There’s a buzz in the air. Here in Boston the sun, salt water, and longer (warmer!) days have us all anticipating these next few magical months. At Cuseum we’re riding a wave of inspiration after a whirlwind spring of conferences. We hung out with directors, designers, administrators, curators, and educators– museum people (our people). Together we geeked out on art, museums, and technology. We shared visions of what the future might look like and what we’re doing to get there.
Here are a few of our favorite moments from each:
Museums and the Web (Chicago)
- The venue (see above).
- The storytelling theme and call to create relationships rather than transactions (especially this presentation from Peter Samis and Tim Svenonius).
- The #Musetech community’s passion for publishing and moving the field forward in general (Chelsea Emelie Kelly writes more about that on the Art Museum Teaching blog).
MuseumNext (Geneva)
- MAH Genève’s opening reception and this awesome sculpture machine by Jean Tinguely.
- Kaywin Feldman of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (@artsmia) talking about the importance of people, talent, and team culture.
- Christian Lachel of BRC Imagination Arts asking this during his talk “Emotionalizing the Museum”:
BONUS This view:
American Alliance of Museums (Atlanta)
- The #empatheticmuseum conversation.
- Release of the 2015 TrendsWatch report (we especially like the personalization and wearable technology bits).
- The mock Museum of the Future.
Our biggest takeaway of all? Gratitude. One conference can be exhausting (yet alone three!) and more than once we were energized by the palpable dedication and imagination. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and findings! We are so grateful to be a part of such a proactive, inspiring community.