You will already know that, due to floods, our colleagues at the University of Iowa Museum of Art have been forced to evacuate their collections, which all seem to be safe and sound. You may have read in the press in the last few weeks that the Regents of the university have asked the staff of the museum to consider the value and the potential sale of Jackson Pollock's iconic 8 x 20 ft. Mural, which has been in the museum's collection since the 1950s. Continuing reports on this controversy can be found on at least two art blogs:
http://www.artsjournal.com/culturegrrl/
and
http://www.artsjournal.com/man/
Please be aware that AAMC is following this situation; we are in touch with our colleagues at UIMA.
A Special AAMC Symposia on Managing Change November 2nd - 3rd, 2008 in St. Louis, MO Register and Book your Travel Now!
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
How do shifts in the goals, strategies and leadership of art museums impact the curatorial process? How might the curator best function as an agent of change in planning, implementing, and communicating a vision for the future? The first session of the day will address issues of organizational change within the museum. Joel Brockner,
Phillip Hettleman Professor of Business, Chair of Management Division
at Columbia Business School will lead an interactive seminar which will:
* Guide participants in identifying underlying assumptions about the status quo and new directions
* Create structures that build consensus around a vision for the future
* Define concrete steps that might be applied to current situations
* Offer tools for self-evaluation
The second session of the day will focus on major expansions and architectural projects. A distinguished panel consisting of architects, project managers, museum directors and curators involved in recent, ongoing and forthcoming building campaigns will address the implications of such projects on institutions. Special attention will be given to the ways in which curators have been involved and the ways that these major undertakings affect curatorial mandates and concerns. In keeping with the bigger theme of managing change, the session on architecture will provide for both philosophical and practical discussions about the impact of expanding and how museums going through the process might learn from the experiences of those that have completed their projects.
Confirmed Panelists Include:
Chris McVoy, partner in charge of the Nelson-Atkins Museum expansion, Steven Holl Architects Andrew Walker, Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs, Curator of American Art, Saint Louis Art Museum Peter Reed, Senior Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs, Museum of Modern Art Jennifer Gross, Seymour H. Knox, Jr., Curator, Yale University Art Gallery
Moderator: J. Fiona Ragheb, Architect, a+a ink, and former curator, Guggenheim Museum
Numerous St. Louis institutions have recently built new buildings (The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, Tadao Ando, architect; the Kemper Museum at Washington University, Fumihiko Maki, architect; the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, Brad Cloepfil, architect) and several are in the planning stages (The Saint Louis Art Museum, David Chipperfield, architect; etc.). Opportunities to experience these new spaces and to learn about projects currently underway will be built into the St. Louis program.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
DATES & TIMES:
Sunday, November 2nd
2:00 PM Optional tour and program at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts (TBD)
5:30 PM Welcoming Reception hosted by Pulitzer Foundation and Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis
Monday, November 3rd
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Please note shuttle service WILL be provided from the hotel to SLAM and to the evening reception on November 3rd.
8:30 AM Coffee and Welcome
9:00 AM - 2:30 PM Workshop: Embracing Institutional & Personal Change, led by Joel Brockner,
Phillip Hettleman Professor of Business, Chair of Management Division
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Panel Discussion: Architectural Change & the Museum Curator, see panelist names above.
5:30 PM Reception for Attendees at the Kemper Art Museum, Washington University
Preferred Airline: American Airlines with 5% discount using code: A32H8BA. Book online at aa.com or call 1-800-433-1790.
Hotel Room Block: $155/night for a standard room
The Chase Park Hotel
212-232 North Kingshighway
St. Louis, MO 63108
Telephone: 314-633-1000
Please reference the AAMC or Association of Art Museum Curators for reduced rates or ask for Ryan Davis in the sales dept.
REGISTRATION:
To Register, please email aamc@artcurators.org and include the following information:
1. Full name
2. Exact job title
3. Institution
4. Email address
5. Are you planning to reserve a room at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis?
Please note, a flyer including more information about the symposium will be uploaded to the AAMC website by September 2, 2008.
Save the Date: AAMC Annual Meeting 2009 New York, NY
Please mark your calendars for Monday, May 18, 2009 - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 for the AAMC Annual Meeting to be held at The Museum of Modern Art and The Jewish Museum in New York City. More details will follow in the coming months.
The AAMC Awards for Excellence committee seeks jurors to evaluate nominations submitted for our annual publication prizes. Jurors will receive all nominated materials for the prize category to which they are assigned.
About the Awards:
The AAMC prizes seek to recognize great achievement in curatorial practice throughout North America. The Awards for Excellence are the only cross-disciplinary awards for which curators honor their colleagues. Awards are given to AAMC members for outstanding work on a variety of publications and exhibition installations.
Adjudication is expected to be carried out between mid-January and mid-April 2008. The awards will be presented at the AAMC Annual Meeting in New York on May 18, 2009.
Prize Categories are:
* Outstanding Catalogue Based on a Permanent Collection
* Outstanding Catalogue Based on a Museum Exhibition
* Outstanding Essay or Extended Catalogue Entry Focusing on an Object or Group of Objects
To be considered as a possible juror, please email sally.block@artcurators.org with the following information:
1. Name, title and contact information included preferred mailing address for prize materials.
2. Preference for jury category.
3. Short (1-2 paragraph) biography to be posted on the AAMC website and used in press materials relating to the prizes.
We are eager to develop a diverse group of jurors from a variety of fields and disciplines for each award category. Curators are encouraged to self-nominate. Applications for jurors will be reviewed by the Prize committee and applicants will be notified by December 1, 2008.
