Museum Association of New York

12/15/2022

Deadline tomorrow! Apply for a conference scholarship and nominate your museum and museum colleagues for an Award of Distinction by tomorrow, Friday, December 16. https://nysmuseums.org/annualconference

12/14/2022

Exciting news! Today the Olana State Historic Site broke ground on the Frederic Church Center, a 4,500-square-foot orientation center with ticketing, restrooms, a café, and exhibition space. It will be the first new building at Olana since American painter Frederic Church’s death in 1900. It will also be the first publicly accessible carbon-neutral building in New York State. The $11 million project was generated from a 2015 strategic landscape design that encompasses the land and buildings that could be recovered, restored, rehabilitated, and brought into the full public experience.

12/13/2022

❗️Reminder❗️Awards of Distinction nominations are due next Friday, December 16!

Help us recognize your museum and museum colleagues who've created transformational experiences for visitors, shaped innovative programs, or used collections to tell stories of everyone who calls New York home.

Learn more about all of our award categories and submit your nomination by December 16! https://nysmuseums.org/awardsofdistinction

12/13/2022

How can audience data help us plan for the future? Join us this Friday, December 16 for our last webinar in 2022 "Measuring the Social Impact of Museums."

Speakers from The Rockwell Museum, Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center, Utah Division of Arts & Museums, and the Rochester Museum & Science Center will share this national research project and discuss how to make these measurements useful to all museums.

Webinar is free. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4116609213532/WN_pbSw86pDQ26uU_JMcAWnQQ

12/12/2022

Natalie Stetson is the Executive Director of the Erie Canal Museum in downtown Syracuse and has spent much of her career thinking about and finding ways to engage new audiences at history museums and how to connect museums to their communities.

We spoke with Natalie to learn more about her career path and her leadership in the development of a new interpretive plan for the Erie Canal Museum. Read more: https://nysmuseums.org/MANYnews/13007179

12/09/2022

Conference scholarship opportunity for Syracuse University Museum Studies Alum!

Sponsored by the Graduate Program in Museum Studies, School of Design, Syracuse University, this scholarship is awarded to a museum professional who is a graduate of Syracuse University and working at a NYS museum. Scholarship includes conference registration, one workshop or special event registration, two nights at the Hotel Syracuse, up to $400 transportation/parking reimbursement, and complimentary individual MANY membership for one year.

Learn more and apply by December 16: https://nysmuseums.org/conference-scholarships

12/09/2022

Natural History Museum Names College Leader as New Chief

American Museum of Natural History has named Sean M. Decatur as its new president. Decatur will start on April 3, succeeding Ellen V. Futter who will step down in March after a 30-year tenure.

Decatur, a biophysical chemist who currently serves as the president of Kenyon College, is the museum's first Black leader.

Congrats!

Sean M. Decatur, the president of Kenyon College and a biophysical chemist, will become the museum’s first Black leader when he succeeds Ellen V. Futter.

12/09/2022

Happy Friday! Here are a few posted to the MANY Job Board this month...

➡️ Guest Services Supervisor The Strong Museum
➡️ Director of Public History Historic Hudson Valley
➡️ Development Operations & Development Manager The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS)
➡️ Collections and Exhibitions Coordinator Olana State Historic Site
➡️ Grant Projects Manager Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum

Explore these job opportunities and more! https://nysmuseums.org/MANYJobboard

The MANY Job Board is sponsored by POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.)

12/08/2022

Reminder! Awards of Distinction nominations are due next Friday, December 16!

Learn more about this year's award categories and submit your nominations: https://nysmuseums.org/awardsofdistinction

12/08/2022

For Bronx Children’s Museum, a Long-Awaited Home

The Bronx Children's Museum operated without a building for more than 10 years but last weekend, the museum opened its permanent home.

The project, which cost about $17 million (excluding exhibits and artwork), invites children to construct modular bridges and boats for a 35-foot-long model waterway, build and frolic inside a mock beaver dam and investigate local flora and fauna.

