About Indiana Museums
Announced today: the Terre Haute Children’s Science and Technology Museum (under construction) is one of the partners in the City’s revitalization that is today announced as the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s 2010 Community of the Year. "Terre Haute has been building toward this type of recognition and spotlight for several years,” praises Indiana Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. “Thanks to a lot of hard work by various groups, the city has enhanced its economic future and elevated its quality of life for residents and visitors.” Terre Haute’s Community of the Year award will be presented during the Indiana Chamber’s 21st Annual Awards Dinner on November 9 at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. Information http://mywabashvalley.com/fulltext?nxd_id=141605
NASA Awards The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Two-Year Grant to Fund Aeronautics Education: Recently, NASA announced the selection of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis as one of only nine informal education providers in the nation to receive a Competitive Program for Science Museums and Planetariums (CP4SMP) grant. The Children’s Museum will use the two-year grant of more than $597,000 to create Curious Scientific Investigator (CSI): Flight Adventures, an array of museum-wide experiences and activities to immerse children and families in aeronautics education focused on the science of flight and NASA contributions to space travel and aviation. http://childrensmuseum.org/pressrelease/press_2010_05_17.htm
Ernie Pyle State Historic Site Closed in 2010: The Indiana State Museum was forced to close the site in the face of budget concerns, but removing the status of “museum” from the site is not happening. The "Friends of Ernie Pyle" at Dana expressed interest in having the site transferred to them. The Department of Natural Resources and the Friends of Ernie Pyle are working on an agreement that will allow FOEP to reopen the site for tours, events and programs until a transfer can be organized. As an example of this cooperation, the site was opened during the annual Dana Days festival in August. The goal is to resume regular hours.
Grand Opening of Gennett Records Archives at IU East: Starr-Gennett Foundation, IU East release historic digital recordings The Starr-Gennett Foundation and Indiana University East have partnered to make over 300 digital recordings available to the public. The Gennett Record label has national significance in the world of music and American culture. The Archives collection is now open. Terri Hardy, executive director of the Starr-Gennett Foundation, said the foundation was thankful to the Indiana University Archive of Traditional Music and IU East for their support in this project. http://starrgennett.org/
People in Indiana Museums
The Board of Trustees for the Ruthmere Foundation and Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Elkhart native Bill Firstenberger (front center) to the position Executive Director. Firstenberger is a 1985 graduate of Jimtown High School, 1989 graduate from the University of Notre Dame, and a 2000 masters graduate from Indiana University. “I am thrilled to lead Ruthmere through this exciting period of recovery and rebirth in Elkhart. The country is looking to Elkhart to rise to the challenge both in our economy and in our citizens’ quality of life. Ruthmere has a strong role to play in these goals–not only in telling the history of Elkhart’s past, but also by inspiring the next generation of innovators, business leaders, artists, teachers–every citizen of Elkhart. http://ruthmere.org/news.asp
Larry Taylor has accepted the position of Project Director for the Brown County History Center in Nashville, Indiana.
Shelley Orlowski is now Collections Manager of Miller House at Indianapolis Museum of Art
Bruce Beesley is now Vice President for Historic Sites with the Indiana State Museum.
Mark W. Szobody joined Indiana Landmarks (formerly Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana) as Director of Special Events in its Indianapolis headquarters. Szobody will oversee events and rentals at the new Indiana Landmarks Center. Opening April 2011 in the former Central Avenue Methodist Church, the facility will include a 400-seat theater and a reception hall, restored with high-tech adaptations from their late 19th-century roles as sanctuary and Sunday school.
The American Association for State and Local History proudly announces that Dr. Ronald V. Morris is the recipient of an Award of Merit from the AASLH Leadership in History Awards for a lifetime of service to the public history field in Indiana. Dr. Morris has spent 35 years working in public history and has shown exceptional commitment to elementary school social studies education. Dr. Morris has provided in-service training and materials to elementary school teachers, community support to non-profit cultural institutions who work with elementary teachers and students, and media products to directly support elementary classroom teachers. He works diligently to bring educators, historical institutions and resources together with a goal of producing outstanding citizens of tomorrow. More about Dr. Morris’s work.
