35.3 | summer 2010

N ina Simon’s calendar reads like that of a presidential candidate; recent stops in

Seattle, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., Boston, San Diego, Santa Cruz--don’t forget stops internationally: Sydney, Edmonton, Copenhagen, and one very important stop coming up in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Nina Simon will be the Keynote Speaker at the New Mexico Association of Museum’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas, November 3, 4 & 5, 2010. The conference theme is “21st Century Museums in the Wildest of the Wild West” and Simon is the perfect museum professional to kickoff the discussion about museums and their place in the 21st century. Simon is the author of the very popular blog, Museum 2.0 (www.museumtwo.blogspot.com) which receives well over 20,000 hits every month.

I sat down for a talk with Nina Simon, 21st century style; Nina in her office in Santa Cruz CA and me in my office in Las Cruces, a “cell phone to landline” between us. First, we talked about her blog. Nina explained that it started in 2006 with few expectations and was meant to be a forum for the exchange of ideas between “cultural professionals.” Nina confided that in her earlier years as a museum professional she was often shy about discuss-ing museum ideas with other museum professionals she would meet at conferences, especially those professionals that were in the higher ranks of the profession. The blog created a way to openly talk about innovative museum practice and engage other profes-sionals to join in on the conversation. The blog is meant to be an ongoing dialogue, “not a lecture, more like collective reflection” where readers interact with Nina in discussing

contemporary museum topics. As Nina describes, “Here’s this exhibit, problem or new idea I saw, now come along with me on this journey and let’s discuss and figure it out.” Nina’s approach, very participatory in practice and very much in line with the Web 2.0 experience, is a sure bet to continue lead-ing the way in the future of museum blogging.

Catching Up With Nina Simon

Newsletter Editor—Garland Courts

LINKS Volume 35 Issue 3

Summer 2010

N E W M E X I C O A S S O C I AT I O N O F M U S E U M S

Nina Simon, author of The Participatory Museum

Continued on Page 2

Nina Simon’s, latest endeavor, her recently published book, The Participatory Museum, delves into the current hot topic of museums: visitor participation. It is a wonderful collection of museum acumen mixed with Nina’s own experience and insight. The book makes it very easy to envision incorporating her suggestions into your own setting and has given me some refreshing new ideas that I am anxious to try at my own museum. Nina has made the book available to all by posting it on her website, but I would suggest going back to 20th century

mentality and buying a hardcopy of the book to add to your museum bookshelf. How else can you have the author sign your copy at the conference?

After spending some time on the phone with Nina, I came away with a much better feel for what the future holds for 21st century museum theory with Nina Simon as one of the vanguard. Nina is an excellent communicator and I look for-ward to her presentation and visiting with her “in person” at the upcoming NMAM Conference; should be an enlightening experience for all.

LINKS

N ina Simon is an independent museum exhibit designer with experience in participatory design, gaming, and social media. She is the principal of Museum 2.0, a design firm that works

with museums worldwide to create dynamic, audience-driven exhibitions and programs. Recent clients include the Boston Children’s Museum, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Experience Music Project, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and the National Gallery of Denmark. Nina is also an adjunct professor at the University of Washington Museology program, teaching a course on Social Technologies in Exhibition Design.

Before starting Museum 2.0, Nina served as curator at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, CA where she led the creation of a new curatorial model in which exhibition design concepts were crowd-sourced and prototyped via a wiki and Second Life. From 2004-2007, Nina was the Experience Development Specialist for the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, focusing on creative design of the Operation Spy immersive experience. Nina also consults with The Electric Sheep Company, a virtual worlds experience design firm, and in 2007 she led the design of a multi-platform game that accompanied season 3 of the CBS television show CSI:NY.

Nina is a leader in new thinking about museums and visitor participation. Nina is a passionate activist for the integration of social, dynamic, participatory experiences into museum practice, and she has shared this passion as a keynote speaker at museum and new media conferences in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. She is the author of the book The Participatory Museum (2010) and her writing has appeared in major museum magazines and journals including Museum, Museums and Social Issues, Exhibitionist and ASTC Dimensions. Nina sits on the board of the National Association of Museum Exhibitions (NAME).

Before working in museums, Nina was an electrical engineer at NASA and an award-winning performance poet. She holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Nina Simon continued from Page 1

More about Nina Simon

The 21st century is a complex and unforeseeable epoch. Our thinking habits and our values, which until now looked settled, are being challenged.

