2010 AAMG Annual Conference

Finding Hard Cash in Hard Times: Winning Strategies for Academic Museums

May 22, 2010 (One day prior to the Annual AAM Meeting in LA)
Hammer Museum, UCLA
Los Angeles, CA

Thanks to the AAMG board, our excellent speakers, facilitators, and many active participants at this year’s AAMG Conference! It was a joy to be with so many colleagues and to spend the day sharing ideas and enjoying good company and refreshments.

Thanks especially to the Hammer (and the Fowler) for their marvelous hospitality.

Do mark you calendar for May 21, 2011 for our next annual gathering–this time in Houston, Texas.

David Robertson
President
AAMG

Conference Images

The current economic downturn affects all academic museums to varying degrees. Why do some take massive hits to operating budgets while others continue to stay on mission and, dare we say, move forward during challenging times? With shrunken endowments affecting us all, decreased operating support from our parent organizations, a dearth of corporate support, large reductions in foundation and government grants, and diminished annual donations from individuals, where do we find the resources to keep on track with our missions and goals? The goals of the conference are to learn diverse, best practice models for hard times and to provide tangible results for participants through significant partnership networking.

Model programs, examples of partnership contracts, and networking opportunities will be shared and promoted. The goal of the conference is to learn best practice models and to provide tangible results for participants through significant partnership networking.

Conference Agenda

8:00a.m.
Transportation via school bus departs from JW Marriott at LA Live

8:30 – 9:45 a.m.
Late Registration
Coffee and Pastries

9:45 – 10:00 a.m.
Welcoming Remarks, Brent Tharp, Vice President, ACUMG

10 – 10:30 a.m.
Opening Remarks: ACUMG, Where We Stand
David Alan Robertson, President, ACUMG

10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Roundtable Sessions
I. Emboldening Your Mission
Testing Relevance to Augment, Supplement, and Strengthen Our Mission
Jorge Daniel Veneciano, Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska
II. From the Brink through Community Support and Creative Funding
Reinventing the University of Wyoming Geological Museum
Susan Moldenhauer, University of Wyoming Art Museum
III. Cost/Benefit Analysis: Adopting the ‘Teaching Museum’ Model
What Do You Gain When Aligning More Closely with Curriculum
(And What Do You Lose)?

Laurel Bradley, Carlton College

11:45 a.m. – Noon
Roundtable Facilitators’ Reports (Auditorium)

Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch, Hammer Museum Courtyard

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Paper Session: Winning Exhibitions, Limited Resources
Curating Brilliant Exhibitions on the Cheap
Leonie Bradbury, Director/Curator, Montserrat College of Art
Great Exhibitions in Tough Times, Stretching Resources Creatively
Amy Vigilante, Director, University Galleries, University of Florida

1:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Optional Afternoon Tours: Fowler Museum or Hammer Museum

2:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Break

3:00 – 4:00p.m.
Roundtable Sessions
IV. Engaging Students
ArtMania: Audience-Building, Fundraising, and Developing Student Leaders
Lisa A. Yoshihara, University of Hawaii Art Gallery
V. Multi-Museum Partnerships
Multi-Museum Collaboration and Distributing the Costs
Michiko Okaya, Art Galleries, Lafayette College, and Ricardo Viera, Lehigh University Art Gallery

4:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Roundtable Facilitators’ Reports

4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Cocktail Reception

6:00 p.m.
Bus departs for JW Marriott at LA Live