Hi global friends,

Kudos, Theresa and Harry and everyone who enthusiastically responded to
Karin's inquiry about the global list. And thank you, Karin, for your
courage to open us all to something tremendously important.

I follow this list habitually to learn and most of all connect with the
museum community at large. How rich we are to have participating members
from all over the world! When I saw Javier's request and responses to
it, I was envious of our Spanish-literate members.

The museum community has the role to educate and enrich the communities
they serve, communities that are diverse more than ever before. The
board of education of Portland, Maine, recently advertised for a
Multiculural Coordiantor to diversify the professional staff because
they have identified 43 different languages in the city alone! When I
spoke with a representative of the Hispanic Society in my city, I
inquired how many groups came under that umbrella. The answer was 26.

Though I have not seen the Sensation exhibit yet, I did attend the
public forum held in NYC which was sponsored by the First Amendment
Council. Norm Siegel of Civil Liberties was on the panel as was Susan
Ball from CAA, Wm. Murphy  from the Catholic League and the reviewer
from US News and World Reports. Susan was great making one good point,
among others, that enduring art has always caused a sensation when it
first appeared on the scene--even that of the Impressionists. Norm was
staunch in his defense of the First Amendment, yet inclusive and
courteous relating to everyone. The remaining two were, in a word,
reactionary.

However, the powerful comments came from individuals in the audience.
One woman said it best--she had lived in Haiti and other third world
countries and sensed from listening to the panel that there was a
xenophobia for other cultures. She mentioned that the madonna in
question was black which had not been brought out by the panel. And that
other paintings in the exhibit by the same artist had dung as well and
yet they were not discussed. In addition, she expressed her
disappointment that people from other cultures were missing from the
panel.

This list, most of all, must stay global--not factionalize. That's a
major problem in this world of ours. We have to demonstrate unity and
connectedness--is that not the attraction of museum careers? And what
generosity of the people in it--people like Ellen, Harry, Deb, and all
of you on the list.

These are exciting times. And for all of you desiring museum jobs--do
not despair.I wanted to teach art and art history fulltime and ended up
directing a museum. Key to my getting the position was that I did an
internship at a museum (which was only one day a week for a semester).
Be creative. You will need that skill in a museum career. Volunteer to
be on a nonprofit board, join and become active in your trade
associations, attend seminars and conferences and network, network and
more network. And when you land that wonderful museum position remember
to take people up the ladder with you.

Terri McNichol
Museum Consultant
Multicultural Specialist

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ museum-l.html. 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).