March 4th, 2009
The California Arts Council is always pleased to support CAM and the conference. Having exhibited at three conferences, I’d say that this year’s conference reached new heights. Although I’m not a museum professional per se, each session I attended which could fit into my exhibitor schedule was fascinating and full of great insights. Along with the other services that CAM provides, the quality of the conference makes CAM a model member service organization.
Patricia Milich of the California Arts Council. CAC is an exhibitor and premier sponsor of the CAM conference.
Tags: California Arts Council, California Association of Museums, conference, museum, museums
Posted in February 27, Post conference | No Comments »
March 2nd, 2009
The sessions at the 2009 CAM Annual Conference were wonderfully informative, but I actually think they were topped by the informal conversations I was able to have with colleagues from throughout the state. Yes, there were a few old friends, but I met so many new associates who I found incredibly thoughtful and provocative. On Thursday at 6:30 AM, I had a fun conversation in the Hotel Kabuki’s gym with Alice Parman. Alice, an Interpretive Planner, and I discussed what type of experiences seem most rich for visitors—from the installed interpretives at the Denver Art Museum to object-theater at the Minnesota Historical Society, we had a really fun conversation that gave me a lot of food for thought as my museum (Crocker Art Museum) gets set to open a new building in 2010. Thursday night, on the bus to the California Academy, I had nice conversation with CAM Board Member Shawn Lum’s daughter, Lauren. Lauren really brought home the fact that teens have incredibly tight schedules and gave me a lot to think about regarding how my museum might better market our teen programs. On Friday, I met a fellow Bank Street College of Education alum, who I hadn’t seen in over 4 years—Patricia Hannum, the Executive Director of Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland. We were able to catch up on what was going with old friends here in California and New York, where we both have a lot of history. From new ideas to museum trips to great resource material —- the 2009 CAM conference was a great professional development opportunity, which has me charged up and ready to go!!!
–Stacey Shelnut Hendrick, Director of Education, Crocker Art Museum, and CAM Board Member
Tags: California Academy of Sciences, California Association of Museums, conference, museum, museums
Posted in Post conference | No Comments »
March 2nd, 2009
What better city than San Francisco, one of the greenest city’s in the world, to launch the new CAM Green Museums Initiative website.
Greenmuseums.info is the first online resource for practical information and inspirational thought connected to greening all museum operations, programs and practices. I’m thrilled that CAM and GMI are at the forefront in this area and providing the tools for museums to become environmental leaders. Sign-up on the website for the Green Museums Accord. The Accord’s five pledges are simple and attainable actions museum’s can take to become more environmentally conscious. The best part about the Accord is any museum can join and start making green steps or green strides right now!
Collectively, we can make an impact. The range of sessions at the CAM conference that focused on green museums was excellent. The California Academy of Sciences is clearly influential and has dramatically raised awareness about how museums can embrace sustainability. It was also great to hear about other green projects such as the recently opened Roseville Utility Center, and the ongoing renovation of the Oakland Museum of California. California is one of the cleanest users of energy and has some of the strictest environmental legislation on the planet. What do California, San Francisco and CAM have in common? They are all environmental leaders.
–Tim McNeil, Director, UC Davis Design Museum
Tags: California Association of Museums, conference, green museums, Green Museums Initiative, museum, museums
Posted in Post conference | No Comments »
March 1st, 2009
The 2009 California Association of Museums (CAM) conference, Building Bridges: Collaboration / Innovation / Risk, in San Francisco is now officially over, but we want the dialogue, information-sharing, and good times to continue! We invite you to explore the postings on this blog about the conference – whether or not you were able to join us in San Francisco. The keynote session even made the Thursday night evening news on ABC7! Check back as more postings will be added.
–Celeste DeWald, Executive Director, California Association of Museums
Tags: Building Bridges, conference, museum, museums
Posted in Post conference | No Comments »
March 1st, 2009
I want to quickly say a big THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who made the conference possible. We had dozens of committee members, even more speakers, and a bevy of volunteers on the frontlines who worked feverishly to make every program the very best it could be. The hours you put into preparing your presentations, organizing the events, or working your shifts helped the conference be a positive experience for our attendees – a seamless experience is our goal! Every successful event has an army of people behind it – so, thank you!
–Celeste DeWald, Executive Director, California Association of Museums
Celia was one of our dedicated volunteers who always had a smile on her face! Thank you, Celia, and everyone else. (And, in the background, is one of our bus drivers who happily got us to where we needed to go.)