For Indiana Museums
Community Conversations Series: To help multi-county regions in Indiana address their most challenging concerns, the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State University and the Indiana Humanities Council have teamed up to present the second Community Conversations series. The sessions serve to convene regional conversations among community leaders and citizens from public, private and non-profit sectors to address major challenges facing communities; evaluate possible solutions for addressing community challenges and discuss best practices; provide regions with access to resources, technology, and expertise in the creation of solutions to regional problems; and provide ongoing consultation among regional leaders through the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State University.
In 2010, Indiana cities and counties will host community conversations customized to meet their region’s most critical needs. Remaining regions, dates and topics include: Town of Hope, Oct. 21, Topic: Community Development; City of Greenfield, Oct. 26, Topic: Community needs, challenges, opportunities; Marshall County, Nov. 17, Topic: Community and economic development using regional collaboration; Whitley County, Topic: 21st-Centeury learning strategies; Brown County, Topic: Arts and culture as a community development strategy. Details.
Two Trails to feature arts in Indiana, including museums: Art and Earth Trail: “The Art and Earth Trail provides a guide to places people might otherwise overlook.” The Trail is an initiative of the Northern Indiana Tourism Development Commission (NITDC) and its seven Convention and Visitors Bureaus. These entities have come together to make it easy for visitors and residents to discover places unlike anywhere else by creating a trail guide of carefully selected, authentic Northern Indiana attractions.
Twisted Trail: To celebrate arts heritage along State Road 46, Indiana's Twisted Trail has been created as a collaborative project by three of the area’s Convention and Visitors Bureaus. The Twisted Trail, traveling from East to West, encompasses the three communities of Columbus, Nashville and Bloomington. Funding for the regional tourism initiative was provided by a grant from the Indiana Artisan program.
Indiana Nonprofit Capacity Building Conference: Tuesday, Oct. 12, 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Indiana State Government Center South, Indianapolis. $50 per person for early-bird registration before Sept. 6. The theme for 2010 is The Amazing Race: Prepare, Measure, Succeed. This conference will present solutions, tools and resources for nonprofit and community-based organizations to boost revenue, remain relevant, adapt to the demanding economic and societal climate changes and stay financially afloat. The day also includes the Indiana Achievement Awards Ceremony and Reception and Presentation of the Michael A. Carroll Award.
Information: www.savi.org/conference.
The National Association for Interpretation, Region 4, is hosting a Regional Interpretive Workshop on March 21 - 25, 2011 at the French Lick Conference Center. This is a great opportunity to meet with your peers in museums, parks, historic sites and related venues. The program will include speakers on a variety of topics in education / interpretation and related fields, a mobile workshop day (out to parks, museums, historic sites in a reasonable drive radius of French Lick), and evening events (such as a BBQ at Patoka Lake and visit to the Dubois County Museum). If you have a successful program that should be shared with your peers, you can submit a presentation application from this PDF page: http://www.nairegions.org/4/training/RIW/riwmainpage.htm. Information and contact: Alan Goldstein, Certified Interpretive Planner, Falls of the Ohio State Park, Clarksville, IN. Phone 280-9970 ext. 403; AGoldstein@dnr.IN.gov; www.fallsoftheohio.org; www.facebook.com/fallsoftheohio.
Grants
Digital Humanities Start-up Grants from NEH: The National Endowment for the Humanities invites applications to the Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants program. This program is designed to encourage innovations in the digital humanities. Proposals should be for the planning or initial stages of digital initiatives in any area of the humanities. Innovation is a hallmark of this grant category. All applicants must propose an innovative approach, method, tool or idea that has not been used before in the humanities. Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants should result in plans, prototypes or proofs of concept for long-term digital humanities projects prior to implementation.
For more information, please visit www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/digitalhumanitiesstartup.html.