—Hayao Miyazaki

Volume 35 Issue 3

From the President

F rom October 2009-February 2010, conservators Bettina Raphael and Jo Anne Martinez-Kilgore presented free

Collections Health Checkup Workshops in Albuquerque, Roswell, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Farmington, and Silver City. These workshops have been part of a larger initiative to conduct a Heritage Health Index Survey to assess collections care needs in New Mexico’s museums, research facilities, libraries, and archives. The results of the survey, which are being processed, will inform the creation of a Collections Care Plan for our state. This project is funded by an IMLS grant that is jointly administered by NMAM and the Museum Resources Division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.

“One of the clear benefits of these workshop sessions was the bringing together of professionals responsible for very different kinds of collections to talk openly about their collection management and care concerns,” stated Bettina Raphael. Some of the common concerns were the lack of emergency preparedness and response planning for collections, the inadequacy of collections storage facilities, and the deterioration of various forms of contemporary media such as magnetic tapes and digital records/images. These concerns are coupled with a lack of funding and staff in our museums that hinders our ability to address multiple preservation issues. We hope to bring you full results of the HHI Survey in the next issue of LINKS.

If you have not yet subscribed to the Dispatches for the Future of Museums from AAM’s Center for the Future of Museums, you’ll want to take advantage of this unique resource that addresses topics relevant to the cultural, political, and economic challenges in our profession. Visit the Future of Museums website at www.futureofmuseums.org. There is also a blog. The dispatches can be found at http://multibriefs.com/briefs/AAM/AAM111909.php.

We are losing three board members due to other commitments. Sarah Cooke, our Northwest Regional Representative, is moving back to New York. Nancy Sweet Espinosa, Curator and Education Coordinator at Salmon Ruins Museum and Research Library was appointed her replace-ment. Welcome Nancy! Lisa Pugh, Southwest Regional Representative, and Pat Price, First Vice President, are also leaving. Selena Connealy, whose term as Second Vice President concludes in November, has accepted an appointment to replace Pat. Michael Walczak, Manager of the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History, has agreed to replace Lisa. First terms for the following board positions are expiring: President, Second Vice President, Secretary, and Northeast Regional Representative. Nellie Price is seeking election as Second Vice President and Melanie LaBorwit is running for a second term as Secretary. Additionally, Garland’s second term as Newsletter Editor comes to a close. Anyone interested in running for any of these offices should contact me at 575-624-6744, extension 12, or by email at [email protected]. My sincere thanks goes out to Sarah, Lisa, and Pat for their dedicated board service. They have made a great contribution to NMAM, its membership, and our field.

NMAM President—Laurie Rufe

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.

—Alvin Toffler

LINKS

City of Las Vegas, New Mexico Site of 2010 NMAM Conference

T his year’s annual conference will be held November 3, 4 & 5, 2010 at the beautiful and

historic Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, New Mexico. This year’s theme is 21st Century Museums in the Wildest of the Wild West. Las Vegas rests beneath the gentle shadow of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, with the Great Plains stretching to the East. Its story is one of diverse cultures and changing economies. With over 900 buildings on the historical register, Las Vegas boasts a selection of Victorian, early New Mexican, and World’s Fair Classic homes and public buildings. Las Vegas is also home to artists, musicians, writers, and filmmakers. The arts have been a significant part of the cultural fabric of Las Vegas since its earliest days beginning with American Indian artisans that moved through the area leaving behind ceramic shards, arrowheads, and stone tools. Beginning in the 1800s, Mexican and Spanish arts thrived, and later, the Works Progress Administration encouraged and preserved the works of local artists. In more recent years, creative professionals of all genres have joined the Las Vegas arts community. A popular filmmaking location for over 100 years, Las Vegas recently hosted the Coen Brother's Academy Award-winning movie No Country for Old Men. The history, culture, and beauty of Las Vegas attracts and nurtures tourists, creative spirits, and entrepreneurs. Rooted in the Spanish and Mexican heritages, the town, which straddles the Gallinas River, maintains a rich cultural mix developed through over 175 years of migration, immigration, and settlement.

