The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art here in Indianapolis just announced its Smithsonian affiliation. It would be instructive to find out what made them want to make the deal. I know the public reason (maximizing collections availability), but there might be some other advantages similar to the ones you mentioned below. Julia Muney Moore Director of Exhibitions and Artist Services Indianapolis Art Center 820 E. 67th St. Indianapolis, IN 46220 (317) 255-2464 x233 FAX (317) 254-0486 email <[log in to unmask]> website <http://www.indplsartcenter.org> -----Original Message----- From: Jay Heuman [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2002 5:57 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Smithsonian affiliates Hello All! I hope to hear from those who work at institutions with Smithsonian affiliations - on or off list (however you feel most comfortable responding) - about whether your Smithsonian affiliation has resulted in increased exposure, interest, attendance and donations/sponsorships? Having slightly better odds of accessing some of the 140,000,000 items in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution comes at a price . . . and I'm curious if you feel the price is worth it? Many thanks in advance to those who reply. Sincerely, Jay Heuman Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator Joslyn Art Museum 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102 342-3300 (telephone) 342-2376 (fax) "You can't lock up art in a vault and keep it frozen for posterity. Then the artist is betrayed, history is betrayed." (Walter Persegati) ========================================================= 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).