Wisconsin Federation of Museums
2011 Annual Meeting
Museums Matter!.
The Wisconsin Federation of Museums (WFM) will hold its 2011 Annual Meeting Museums Matter in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on Monday, November 14, 2011 at the John Michael Kohler Art Center. Click Here for the Registration Form.
Special Tours
- Hiding Places Tours: Join curator, Amy Chaloupka for a tour of the John Michael Kohler Art Center's exhibit Hiding Places. Each tour is one hour and limited to 15 people. 9 - 10am; 3:15 - 4:15pm
- Collections Storage Tours: Join one of the registrars or curators for a tour of JMKAC's storage areas. The tour is 30 minutes long and limited to 10 people. 9:30 - 10am; 3:15 - 3:45pm
- Sign-up sheets will be available on Sunday at the reception and Monday at registration.
Schedule at a Glance
Sunday
- 10 - 3:30 Disaster Planning Workshop, $50 per person, includes lunch
- 4 - 6 Complimentary Reception (cash bar) at John Michael Kohler Art Center
Sponsored by the Kohler Foundation, Inc.
Monday
- 8 - 9 Registration
- 8:30 - 10 Hot coffee-Hot topics: wake up and join colleagues in hot topic roundtable discussions, table hopping encouraged
- 9 - 10 "Hiding Places" Tour
- 9 - 10 Collection Storage Tour
- 10 - 10:30 Welcome
- 10:30 - 11:45 Break Out Sessions
- SPARK! A Primer. Programming for individuals with memory loss.
- Financial Responsibilities of Board Members
- Creating a 21st Century Space from a 19th Century Barn
- 12 - 1:30 Lunch and Keynote Address by Harold Skramstad
- 1:45 - 3 Break Out Sessions
- Creating Meaningful Educational Experiences through School Partnerships
- Borrowing From the Private Sector-Best Practices for Non-museum loans in Your Museum
- Why/How College and University Museums Matter
- 3 - 3:15 Closing remarks
- 3:15 - 4:15 "Hiding Places" Tour
- 3:15 - 4:15 Collection Storage Tour
Hot Coffee-Hot Topics are roundtable discussions set up for colleagues to discuss hot topics in the museum field. After registration, grab some coffee and goodies and join in one of the discussions. Feel free to table hop!
Topics this year include:
- Crafting Successful Internship Experiences - Table host: Dawn Scher Thomae, Museum Internship Coordinator, Milwaukee Public Museum
- Collections Conundrums-help with specific collections management questions - Table hosts: Claudia Jacobson, Registrar, Milwaukee Public Museum; Tamara Johnston, Collections Manager/NEH Grant Project Manager, American Geographic Society Library
- “Third Saturdays” Attract New Audiences - Table hosts from Sheboygan County Historical Museum: Robert Harker, Museum Director; Tamara Lange, Collections Coordinator/Registrar; Henry Jung Board Member and “Third Saturday” Committee Chair
- Marketing to a Broader Audience - Table host: Jennifer Carlson, Senior Marketing & Development Specialist, Wisconsin Veterans Museum and Foundation
Morning Sessions
- SPARK!: A Primer. A museum alliance to create cultural programming for individuals with memory loss.
Based on a Museum of Modern Art model program, ten museums serving Wisconsin residents have developed programs for persons with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers. Panelists will share ideas on how to recognize community needs, develop community resources, implement methods, develop evaluation procedures, and secure funding sources.- Amy Horst, Education and Community Arts Department Head,
- John Michael Kohler Arts Center
- Dawn Koceja, Museum Educator, Milwaukee Public Museum
- Courtney Spousta, Curator of Education, Museum of Wisconsin Art
- Tricia Blasko, Curator of Education, Racine Art Museum
- Financial Responsibilities of Board Members
This session will review the latest in regulatory reform and oversight and provide best practices for Board members in their fiduciary responsibility for financial matters in nonprofit organizations. Scott will provide a risk assessment tool essential for any Board member in understanding the risks faced by nonprofit organizations and the questions Board members should be asking. Regulatory updates will review the latest in IRS, AICPA and other government oversight agencies- Scott Haumersen, Wegner LLP
- Creating a 21st Century Space from a 19th Century Barn
This summer, the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts moved into its “repurposed” Civil War-era barn. Join Board President, project architects (Growth Design Group) and construction managers (Design 2 Construct) as they detail the challenges and creative opportunities in adapting this space for new use.- Susan Wernecke, Director, Marketing & PR, Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts
- Terri Kirchner, President, Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts
- Mike Groth, President, Groth Design Group
- Jim Blise , President, Design 2 Construct
Keynote Address - “Museums Cultivating Community”
Harold Skramstad - President Emeritus, Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
From the earliest days of American museums, there have been institutions that have grown out of community aspirations and values.Yet the collecting, research, teaching, and learning agendas of museums have often led them in directions that can be in tension with popularly held ideas and values. This tension has increased as the value of museums and libraries as “public utilities of a knowledge society” has gotten more public attention. In his keynote address Harold Skramstad will explore these themes and offer some suggestions as to how individual museums can continue to be positive forces for cultivating and strengthening American communities and yet still maintain their unique identity and authority.