After more than 10 years of busing exhibits across the borough, the museum is opening a permanent space on the Harlem River.

12/08/2022

We're thrilled to have the William G. Pomeroy Foundation sponsor 10 scholarships for museum professionals to attend!

Join us in Syracuse next April for the 2023 conference "Finding Center: Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement."

This scholarship opportunity is available to full- and part-time staff, volunteers, and trustees.

Learn more and apply by Friday, December 16. https://nysmuseums.org/conference-scholarships

Don’t miss out on the chance to attend the 2023 Museum Association of New York (MANY) conference in Syracuse this coming April. We’re sponsoring 10 scholarships for NYS museum professionals to attend! This scholarship opportunity is available to full- and part-time staff, volunteers and trustees. Visit MANY’s website here https://bit.ly/3FyxQHh for complete eligibility guidelines and how to apply. The deadline is Friday, Dec. 16.

12/01/2022

On we're reflecting on the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester's "Up Against the Wall: Art, Activism, and the AIDS Poster" exhibition from earlier this year. It was the first major exhibition devoted to the University of Rochester's vast collection of HIV/AIDS-related posters.

The exhibition featured 165 of the most visually striking and thought-provoking posters from the collection of Dr. Edward C. Atwater and illustrated the wide range of communication strategies used to educate and inform people.

The collection is one of the largest of its kind in the world.

12/01/2022

Deadline extended! Apply for a scholarship to attend by Friday, December 16. Learn more: https://nysmuseums.org/conference-scholarships

12/01/2022

"The last weeks of 2022 bring MANY’s sixtieth year of service to the museum field to a close. Despite the recent hardships we have all experienced, we stand stronger now than ever before. As I look back over all that we have accomplished, I am proud of the ways we brought museum professionals together in person and virtually for critical discussions about contemporary museum practice. "

Read the latest Letter from MANY Executive Director Erika Sanger https://nysmuseums.org/MANYnews/13007184

11/28/2022

We've extended the deadline! Nominate your museum and museum colleagues for an Award of Distinction by Friday, December 16.

Learn more: https://nysmuseums.org/awardsofdistinction/

11/22/2022

Buffalo Museum to Reopen in May

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum (formerly Albright-Knox Art Gallery) will reopen to the public on May 25, 2023. The announcement follows a $20M commitment from NYS announced by Governor Kathy Hochul to complete the museum's $230M capital campaign.

With this campus overhaul, the museum’s annual economic impact on the state would increase to $47 million from $24 million as annual attendance would rise to 185,000 to 205,000, from 135,000, according to the University at Buffalo Regional Institute, a research center that the museum partnered with to conduct a comprehensive two-part regional study.

New York State has committed $20 million for the campus expansion, in the governor’s hometown, designed by the OMA partner Shohei Shigematsu.

11/21/2022

Recognize the exceptional achievements of New York's museums and museum professionals! Award categories include Excellence in Design, Engaging Communities, Individual Achievement, Anne Ackerson Innovation in Museum Leadership, and Rising Star.

Learn more and nominate your museum and museum colleagues by 5 PM Wednesday, November 30. https://nysmuseums.org/awardsofdistinction

11/18/2022

The Thomas Cole National Historic Site will have a new visitor center as part of a $1.8M plan supported by an Empire State Development grant for infrastructure improvements. The new 1,800 sq ft center will serve as a multi-purpose open-concept space designed to improve the visitor experience including visitor orientation, a gift shop, a café, and an event space.

https://esd.ny.gov/esd-media-center/press-releases/esd-announces-groundbreaking-visitor-center-infrastructure-improvements-thomas-cole-national-historic-site-catskill?fbclid=IwAR0jA6pOJaZ6MP1hulGaQBSN6plSz2XMiRKLr54-kbdpBfsDBRJbtN3E6sk

11/17/2022

Join us as a speaker in Syracuse next April as we explore Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement as pathways to finding center for our institutions and our audiences.

