 that will help museums and cultural organizations meet rapidly shifting demands and confront emerging challenges:
Innovation: For all the obstacles and challenges wrought by the pandemic, it has also produced unprecedented technological creativity and experimentation in the world of arts and culture. In the opening keynote address to the conference, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Thomas Friedman discussed global technological trends – including machine learning, smart sensor networks, and autonomous vehicles – that are disrupting and transforming every part of our lives, including our engagement with art, culture, and museums.
As part of AAM 2022, Cuseum founder and CEO Brendan Ciecko was joined by Brett Ashley Crawford (Carnegie Mellon University’s Arts Management & Technology Lab), as well as NFT collector and immersive technology expert Karen Levy (DSL Collection) for “The Meta Museum: What NFTs, the Metaverse, and High-Tech Hype Terms Mean for Museums" – a panel exploring and debating the future implications and potential of NFTs and Web3 for the industry as a whole.
Revitalization: 2022 has emerged as a year of transition and transformation. With travel restrictions lifted and global vaccination levels rising, the focus on pandemic recovery has shifted to one revitalization.
For museums, membership growth and revenue generation are key parts of a strong revitalization strategy. AAM sessions such as “The Comeback Kids: Innovation and Resiliency in Membership After Covid” and “Museum Philanthropy and Membership” focused on practical tactics like building donor support and diversifying revenue sources to help museums grow and thrive in the post-pandemic age.
For another such panel, “Purpose-built: How to Design Intentional Audience Development Strategies”, Cuseum’s own VP of growth Dan Sullivan hosted a discussion on membership with Chris Cloud of (Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago), Rosie Siemer (FIVESEED), Ashley Chellgren (Perot Museum of Nature and Science), and L. James Haddan (Museum of Us).
Image courtesy of AAM
The discussion covered topics including how museums are experimenting with business models, implementing new strategies to cultivate members and donors, and the hidden drivers behind the decision to become a member.
Hybridization: The first in-person conference since 2019, AAM2022 reflected a transformed industry. As representatives from all corners of the arts & culture sphere gathered to discuss the future of museums, one shared challenge that emerged was the division between virtual and in-person programming. Talks like “Creating Visitor-Centered Museums: How Museums Reorganized to Grapple with Shifts toward New Priorities” hosted by Xiaofei Xie, of Cornell University, and multiple sessions hosted by the Smithsonian Institution on “providing access through visual descriptions” highlighted the need for innovative, multimedia approaches to meeting evolving demands for accessibility and hybrid experiences.
After two years of virtual conferences, it was a thrill to connect and collaborate in person, and to learn from industry peers and thought leaders building a future for museums to flourish.
We can’t wait to see you all next year in Denver for #AAM2023!
Image courtesy of AAM