Scholarships Available for NMAM Conference

T he NMAM Scholarship Program provides up to three $400 scholarships available to students and emerging museum professionals whose attendance at the annual conference

will benefit their future involvement in the museum field. Scholarships will be awarded on a demonstrated need basis to qualified applicants. Scholarships are provided to cover travel, lodging, and per diem. NMAM will waive registration fees for the annual meeting and provide a one-year membership for the selected applicants. NMAM reserves the right to limit the number of scholarships available for the conference. NMAM scholarship decisions are final. Priority will be given to those individuals/organizations who have not previously received a scholarship from NMAM. Submit the application to Pat Price, NMAM First Vice President, 2804 Plaza Rojo, Santa Fe, NM 87507 by US mail or email to [email protected]. Applications must be emailed or postmarked by August 17th 2010. An electronic version of the application can be found online at nmmuseums.org.

Volume 35 Issue 3

New Mexico Association of Museums Annual Hewett Awards

Nomination Form

Edgar Lee Hewett was the first director of the Museum of New Mexico from 1909 until his death in 1946. He taught anthropology at UNM and was instrumental in encouraging the development of small museums throughout New Mexico. NMAM bestows two yearly awards in his honor.

Eligibility: The award is made to a person or organization whose actions exemplify leadership or service to the New Mexico Museum community. Recipients do not have to be members of NMAM or work in the museum industry to be considered.

Nomination Process: Recipients of the Hewett Award (usually one individual and one organization) are chosen annually by the NMAM board based on nominations from the NMAM membership. Any member of NMAM in good standing can nominate potential recipients.

Recognition: The awards are generally presented to the recipient or accepted on behalf of an organization at the business luncheon at the annual meeting.

Potential Recipient (o Individual or o Organization):

Organization:

Address:

City, State, Zip:

Phone:

Email:

Name of Nominator:

Phone:

Email:

Briefly describe why this person or organization should be considered for the Hewett Award:

Please e-mail nominations to:

[email protected]

Deadline for nominations is September 15, 2010.

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian

Current Exhibitions

Two Grey Hills Textiles from the Toadlena Trading Post: Early 20th Century to Present May 15, 2010–April 17, 2011.

Featuring works by master weavers, including Bessie Manygoats, Daisy Taugelchee, Julia Jumbo, Clara Sherman, and many others.

And in the Case Trading Post, Transformation: Recent Works by Les Namingha.

30: A New Collection of Works by Stephen Wood April 17, 2010–September 19, 2010

A must-see exhibition that boasts exuberant pop-art paintings reminiscent of Andy Warhol and larger-than-life ceramics that promise to dazzle and intrigue.

Folk Art Sales Show July 9-11, 2010

Sales exhibition focusing on a wide range of contemporary Navajo and Pueblo folk art with guest artists to be announced.

Joe Hayes

Santa Fe’s premier storyteller returns to tell his tales of Southwest lore, Native American Myth, and Spanish Legends. A great event for audiences of all ages! Saturday and Sunday evenings, starting at 7:00 p.m. July 17 through August 15, 2010. Free admission. This event will take place on the grounds of the Wheelwright, so please bring a pillow, blanket or lawn chair to sit on.

2010 Benefit Auction Dates Thursday, August 19, 2010 Silent Auction & Live Auction Preview 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Friday, August 20, 2010 The Collector's Table 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Art-for-Wear Designer Showcase 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Live Auction Starts at 1:00 p.m. (Preview 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.)

August 19-22, 2010 Old Friends, New Faces The Case Trading Post will be hosting its annual Indian Market sales exhibition. This must-see event will feature artists, roundtable discussions, conversations with collectors, and artist demonstrations. Free admission. To learn more, please call 505-982-4636 x110.

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. Free admission. 704 Camino Lejo, Museum Hill, Santa Fe. 505-982-4636. www.wheelwright.org

Southeast Regional Report Here’s a sampling of what’s going on at NMAM member museums in the southeast region. If your museum isn’t listed here, remember to get your info to me for future newsletters! (the next deadline is September 15th) Nancy Dunn: Artesia Historical Museum & Art Center, 505 W. Richardson Ave., Artesia NM 88210; [email protected]

Artesia Historical Museum & Art Center (575)748-2390

The Artesia Quilters Guild’s 10th annual show will open in the Art Annex gallery on July 20th and be on display through August 28th. We’ll be celebrating the 10th anni-versary of this show with a party on August 21st from 2:00-4:00.

The 18th annual Russell Floore Memorial Art Show will open on September 12th with a reception from 2:00-4:00 pm. This year’s show will feature art by under-18 artists only—visitors can vote for the winners in each age cate-gory until it closes on October 10th.

