Thanks David! This is a big issue that is rarely addressed, and perhaps we are afraid to, why these inexperienced non-professionals are being tapped to run museums. There have been a lot of retirements and deaths among the leadership generation in recent years. But why isn't the next wave stepping up to replace them? Is it a lack of training? Fear of the rabid public? How do we nurture and grow our own leaders who have that experience to run a museum? What is the museum world not doing? Is there anything from the corporate world we can steal, besides their leaders? They obviously know how to do it- how do we? Pamela > -----Original Message----- > From: David E. Haberstich [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 1:12 AM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Trickle-down Stickiness > > In a message dated 3/10/2004 10:08:52 AM Eastern Standard Time, > [log in to unmask] writes: > > << What has lacked in the discussion thus far is a consideration of the > fundamental error that the museum made in contracting for this exhibit- > not > contracting an exhibit based on a review of all materials beforehand. No > serious museum just agrees to an exhibit and them tries to "dig itself > out > from a sticky situation." Agreement to what items constitute the exhibit > needed to have been negotiated out before an exhibition agreement was > signed. This would have raised the issue early on and in a very limited > scale. All affected parties could have laid out their needs and concerns > and > in all likelihood a reasonably satisfactory solution could have been > found. > >> > > The above is certainly good advice. I'd like to use it as a point of > departure for a tangent--perhaps a new thread. Curators often have to > learn their > lessons the hard way, and I suspect that many have had comparable > experiences. > (Those who get burned and can profit from the experience are probably > better > curators in the long run.) It's the job of museum directors, it seems to > me, > to guide inexperienced staff and help them avoid pitfalls. But this > assumes > that senior managers have sufficient training and experience (such as > curatorial > experience) to recognize potential pitfalls. It is my impression that > many > museums, including some of the largest and most prestigious, are > increasingly > afflicted with directors and trustees from the corporate world who have no > museum experience and who are creating havoc in their institutions through > their > ignorance and headaches for the professional staff. Lack of sympathy with > and > knowledge of museum traditions, ethics, and values at top levels of > management, combined with the arrogance acquired from climbing corporate > ladders, and > the never-ending quest (dare I say lust?) for ever higher attendance > figures and > greater earned income help to redefine (and sometimes distort) the work of > museums. > > Candace will probably never make the same mistake again. Imagine then her > frustration, after having learned her lessons well in the school of hard > knocks, > if some future know-nothing administrator has a whim which forces her into > a > similar position against her better judgment. Excuse my vagueness and > reluctance to give specific examples, but I'm aware of situations in > several > institutions where arrogant administrators who lack museum training have > forced > experienced professional staff to implement their bad decisions on major > exhibitions > and other programs, resulting not only in bad publicity but actual damage > to > their institutions, including but not limited to the demoralizing of the > staff. This is a problem which I would love to see an organization like > the AAM > address. > > It's something to think about, IMHO... > > David Haberstich > > ========================================================= > 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).