Cindy,
What if you limit your celebrated figures to those who have received the
Governor's Awards in the Arts? You should be able to get a list, which
includes visual, performing, and literary artists, from the office of
the Governor. This would give you an already-existing nomination and
award process that you don't have to manage, and a list to work with as
you decide how to rotate the gallery.
Jill R. Chancey, PhD
Curator
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
PO Box 1108
Laurel, MS 39441-1108
www.LRMA.org
[log in to unmask]
Cindy Gardner wrote:
> It will definitely be a rotating area and we, of course, will have
> artifacts, but I don't think we can limit it to only people we have
> artifacts for (ideally yes, realistically no). For instance, we don't
> have any artifacts relating to Morgan Freeman, but we surely can't leave
> him out if we are talking about actors from MS.
>
> I agree that we are going to be called into question regardless of what
> we do. That's why we are hoping a museum that has faced this in the past
> has some criteria written that we can review.
>
> I appreciate everyone's responses.
>
> --
> Cindy Gardner, Field Services Curator
> Museum of Mississippi History
> Mississippi Department of Archives and History
> P.O. Box 571
> Jackson, MS 39205-0571
> Telephone: 601/576-6901
> Facsimile: 601/576-6981
> Email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> Candace Perry wrote:
>> Maybe we should get a weigh-in from some staff members from Halls of
>> Fame that are on this list...
>> I think Halls of Fame certainly have their place; they are a different
>> animal and often suffer from a dismissive attitude. I've seen good,
>> fun Halls of Fame -- the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, I do
>> believe, comes to mind (anywhere the B52s are honored has to be
>> good) -- and some that were struggling to find their niche and their
>> momentum. They straddle the line between attraction and museum. They
>> are sometimes run by volunteers and folks who are more skilled in the
>> tourism industry than other areas.
>> I would love to have the numbers the Baseball or Football Halls of
>> Fame generate...they are meccas for those who love the sports,
>> and essential to the preservation of heritage of the sports. And they
>> are, as far as I know, fine institutions also.
>> Candace Perry
>> (a former proud employee of the Kentucky Derby Museum)
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> *From:* Museum discussion list
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]*On Behalf Of *Claudia J.
>> Nicholson
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, March 14, 2007 2:50 PM
>> *To:* [log in to unmask]
>> *Subject:* Hall of Fame, or not?
>>
>> I’ve been waiting for a response that struck a chord with me, so
>> I’m writing it myself.
>>
>> It would be impossible to include in an exhibit all the
>> Mississippians who achieved anything in their artistic field--just
>> impossible. And if you happened to leave anyone out, you’d be in
>> trouble. There a couple of things you have to bear in mind when
>> considering who to include: as David H. rightly pointed out, you
>> have to feature people from whom you have cool collections—showing
>> an author by showing her books would be dull stuff indeed. But,
>> if you have a marked-up manuscript of a well-known work, or a
>> garment that they were famous for wearing all the time, their
>> typewriter, or something else iconic, you would have a portion of
>> a museum exhibit. Our exhibits are supposed to be
>> collections-driven—now this doesn’t mean that you can only exhibit
>> what you have, but you could do some targeted collecting, or
>> borrow from other institutions.
>>
>> Second, consider who had the greatest impact, both in-state, and
>> outside of your state—who did something that made significant
>> change? Who was valued by well-known and well-understood
>> measures? (Pulitzer, Tony, National Book Award, Oscar, Grammy)
>> Who succeeded against all odds? Who represents the
>> quintessential citizen of your state? These are some of the
>> criteria you can use for making your decisions. Just make sure
>> that you can adequately explain your reasoning for everyone that
>> you select, because you will surely be called to account for your
>> choices.
>>
>> If you ignore every famous person who ever called Mississippi
>> home, you will be criticized, and if you include some and not
>> others, you’ll be criticized. But in the end, visitors also love
>> to see stuff from “famous” people—something about our cult of
>> celebrity here in the U.S. I guess.
>>
>> I think that another responder is correct: this cries out for a
>> book, rather than an exhibit. Have you ever visited an actual
>> Hall of Fame? They are dreadful, except for the members of the
>> congregation. They rarely tell you anything much about the
>> individuals honored, because the bulk of their accomplishments are
>> already /understood/ by the insiders who selected them. I’d
>> rather read a meaty essay on someone’s accomplishments, with a few
>> great illustrations, than enter an exhibit space crammed full of
>> famous (and not so famous) faces, all of whom have accomplished
>> /something/.
>>
>> If you are able to do rotating exhibits, you might find a way to
>> feature a few individuals for, say, six months at a time, so you
>> can always keep it fresh, and respond to criticisms. That might
>> work much better than selecting an immutable subset of famous
>> Mississipians.
>>
>> You’re in a tough spot, no matter what you do, so just make sure
>> you can explain yourself in a good, 15-second sound bite!
>>
>> Best wishes and good luck,
>> Claudia
>>
>> --
>> Claudia J. Nicholson
>> Executive Director
>> North Star Museum of Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting
>> 2640 E. Seventh Avenue
>> North St. Paul, MN 55109
>> 651-748-2880
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>> /Visit us on the web at www.NorthStarMuseum.org!
>> / =========================================================
>> Important Subscriber Information:
>>
>> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
>> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain
>> detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one
>> line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of
>> the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>>
>> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail
>> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message
>> should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>>
>> ========================================================= Important
>> Subscriber Information:
>>
>> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
>> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
>> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
>> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message
>> should read "help" (without the quotes).
>>
>> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
>> to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
>> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>>
>
>
> ========================================================= Important
> Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
> read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
> to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
