Presentation

Innovative Outreach and Community Engagement at a Midwestern Art Museum, Historical Society, and University Archives

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Abstract

This panel discussion will present four case studies of recent innovative outreach and community engagement programs at an art museum, a historical society, and two university archives in the MAC region. Michael Barera, Assistant Archivist and Digitization Specialist at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, will discuss their Viewaukee program, which places tower binoculars (tower viewers) that display historic images of the locations in which they are installed. His portion of the presentation will focus on the project's ideation, implementation, and impact. Mark Sprang, Archivist at Bowling Green State University's Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, will discuss their use of social media and other avenues to engage with audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor Henning, University Archivist at Wayne State University, will discuss their collaboration with the University's Student Success Librarian and the Dean of Students Office to create a scavenger hunt for students to explore campus and learn about university history. She will address the collaborative nature of the program, the use of the Goose Chase mobile application, and ideas to adapt the program in the future. Tara Laver, Archivist at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, will then discuss how they incorporated archival materials into an exhibit about the museum's early collecting that featured art alongside archival materials relevant to the works' provenance or acquisition. This portion of the presentation will include an overview of the exhibit, how she worked with colleagues more accustomed to art exhibitions to incorporate archives to help tell this early history, and share lessons learned that attendees can use to make their own exhibits more effective.

Keywords: innovative outreach, community, engagement, art museum, historical society, university archives

How to Cite:

Barera, M., Henning, T., Sprang, M. & Laver, T., (2023) “Innovative Outreach and Community Engagement at a Midwestern Art Museum, Historical Society, and University Archives”, MAC Annual Meeting Presentations 2023(1).