Today is the final day to submit your proposals for conference sessions, workshops, panel discussions, facilitated discussions, and peer-to-peer learning experiences.

https://nysmuseums.org/Call-for-Proposals

11/17/2022

Meet us at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery for a meet-up with your museum colleagues and tour the exhibition "Parallax: Framing the Cosmos" on December 5. Meet-up is free; advance registration is required. Learn more and register here: https://nysmuseums.org/Capital-Region-Meet-Up

11/16/2022

Conference session proposals are due tomorrow Nov. 17!

Join us as a speaker in Syracuse next April as we explore Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement as pathways to finding center for our institutions and our audiences. https://nysmuseums.org/Call-for-Proposals

11/16/2022

New funding initiative announced by the National Endowment for the Humanities to help build capacity at museums, libraries, archives, historic sites, cultural centers, and colleges and universities, benefitting more communities while amplifying the untold stories of historically underrepresented groups.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announces a new initiative: “American Tapestry: Weaving Together Past, Present, and Future,” which will draw on the humanities to help Americans study, evaluate, and respond to some of the nation’s most urgent issues.

Learn more at https://bit.ly/3X6Wjug

11/16/2022

Join us this Friday to hear how a rural library developed an online audio local history project to share the past and present of their town, then collaborated with a local museum to bring the museum’s exhibits to life through use of the stories collected.

Webinar is free; advance registration required. https://nysmuseums.org/Seventh-Generation-Model

11/15/2022

Have you submitted a conference session proposal for ? Join us in Syracuse next April as a conference presenter! Deadline is this Thursday, November 18! https://nysmuseums.org/Call-for-Proposals

11/15/2022

Thank you William G. Pomeroy Foundation for your continued support to New York's museum professionals!

Learn more about this great opportunity to attend conference in Syracuse next April and apply by December 2. https://nysmuseums.org/conference-scholarships

Have you heard? We’re sponsoring 10 scholarships for museum professionals in New York State to attend the 2023 Museum Association of New York (MANY) annual conference taking place in Syracuse. Scholarship applications must be submitted online by 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2 via MANY’s website. For all the details and info on how to apply, go to: https://bit.ly/3XeaUnR

11/10/2022

❗️Deadline extended❗️Submit your proposals for conference sessions, workshops, panel discussions, facilitated discussions, and peer-to-peer learning experiences on Thursday, November 17.

Learn more: https://nysmuseums.org/Call-for-Proposals

Submit a proposal that shares how you and your colleagues:
→ connect with and grow organizational and human resources;
→ build capacity, revenue, and access;
→ align values with mission to create inclusive experiences;
→ research, accession, and deaccession collections;
→ increase participation and engagement;
→ secure and improve endangered historic structures;
→ use objects and collections to tell complicated stories;
→ write new cases for support and increase economic impact;
→ identify digital divides and integrate virtual access;
→ change organizational culture to build equity and inclusion within your staff;
→ or create opportunities to support democracy.

Have a question about a proposal idea or if you are interested in hosting a workshop or a tour, but aren’t sure how to proceed, please contact MANY staff at [email protected] or call us at 518-273-3400

11/09/2022

Celebrating with a few snapshots from our travels around ! It’s always a great day to visit an art museum.

1. MANY Board and Staff get a behind the scenes tour at some new spaces

2. Outside the during a break at the AASLH conference.

3. Looking up at the Arkell Museum sign against a cloudy sky

4. Inside with the sun at the Charles Engelhard Court in the American Wing

5. Glass art Contemporary Art + Design Wing

6. Sign spotted in a corridor beneath the Met.

11/09/2022

We're thrilled to announce 27 scholarship opportunities available for museum professionals to attend Finding Center: Access, Inclusion, Participation, and Engagement annual conference in Syracuse, NY!

