Dear listers,
I have an opportunity to reshape the Exhibitions Committee of
my Board of Directors. Currently it consists of six women, only three or four of
whom show up on a relatively regular basis. Their function is to be informed
about the staff's exhibit planning, offer suggestions, and then a member will
report to the board. However, they tend to suggest exhibitions or components of
exhibitions based more on their biases than recognizing the diverse audiences we
serve, the goals of a particular exhibition, or the direction/vision of the
institution. Some have extensive exhibition experience, but they have not
reviewed or added to their skills for decades. As a result, they do not function
as a group in tune with the goals of the institution, the goals of the
department, or serve as good mentors for me.
My director asked me to look into cultivating and recommending
new members. I have an idea of what I would like, but so far in my career I have
never worked with (let alone cultivated) a Committee with this role. So I
thought I would poll the list. What do you believe makes a functioning
Exhibition Committee? What should I be looking for when I search for new
members? How should this group look, i.e., what qualities or
qualifications should they possess? Is the current role of the Committee,
e.g. advisory only, typical of other institutions and if not, what should the
role of the Committee be?
A few things to keep in mind. One, the Committee has only a
few members who serve on the Board of Directors and only one of them has to be a
Board member so s/he can report to the Board. Two, the
Committee is different than my staff committee which has a more active role and
is primarily responsible for planning exhibitions.
I thank anyone and everyone who can offer advice.
Best,
George Garner
Director of Exhibitions
Center for History
808
West Washington, South Bend, IN 46601
www.centerforhistory.org // (574)
235-9664
--------
Celebrate Women's History Month in
March at the Center for History. Visit our exhibition about the
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was immortalized by the
film, A League of Their Own.
=========================================================
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).