Roswell Museum and Art Center (575)624-6744

There’s still time to register for Space Camp for 2nd & 3rd graders, running July 12th-16th. The Second Saturday pro-grams for grades 3-12 continue: Sculpture, July 10th; Printmaking, August 14th; Clay, September 11th; all pro-grams run 10 am-noon.

“Raymond Wielgus: A Connoisseur’s Eye” will be on dis-play through January 2, 2011. The show features a collec-tion of historic handguns that have been carved, en-graved, and inlaid by Tucson craftsman Raymond Wiel-gus, transforming them into works of art.

“Paper Money”, an exhibition of works by Roswell Artist in Residence artist Pang-chieh Hsu, will be on display through August 1st.

“Emil Bisttram and the Taos School of Art” will be on dis-play through November 14th, featuring works by noted artist, teacher, and founder of the Taos School of Art & the Transcendental Painting Group Emil Bisttram and his con-temporaries.

Western Heritage Museum/Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame (575)392-6730

The Festival of Quilts will be on display through July 17th. This year’s theme is “Home on the Range”, and a commu-nity quilt on this theme will be raffled off on July 17th—it’s not too late to buy a ticket!

The Staked Plains Roundup will take place on September 16th & 17th, featuring demonstrations by cowboys, artists,

and all kinds of events across the New Mexico Junior Col-lege campus.

Fort Stanton National Monument (575) 653-4821

Fort Stanton LIVE! will take place on August 6th-8th in con-junction with Old Lincoln Days (see below), featuring guided and candlelight tours, historic presentations, mili-tary re-enactments, Native American dances, music and concessions. Volunteers, docents and re-enactors are wanted—contact www.fortstanton.com

Lincoln State Monument (575) 653-4372

An evening with Mark Lee Gardner, author of To Hell on a Fast Horse: Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, and the Epic Chase to Justice in the Old West, will take place on July 17th. The event will include dinner, a tour of Fort Stanton, a book-signing and a musical performance by the author. Call (575) 653-4082 for tickets & information.

Old Lincoln Days will take place on August 6th-8th, featur-ing living history, performances, & the Van of Enchant-ment.

Arts in the Orchard will take place on September 11th 8:30 am-4:30 pm, featuring local arts & crafts throughout Lin-coln.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park (575) 885-0072

Celebration of the Night & Star Party events will take place on July 10th, August 12th, & September 11th, weather permitting. The events will be held in front of the Visitors Center, and are free to everyone. Telescopes will be available and rangers will present a variety of programs —call for exact times, and bring a flashlight!

The Caverns will waive all general admission fees the weekend of August 14-15th—woo hoo! This is a great time to visit if you have a houseful of guests!

General admission fees will also be waived on Septem-ber 25th to celebrate National Public Lands Day.

Carlsbad Museum & Art Center (575) 887-0276

Artist George Mendoza will be exhibiting his works through August 23rd. George is legally blind but does see bright colors—his art is bright & beautiful, and is painted the way he sees & feels it. His art has also re-cently been adapted into a series of fabric patterns, and this exhibition will feature 14 paintings (including 1 that is touchable), a quilt made from his fabrics, fabric samples, and a video on George.

New NMAM Members Institutional

Cathy Wright, Director, Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, Albuquerque Magee Poler, Office Manager, Citizens Committee for Historic Preservation, Las Vegas Sally Anderson, Executive Director, Roswell Artist-in-Residence Foundation, Roswell Nancy Fleming, Programs/Publications, Roswell Artist-in-Residence Foundation, Roswell Diane Marsh, Special Projects Director, Roswell Artist-in-Residence Foundation, Roswell Lanice White, Administrator, Roswell Artist-in-Residence Foundation, Roswell Laurel Ladwig, Tucana Productions, Albuquerque

Individual Member (Regular)

Victoria Riley Evans, Laboratory Manager, New Mexico Highlands University - Anthropology Laboratory, Las Vegas

Individual Member (Student)

Heather Kline, Registrar, Nedra Matteucci Galleries, Santa Fe

New Mexico History Museum Wins Awards

Spring has proved rewarding to the New Mexico History Museum, which reaped an armload of recent awards, including:

"True West" magazine's top Western museum in the U.S.