2011 Conservation Assessment Program Applications Available This Fall: Heritage Preservation celebrates the Conservation Assessment Program’s (CAP) 20th year of helping museums obtain general collections assessments! To mark the occasion, we have created a special feature on our website (www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP) called “Twenty Years of Conservation Improvements through CAP.” It showcases one museum from each year in the program’s twenty-year history, and demonstrates how each museum used their CAP recommendations to improve collections care. Gain inspiration and valuable ideas for collections care improvements from the examples of these dedicated museum professionals. In 2010, 107 museums in 40 states were selected to participate in CAP, including the Richmond Art Museum in Richmond . Click here to view the entire list of current CAP participants. The 2011 CAP applications will be mailed on Friday, September 3, 2010, to museums on the CAP mailing list and will also be available on Heritage Preservation’s Web site at www.heritagepreservation.org. The postmark deadline for applications is midnight on December 1, 2010. To be added to the CAP application mailing list, or for more information, please contact CAP staff at cap@heritagepreservation.org or 202-233-0800.
Tru Vue Optium® Conservation Grants Awarded by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation: Tru Vue, Inc. has partnered with FAIC to offer grants and donated Optium® Acrylic Glazing products to support projects in glazing applications for preservation of museum and library collections. Eight Tru Vue Optium Conservation Grant awards have been awarded since November 2008. The goals of this grant program include increasing knowledge of glazing applications, promoting Optium® Acrylic Glazing products, and encouraging the involvement of conservators in museum and library collection projects. Not-for-profit collecting institutions (museums or libraries) with active exhibition programs and located in the U.S. are eligible to apply. Projects must involve a staff or contract conservator. The deadlines for applications are May 1 and November 1 of each year. Guidelines and forms are available on both the AIC/FAIC website, www.conservation-us.org and Tru Vue, www.tru-vue.com, or by calling the AIC office at 202-452-9545.
National Museum Newsbrief
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Con.Res. 275, legislation designating the second week of September as "Arts in Education Week." The resolution seeks to support the attributes of arts education that are recognized as instrumental to developing a well-rounded education such as creativity, imagination, and cross-cultural understanding. H.Con.Res. 275 also highlights the critical link between those skills and preparing our children for gaining a competitive edge in the global economy.
The Wall Street Journal published two articles on museums over the summer: Museums: No More 'Cathedrals of Culture'; and Hit by the Downturn, Museums Seek Bailouts
The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced Monday that Stephanie Meeks, a longtime official in the nonprofit community, became its president in July. Article in Washington Post.
Conservators Volunteer for Haiti Cultural Recovery Work: Repairing Haitian paintings, murals, documents, and archaeological objects damaged in the January 12 earthquake might not seem to be a high priority, given the devastation the quake caused and the continuing needs for shelter, food, sanitation, and jobs. However, as Haitian sculptor Patrick Vilaire stated in January, “The dead are dead, we know that. But if you don’t have the memory of the past, the rest of us can’t continue living.” The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) has supported conservators working at the Haiti Cultural Recovery Center in Port-au-Prince since April. Volunteers have performed assessments, helped to set up conservation labs, and performed treatments ranging from basic cleaning to full restoration of damaged paintings and sculptures. The Haiti Cultural Recovery Center is operated by the Smithsonian Institution and its partners in Haiti. FAIC helps to supply volunteers to work in cooperation with the Smithsonian and the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield. FAIC’s funding comes from grants from the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. More information about FAIC’s activities in Haiti , including how to support the cultural recovery efforts, can be found at www.conservation-us.org/cert.
From the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG): Free student memberships! AAMG acknowledges that students are one of the prime constituencies of all of academic institutions as well as our future colleagues and leaders. To kick off this academic year, AAMG is offering these complimentary memberships between August 15th and October 15th. Please send the required information from this link (http://www.aamg-us.org/student_membership.php) along with a digital copy (word or PDF) of your unofficial transcript or student ID to Emily Forsgren <e-forsgren@northwestern.edu> and you will become a year long member! Or, mail the application and copy of your student ID or transcript to: AAMG MEMBERSHIP, Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-2410.
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