Afternoon Sessions
- Creating Meaningful Educational Experiences Through School Partnerships
Cultivating school partnerships provides museums with opportunities to develop long-term relationships, broaden reach, and spark innovative museum experiences. In line with 21st century learning initiatives, museum educational programs, developed in collaboration with school partners, create more meaningful, interdisciplinary, and deep learning experiences for participants. Presenters will discuss two educational partnerships recently developed at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, logistics and potential of pursuing such endeavors.- Margaret Groff, Education Program Manager, John Michael Kohler Arts Center
- Louise Berg, Senior Education Specialist, John Michael Kohler Arts Center
- Martin Lexmond, Superintendent, Kohler School District
- Dr. Rina Kundu, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Art & Design, Peck School of the Arts
- Borrowing From the Private Sector-Best Practices for Non-museum Loans in Your Museum
Do you borrow (or would like to borrow) from artists and private individuals for special exhibits? What about juried shows? The focus of this session will be on forms and issues dealing with borrowing locally from artists/private collectors/non-museum entities for juried shows and invitational, etc. and how to avoid long term loans, abandoned property, etc.- Tamara Johnston, Collections Manager/NEH Grant Project Manager, American Geographic Society Library
- Molly Greenfield, Assistant Registrar, John Michael Kohler Art Center
- Jane Weinke, Curator of Collections/Registrar, Woodson Art Museum
- Why/How College and University Museums Matter
College and university museums pose unique problems and advantages. Typically focused on serving their students and faculty, how do these museums serve their local communities? Do they replicate public museums, or do they offer something different? What makes college and university museums–and associated museum studies programs–matter?- William Green, Director, Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit College
- Joy Beckman, Director, Wright Museum of Art, Beloit College
- Craig Hadley, Collections Manager, Wright Museum of Art, Beloit College
- Wally Mason, Director, Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University
- Dawn Scher Thomae, Coordinator Museum Studies Program, Milwaukee Public Museum
Harold Skramstad- Keynote Speaker
President Emeritus, Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
Dr. Harold K. Skramstad, Jr. was President of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, Dearborn, Michigan, from 1981 to 1996. Prior to that, he served as Director of the Chicago Historical Society from 1974 to 1980, and, prior to that, in several senior administrative posts at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
At Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, he pioneered new alliances between the museum and other educational institutions, and has fostered new partnerships with emerging minority cultural institutions. In addition, he championed the museum’s role in educational improvement, a key outcome being the Henry Ford Academy of Manufacturing Arts and Sciences, a fully college preparatory charter public high school at the Museum focused on developing innovation and problem-solving skills in its students
In the area of urban planning and historic preservation, Skramstad was a member and Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee on Landmarks for the National Capital (1972-1982); member of the Chicago Commission on Historical and Architectural Landmarks (1975-1979); and founding vice president of Don't Tear It Down, Inc. in Washington, D.C.
Actively involved in cultural tourism, he has served as Chairman of the Metropolitan Detroit Convention & Visitors Bureau. He has also served as a member and Chairman of the Michigan Travel Commission, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Travel Industry Association of America.
In 1992, Skramstad received the Charles Frankel Prize (now renamed the National Humanities Medal) for his achievement in bringing the humanities to a broad public audience. In 1994 President Clinton appointed him to the National Council on the Humanities. During his term on the Council he served as the Chairman of the Public Programs Committee.
In 2002 President Bush appointed him to the Presidential Commission planning the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
He has served as a member of the Smithsonian Institution Council, Distinguished Scholars Advisory Board of the National Constitution Center, Board of the New Mexico State University Foundation, Board of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, and Board of the New Mexico Humanities Council.
Since 1996 he has been in partnership with his wife, former Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, as independent consultants focusing on institutional strategic and interpretive planning for museums and cultural organizations.
In 2003 the American Association of Museums commissioned and published A Handbook for Museum Trustees, co-authored by Harold and Susan Skramstad.
Accommodations:
Relax at the Grandstay Residential Suites and Hotel, located within walking distance of the art center. Call 920-208-8000 and ask for the Wisconsin Federation of Museums Conference, all single suites, $69 per night.