Scholarships include:
→ BIPOC Museum Professional in Museum Administration
→ William G. Pomeroy Foundation –10 scholarships for history-related organizations with budgets under $250k
→ Robert D. L. Gardiner Foundation –10 scholarships for museums on Long Island with budgets under $250k
→ Central NY Community Foundation –5 scholarships for museum professionals working in Onondaga, Cayuga, Oswego, Cortland, or Madison Counties
→ Museum Professional in a Facilities Position –Sponsored by Fireline Corporation

Those eligible for a Conference Scholarship must be employed full-time at a NYS museum. You may be eligible to apply for multiple scholarships but only one scholarship will be awarded.

Please note that additional scholarships may become available.
Learn more and apply https://nysmuseums.org/conference-scholarships

11/07/2022

✨One Week Left✨ Submit your conference session proposals by next Monday, November 14!

Presentations by individuals from institutions of all sizes, all stages of their careers, and from all disciplines are welcome to submit a proposal.

Learn more: https://nysmuseums.org/Call-for-Proposals

11/04/2022

Nominate your museum or museum colleague for an Award of Distinction!

MANY’s Awards of Distinction recognize the exceptional achievements of New York’s museums and museum professionals. Awards celebrate museums and honor museum professionals who create transformative experiences for visitors, shape innovative programs, and use collections to tell the stories of everyone who calls New York home.

Award categories:

→ Excellence in Design –Awards in Publications & Graphics, Media & Marketing, and Exhibition Design
→ Engaging Communities
→ Individual Achievement
→ Anne Ackerson Innovation in Museum Leadership
→ Rising Star
→ Board of Director Special Achievement Award

Learn more and submit your nominations by November 30 https://nysmuseums.org/awardsofdistinction

11/04/2022

As part of New York State’s overall effort to target revitalization in Western NY’s underserved neighborhoods, Empire State Development committed $65M in state funding to revitalize Buffalo’s East Side with the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor receiving $7M for capital improvements and to facilitate a coordinated tourism destination with four cultural anchor sites.

“We’re trying to promote and encourage more people to live in this Corridor,” said Terry Alford, Executive Director of the MSAAHCC. “We’re looking at using this part of the Corridor as the economic engine, focusing on heritage tourism with the hope that it will spur community development…not just in this part of the Corridor with our four cultural anchors, but to serve as an economic engine to develop the entire 3.5 miles of the Corridor.”

Read more: https://nysmuseums.org/MANYnews/12967272

11/03/2022

Partnering with the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, the Pomeroy Fund for NYS History awarded 20 grants to history-related organizations to support or bring back museum educators.

Organizations like Historic Cherry Hill who will expand the hours of their education assistant hired in 2022 to support the museum’s expanded public hours, develop new school programs, and update existing programs to meet the needs of students. Programs include the Hudson River School Trading Game for 4th and 5th graders which connects students to Albany’s significant history as a Hudson River port that includes stories of People of Color.

Learn more about all of our grantees: h will expand the hours of their education assistant hired in 2022 to support the museum’s expanded public hours, develop new school programs, and update existing programs to meet the needs of students. Programs include the Hudson River School Trading Game for 4th and 5th graders which connects students to Albany’s significant history as a Hudson River port that includes stories of People of Color.

11/02/2022

Submit your proposals for conference sessions, workshops, panel discussions, facilitated discussions, and peer-to-peer learning experiences.

Learn more and submit your conference session proposal by Monday, November 14 https://nysmuseums.org/Call-for-Proposals

11/02/2022

to Green-Wood Cemetery!

Founded in 1838 and now a National Historic Landmark, Green-Wood is a 478-acre cemetery in Brooklyn and one was one the first rural cemeteries in America. It is the final resting place of 570,000 people.

Recently, Green-Wood unveiled a large-scale sculpture installation by artist Athena LaTocha that explores the history of the cemetery and its caretakers called "The Remains of Winter." Sculptures use thin sheets of lead (a material historically used in coffins to slow decomposition) with old trees that needed to be removed from the cemetery due to damage and decay.

Welcome to MANY!