Tags: California Association of Museums, conference, museum, museums, volunteers
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
March 1st, 2009
What a great event we had at the de Young Museum on Friday night! As part of their Cultural Encounters program, the de Young Museum offers music, art-making, and other fun activities every Friday night – for free. The CAM conference attendees got to take part in all of it, in addition to a nice reception in the Piazzoni Mural room and the opportunity to see the new Andy Warhol exhibit. What I loved about the event was the message it sent: that you can have a cool and retro event that appeals to kids as well as the hip crowd. Right underneath the go-go dancers that were grooving to ABBA, there were a couple toddlers and their parents dancing along to the music. As you walked in the building, there was a long row of tables with small children and adults, sitting side by side, making art. The intergenerational mix of people was wonderful to see!
With my Executive Director hat on, I’d like to thank the de Young for putting on our event. They rolled out the red carpet for our group and hosted a wonderful reception. Thank you!
–Celeste DeWald, Executive Director, California Association of Museums
Go-go dancers at the de Young Museum’s Cultural Encounters event last Friday
A child and adult making art at the de Young Museum event
Tags: California Association of Museums, conference, de Young Museum, museum, museums
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
March 1st, 2009
CAM greening sessions are packed – each year we have more people at more sessions! I had a terrific time planning the Green City Tour, got to meet lots of terrific folks from SF museums and Shawn Rosenmoss from the city’s Dept. of the Environment. We started at the CA Academy of Science. There must have been over 20 staff first giving us an overview and then a BTS. Next we went to Moscone Center, a green operation, for quite a luncheon spread hosted by Savor… Catering — they are the food service provider at my institution, and we love them – and a very thoughtful talk on by the architect and engineering team designing the Mint museum. Then toured the Exploratorium’s new site that is now a bus repair facility but by the end of the tour we could all see what will be a wonderful new home for the Exploratorium. Finally, David Stockton talked to us about the farmers market at the Ferry Building – turns out he has exhibits – people just eat them as well as public and school programs. A different way for us to think about communicating with our visitors. Of course, the evening at the CA Academy of Science was fabulous. CAM members are setting the example for the nation, another way for CA to lead. Please sign the green museum accord! You can learn more at the Green Museums Initiative’s website.
–Barbara Long, Vice President, Government Relations and Special Projects
Tags: California Association of Museums, conference, green museums, Green Museums Initiative, museum, museums
Posted in February 25 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
I have to say, as a CAM Board Member, Executive Director and attendee of several conferences – this has been one of the best. The sessions are “tight,” informative, and relevant. I often seem to be caught-up in day to day or fundraising issues and these few days allow me to gain some valuable perspectives. I’m particularly proud of the CAM Fellows who are a bright and enthusiastic group. I’ll be hosting a cocktail hour for them and hope to glean some valuable program feedback.
–William Moreno, Executive Director, The Claremont Museum of Art
William Moreno, Executive Director of The Claremont Museum of Art and CAM Board Member, and Alfredo Muccino, Creative Director of Liquid Agency Brand Marketing, the firm that is creating a new logo and brand for CAM.
Tags: California Association of Museums, CAM Fellows, conference, museum, museums
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
Normally, I am not a huge fan of the panel format. So little time to gain take homes and insights. But I am excited to share that the sessions I attended were terrific. From customer service to building earned revenue I gained some very valuable information to ponder, share with staff and bring back to the organization to try.
I am impressed that all of the session powerpoint presentations will be available for members who attended the conference or were not able to attend. This gives us the opportunity to review what we heard, add to our notes with specific bullets and outlines and get a glimpse of other topics from sessions we were unable to attend. And it is green!
Thanks – what a great conference.
–Steve Hoffman, President and CEO, National Steinbeck Center
Tags: California Association of Museums, conference, museum, museums
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
I had the honor of accepting the annual CAMMY Award for Wells Fargo yesterday at the CAMMY lunch. It was a real wow for me – I have left the CAM board after 15 years and it was a great way to end my tenure on a board for an organization I really respect. Since Wells Fargo received the award in the category of patronage, I was happy to look out at the large number of museum professionals at the lunch and think about how many of their institutions Wells Fargo has supported through the Wells Fargo Foundation. This is a great example of a corporation being able to support local communities and this is something Wells Fargo has been committed to doing. The award was also a really cool, deep green plinth of recycled glass – totally great. Thanks!
