Author Archives: Rebecca Shulman

What does a museum educator do? (And do we need them?)

A few weeks ago, a colleague told me that she is optimistic that her museum is becoming a truly educational institution. “And when that happens,” she said, “we’ll put ourselves out of business.” In other words, the purpose of a museum’s education department is to help keep the institution focused on its educational goals. InContinue reading “What does a museum educator do? (And do we need them?)”

What are the Goals of a For-Profit Museum?

A few months ago, I wrote about The Business of Museums, essentially arguing that museums need to identify ways to measure value other than income and visitor numbers. This stemmed from a lengthy discussion on linkedin, in which a colleague argued, “Are there reasons to mount an exhibition that doesn’t appeal to many or that appeals toContinue reading “What are the Goals of a For-Profit Museum?”

What do we talk about when we talk about art?

This spring, I taught undergraduate art history at Bradley University. I recently blogged about this experience on the site Art History Teaching Resources. As I considered how we teach art history to college students, and what we – or I – hope to accomplish with this, I naturally also thought about the practice of artContinue reading “What do we talk about when we talk about art?”

When is Inquiry with Art Philosophical Inquiry?

  It looks like a donut. It kind of reminds me of a desert, because of the colors. And since there are lines and cracks, it makes me think of canyons in a desert. I know what it is: some type of porthole. Maybe there’s a whole world in there, you can go inside.1 OverContinue reading “When is Inquiry with Art Philosophical Inquiry?”

Why Blog? Questions to a Museum Blogger

This chain of questions, posed – in various iterations – to a number of museum bloggers, started with #Museum Blogger day on Twitter on March 19th. Thanks to Gretchen Jennings for asking me to answer these questions. 1. Who are you and what do you like about blogging? After working for 15 years as a full-time staffContinue reading “Why Blog? Questions to a Museum Blogger”

Can a Hotel be a Museum?

In late December, I visited the 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky.  It is a strange hybrid: a hotel that also functions as a museum, with a permanent collection, rotating exhibitions, and galleries open to the public. The largest exhibition on view in Louisville, Aftermath: Witnessing War, Countenancing Compassion, included work by established artists such as CarrieContinue reading “Can a Hotel be a Museum?”

Are Ten Objects Better Than One?

I recently received an email from a colleague whose staff bring objects into schools for one-hour workshops.  He wrote, “We are encountering a difficulty in that the education team is often requesting 10-15 objects per one-hour workshop. While “diversity of objects” is a great topic, we’re trying to curb down the number of requests toContinue reading “Are Ten Objects Better Than One?”

The Business of Museums

In a recent on-line discussion, I found myself enmeshed in a prickly debate about whether museums should be operated as businesses. Some great points were made on the “pro-business” side: museums need income to keep the lights on; getting visitors through the door is essential to generating income both from earned revenue and from funders;Continue reading “The Business of Museums”

Question Collection I

Recently both the New York Times and the Washington Post have published articles sharing great college admissions questions.  Of particular note are the questions from the University of Chicago, which solicits ideas from students, and then uses the best in their applications.  Here are two of my favorites: “This is what history consists of. It’s theContinue reading “Question Collection I”