Dear Museum-L subscribers,

 I am looking for panelists interested in participating in a session for the
1997 American Association of Museums meeting in Atlanta entitled "Competing
in the Arena: Content, Creativity, and Cooperation.  This session, "Competing
Visions:  Museums and Their Communities" focuses on the trend toward
community involvement in the planning and implementation of exhibitions and
public programs.  As private and public funding becomes more tenuous and
individuals and communities demand control over their history, museums are
having to re-evaluate their interpretive processes.  Many have entered into
collaborative programs with local communities with some notable successes:

* The Crown Heights History Project (The Brooklyn Children's Museum)

*  A Common Ground:  Minnesota Communities (Minnesota Historical Society)

* Kids' Bridge (Boston Children's Museum)

* Neighborhoods: Keepers of Culture (Chicago Historical Society)

* Life Stories (Indianapolis Children's Museum)


 This session would provide a forum to discuss the complex relationship
between museums and their publics by focusing on three related questions:
 When and how are constituencies involved in the interpretive process?  Do
community exhibitions and public programs change the nature of historical
interpretation? Does being community-centered mean that the museum is
relinquishing interpretive power?

 The most successful conference sessions are often the ones that actively
engage their audience.  For this session, participants would be responsible
for: (1) briefly discussing their involvement in the community project; (2)
preparing a handout of practical advice for other museum professionals
interested in this process; (3) preparing a brief list of questions that will
be compiled and distributed; and (4) participating in the discussion.

 I am currently writing part of my dissertation on the Chicago Historical
Society's Neighborhoods: Keepers of Culture project.  In the process of my
research for this chapter, I have discovered a lot of exciting work that
should be made available to the broader museum community.  In 1994, the AAM
hosted "Exhibitions, Research, and Real Life Voices:  A Delicate Balance"
focused on how museums are striving to become more meaningful to their
communities.  This session would be a logical follow-up.

 If you have been involved in such a project and are interested in sharing
your experiences, please forward a brief abstract (no more than 250 words),
relevant printed material on the community program that you plan to discuss,
and a vitae to:  Catherine Lewis, 925-B Drewry Street, Atlanta, GA 30306 or
[log in to unmask] by September 1, 1996.  The AAM deadline is September 9.  If
you have any questions please feel free to contact me at: (404) 876-8050.

Thank you.