–Bev Smith, Wells Fargo Historical Services
From left to right: Jim DeMersman, Executive Director of the Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate and CAM President, and CAMMY Award Recipients: Bev Smith, Vice President of Historical Services for Wells Fargo, and Greg Farrington, Executive Director of the California Academy of Sciences.
Tags: California Association of Museums, conference, museum, museums, Wells Fargo
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
The new CAM logo is perfect for the organization at 30. I think the design team got it exactly right – the colors, the layout, the font – takes the look of the organization to the next level of professionalism. The designer, Alfredo Muccino of Liquid Agency, mentioned that he was already receiving some interesting and unexpected interpretations of the logo – and that is the best indication of design success – when the viewer takes the logo internally and infuses it with their own meaning – then the awareness of the organization represented by the logo is embedded in the mind. I am particularly excited about the prospect of having a sticker for the front door of our Museum indicating we are members of CAM!
–Luke Swetland, Autry National Center
Alfredo Muccino of Liquid Agency Brand Marketing at the keynote program of the CAM conference – unveiling the new logo for CAM. The logo and a new website with lots of bells and whistles will be launched this summer.
Tags: California Association of Museums, conference, Liquid Agency Brand marketing, logo, museum
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
This is the third CAM conference for me and its still amazing to see the wide scope of professionals from Gardens to art museums to Zoos all in one place, all with incredible excitement of what we can do to make our collections more meaningful to our public.
There is always some new twist or idea that makes attending extra worth while. Who would think you could get thousands of young adults to a museum on a Thursday night?
Now we all will!
–Alan Baker Director Charles Paddock Zoo
Tags: California Association of Museums, conference, museum, museums
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
Did we really visit the new Cal Academy of Sciences as a group of 200 Museum professionals amongst a throng of thousands? Yes we did. Last night was one of those incredible and almost surreal experiences that museum professionals only imagine in their dream worlds. Sure, the space is amazing, the exhibits vibrant and the ‘green’ building stunning. If only for the first time within the indoor rainforest, it was impressive. But, then it was the Cool Science NightLife event with throbbing music in the galleries and literally teaming with 20somethings in club moods…wow! I must admit that sometimes I wonder if being a museum professional takes some of the fun out of visiting other museums. Like perhaps being movie producer might keep you from falling into blockbuster film and weeping at the end , instead your mind spends its time catching all the mistakes. We are a critical crowd with high expectations. But last night I climbed the stairs onto the living roof at Cal Academy and looked at Venus through a telescope in the starry night. I heard a docent explain about a visible comet that will not pass through our atmosphere again in our lifetimes. If we museum types get to be impressed, then in the language we speak at conferences… “the thousands of newer generations and the exhibitions themselves complete with butterflies on our shoulders definitely ‘resonated’ with me.”
–Shawn Lum, Executive Director, Vacaville Museum
The California Academy of Sciences at night (obviously NOT the night when literally thousands of 20-somethings were there for the nightlife!).
Tags: California Academy of Sciences, California Association of Museums, conference, museum, museums
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
This is the first year of the CAM Fellows program; a program that serves to inspire and encourage emergent professionals within the museum field. The CAM Fellows program has allowed me to attend this year’s CAM Conference with the pursuit of documenting several sessions. This is my first year attending the CAM Conference and is also my first year in attendance at a professional conference in general. My expectations of gaining insight in the professional experience has been exceeded; by focusing on topical discussions and constructive discourse the conference has encouraged many of it’s participants, including myself, to steering the museum profession towards a unified goal of education, preservation, and sustainability. It has wonderful to experience engaged presenters, who are museum cultivars working in the institutions they love and want to see progress. Overall, this has been a tremendously encouraging event that will have an enduring affect on my life for years to come.
–Tremain Jones, Museum Assistant, CAM Fellow, Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History
Three of the five CAM Fellows, left to right: Tremain Jones, Christy Sakamoto, and Sarah McCormick
Tags: CAM Fellow, conference, museum, museums
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
We were fortunate this year to have several sessions on Collections Management topics at CAM this year, presented by a variety of museums. The first, on Thursday morning, featured new research done by Museum Studies students for their thesis projects; a great way to kick of the collections discussion! These were followed up with sessions on deaccession and fine arts insurance (incredibly informative!). I’m looking forward to Friday’s collections related sessions, particularly hearing from my colleague across the state at the Collections Management Roundtable. It’s been a great couple days for CAM registrars!