Two first-place awards from AAM for the Museum Resources Division's preparation of publicity materials related to the grand opening

The Governor's Commission for Community Volunteerism's 2009 Nonprofit Program Award

The NM Historic Preservation Division's "Urban Design with an Historic Context" award

The NM Historical Society's Lansing B. Bloom Award for publication of "Telling New Mexico" A New History," edited by Marta Weigle with Frances Levine and Louise Stiver; and the Dorothy Woodward Award for advancement of education via websites, curricula, exhibit interactives and media, lecture series, classes, events, guided tours and partnership with Santa Fe Community College

Susan Berry Retires Susan Berry retired from the Silver City Museum on July 3rd. Susan was the Director of the museum for 27 years and spent 36 years total at the museum, truly an institution within the institution. Susan was a past Board member of NMAM and is very well known within the New Mexico museum community. Susan led the museum through many difficult phases and most admirably the 2005 AAM Accreditation, one of the few small museums to achieve such status. In May, Susan received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division during their Annual Heritage Preservation Awards. In 2005 she received NMAM’s Edgar L. Hewitt Award for excellence.

On July 7th, U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman paid a surprise visit to the Silver City Museum to honor museum director Susan Berry for her 36 years of service to Silver City. Bingaman presented a framed copy of a statement he read into the Congressional Record regarding the impact Berry has had on the community. "She has helped make Silver City a significant destination for travelers to the Southwest, and added to the list of reasons that 10,000 people like to call it 'home,'" Bingaman's statement read. "We are so fortunate that she chose to make the town the focus of her considerable ability and vision for so many years”.

Susan Berry photo by John W. Morton

Working the Line: David Taylor and Friends on Life and Photography On the Border

A book signing and panel discussion

Santa Fe – Join photographer and 2008 Guggenheim Fellow David Taylor and a panel of publishers, curators, and border experts for a discussion of current issues along the U.S.-Mexico border as reflected in Taylor's new book, Working the Line (Radius Books, Spring 2010). The free event is from 5:30-7:30 pm, on Thursday, July 15, 2010, in the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium. A small selection of Taylor’s border images will be on view in the Triangle Gallery next to the auditorium.

New Mexico State University Art Gallery hosts Connecting with the Divine: Devotional Art of New Mexico Las Cruces—New Mexico State University (NMSU) Art Gallery will be featur-ing Connecting with the Divine: Devotional Art of New Mexico, an exhibition of Mexican and New Mexican religious art from the Mary and J. Paul Taylor family collection. The exhibition opened on June 4th and will run through Friday, August 6th. The gallery is located on 1390 E. University Avenue east of Solano in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Summer hours are 12 PM to 4 PM, Tuesday – Saturday. For more information, please call 575-646-2545.

NMAM GOVERNING BOARD

PRESIDENT Laurie Rufe Director, Roswell Museum and Art Center [email protected]

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT Pat Price Museum Educator Museum of Spanish Colonial Art [email protected]

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT Selena Connealy Museum Educator [email protected]

TREASURER Linda Deck Director, Bradbury Science Museum [email protected]

SECRETARY Melanie Laborwit Muesum Outreach Coordinator, National Museum of Nuclear Science and History [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP OFFICER Caroline Brooks Assistant Director, Roswell Museum and Art Center [email protected]

NEWSLETTER EDITOR Garland Courts Director, Branigan Cultural Center [email protected]

MPMA REPRESENTATIVE Anthony J. Thibodeau Collections Manager, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture [email protected]

NORTHWEST REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE Sarah Cooke Education Coordinator Farmington Museum [email protected] NORTHEAST REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE Nellie Price Museum Educator City of Las Vegas Museum [email protected]

SOUTHWEST REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE Lisa Pugh Museum Manager, Las Cruces Museum of Art [email protected]

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE Nancy Dunn Museum Manager Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center [email protected]

PAST PRESIDENT Louise Stiver Retired [email protected]

LISTSERVE MANAGER Bonnie Verardo Collections Manager, UNM Art Museum [email protected] WEBSITE MANAGER Doug Patinka Webmaster, NM Department of Cultural Affairs [email protected] EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVE Tish Morris Senior Educator, NMMNHS [email protected]

Survey for NMAM Members

The board of the New Mexico Association of Museums has been working very hard to improve our membership services to you. As part of this process, we’ve drafted a survey to give all of you a chance to have your say! It’s short & sweet, and even allows you to skip some of the ques-tions that you may not have an opinion about—AND we’ve left our answers open so that you can actually say what you want to say. So please take a few minutes to help us out—your input is im-portant to us, and will help us to better serve you. The link is:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SW3LRWF

Thanks in advance for your time—your board appreciates you!

Nancy Dunn, NMAM Southeast Regional Representative

Artesia Historical Museum & Art Center

35.3 | summer 2010

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