–Jennifer McCann, Independent Registrar & Consultant, CAM Program Committee Member
Tags: California Association of Museums, collections, collections management, conference, museum, museums, registrars
Posted in February 26 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
I wanted to thank the three institutions who hosted us for a marvelous opening evening on Wednesday. The opportunity to visit three diverse and exciting institutions – the California Historical Society, The Museum of the African Diaspora, and The Exploratorium – provided a kaleidoscopic view of the richness of institutions here in San Francisco. It was a great kickoff for a conference whose theme is building bridges between all us as institutions and professionals. Thanks!
–Luke Swetland, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Autry National Center of the American West (and, like Jim, an incoming CAM Board member)
Tags: California Association of Museums, California Historical Society, conference, Exploratorium, museum, Museum of the African Diaspora, museums
Posted in February 26 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
This is my first CAM conference and I’m getting a lot out of it. The unexpected extra value has been getting the chance to see current vendors/suppliers/vendors to our museum and to make connections with possible future ones who are exhibitors. Since we are in the midst of major gallery upgrades and exhibit installations, this is an efficient and fun way to learn about resources – and reconnect with those with whom we have worked before or are now working with. Sharing perspectives on the other museums we get to see as part of the conference makes more concrete the discussions about where we want to grow.
–Jim Gilson, Vice President and General Counsel, Natural History Museum of LA County (and new CAM Board member)
To the CAM conference sponsors and exhibitors – thank you!
Tags: California Arts Council, California Association of Museums, conference, museums
Posted in February 27 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
Yesterday California State Senator Leland Yee made a surprise visit to the conference to present us with a resolution proclaiming May as California Museum Month. He spoke candidly and eloquently about the need to support museums across the state, because we are the stewards of history and culture. Clearly, he “gets it” and I couldn’t have been more pleased and proud to be a Californian.
–Phil Kohlmetz, Executive Director, Western Railway Museum
Senator Leland Yee and Phil Kohlmetz, CAM Board Member and Chair of the CAM Legislative Committee
Tags: advocacy, California Association of Museums, California museum month, museum, museums, resolution
Posted in February 25 | No Comments »
February 28th, 2009
I am usually not a fan of keynote sessions at conferences, typically because they often have only cursory relevance to what we do in museums. But yesterday’s keynote with 4 museum directors from the major San Francisco institutions and moderated by Don Sanchez, Arts and Entertainment reporter of ABC7 News was awesome. I have had so much feedback from colleagues about how appropriate, inspiring and useful the session was to them- even for us in small or medium size institutions. Some have said that it was the best “keynote” that they have ever experienced. On top of all that, the CAM conference actually made the ABC7 news at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. See what the media had to say at CONFERENCE MEDIA COVERAGE . WOO HOO! This is another first for this record breaking conference!
–Jim DeMersman, Executive Director, Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate
2009 CAM Conference keynote speakers: Don Sanchez, the arts and entertainment report for ABC7; Jay Xu, Executive Director, Asian Art Museum; Greg Farrington, Executive Director, California Academy of Sciences; Connie Wolf, Executive Director, Contemporary Jewish Museum; and Neal Benezra, Executive Director, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Tags: ABC7, California Association of Museums, museum, museums, news
Posted in February 25 | No Comments »
February 23rd, 2009
The 2009 CAM conference, Building Bridges: Collaboration – Innovation – Risk, is literally days away! Pretty soon museum colleagues from the across the state will be descending on San Francisco. From the get-go, our volunteers and board members have been excited about hosting this conference in San Francisco. The momentum has continued to grow and it looks like CAM is going to break its previous conference attendance record.
We recognize, though, that there are a lot of people across this big state of ours who cannot attend the conference. Perhaps your museum is cutting back on its travel expenses and conference registrations. Or, maybe you are just so swamped with work that you just can’t get away. Whatever the reason, we want you to still participate and stay connected. That is why–for the first time ever–we are offering a conference blog. Over this next week, Program Committee members, staff members, and others will post updates on what is going on at the conference. It will be the next best thing to being in SF!
Check back over the week to see what is new. This Building Bridges Blog has only just begun!
– Celeste DeWald, Executive Director, CAM
Tags: Building Bridges, California Association of Museums, CAM, conference, museum, museums, San Francisco
Posted in Conference countdown | No Comments »