Martha B. Katz-Hyman’s Post

3️⃣0️⃣ November #Museum30 celebrates museums & heritage, a theme a day - 9th being Abstraction. Dunblane’s historic Leighton Library has a 1722 3-volume edition of “The works of John Locke” which includes “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” in which English philosopher and physician (widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers) John Locke defined abstraction: “…the mind makes particular ideas received from particular things become general; which it does by considering them as they are in the mind—mental appearances—separate from all other existences, and from the circumstances of real existence, such as time, place, and so on. This procedure is called abstraction.” 🚶Visit Dunblane's historic Leighton Library 📅 Open only on Saturdays until Christmas 🕚 11am-4pm 🆓 Free admission (donations invited) https://lnkd.in/eZ4cprRi #Scotland #ScotlandIsCalling #VisitScotland #ExploreScotland #ScotlandIsNow

What are our practices for healing when working with traumatic collections? How are we supporting ourselves as museum and heritage workers? How are creating spaces for healing with communities whose histories are being told? Join us for an impactful session at the upcoming Museums + Heritage Show Show on May 15th - "Who Cares? Understanding Empathy and Trauma in Museums" with award-winning documentary filmmaker Ashton John. We'll be screening the powerful short film "To Whom Does This Belong?", made by Ashton John with Museum X, UK Activist Museum Award 2024 recipient,  together for Black Voices Cornwall CIO and Cornwall Museums Partnership. The film explores Cornish Black History through local archives and museum collections. You can expect a journey of raw reactions to artefacts ranging from newspaper articles to journal entries from a slave ship captain. We’ll discuss the discoveries made, Cornwall’s links to slavery and whether we think these artefacts should be on display at museums. We aim to spark critical discussions around confronting difficult histories, fostering empathy, and ensuring responsible and ethical interpretation of sensitive collections and subject matter in museums. Don't miss this powerful session, which sheds light on the trauma of racism and encourages museums to develop trauma-informed approaches as they decolonise their collections and practices: https://lnkd.in/e-RQiD5C Ashton John is adept at capturing the stories of diverse communities often overlooked. His films inspire social change and awareness. #MuseumsConnectingCommunities #DecolonizeMuseums #TraumaInformedPractices #RawHistories #EthicalCuration #SocialJustice

I like this idea of bringing history to life, not just for us nostalgia types, but also for the preservation of future generations. I notice a building in @Epping high street that had a Blue plaque with Sir Winston Churchill, in fact Epping has a lot of history and this was only one of the many things I have since discovered having left the area over 30 years ago. If anyone knows anyone in the Epping Historical Society, then please pass on the details of YLM Enterprises - The Digital Story Telling Company. #ylmenterprises #eppinghistory #preservinghistory

#AnEntangledPastandPresentBritishandDutchHistoriesandLegaciesofSlavery The transatlantic slave trade pushed millions of people into enslavement across the Atlantic, with European powers both competing and collaborating to maximise benefits. These events shaped our current day societies and resulted in deeply rooted connections between European nations. Yet, when we explore this history in museums or educational institutions, we often still view it from a national perspective rather than recognising it as an interconnected transnational system. How might we better grasp these connections? Doesn’t it make sense to work together internationally to understand the ways this past still shapes societies and lives around the world today? And when these connections enter the museum space, how can this history be represented and understood by visitors? These questions were discussed during the international symposium 'An Entangled Past and Present: British and Dutch Histories and Legacies of Slavery', organised by #NationalMuseumsLiverpool, the #DutchEmbassy in the UK, the #NationalSlaveryMuseumoftheNetherlands, the #CulturalHeritageAgencyoftheNetherlands and the #TransatlanticSlaveryLegaciesinMuseumsForum. I was happy to be part of one of the panel discussions and share some of the outcomes of my research #APostcolonialMuseum? geared towards the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. My exploration showed a necessity to encircle the trauma of slavery and colonialism in museum representation to enrich the national narrative, and to steer an emotional and cognitive understanding that leads to a more engaging, inclusive visitor experience. If you’re interested in the full outcomes of this research, see: https://lnkd.in/e8AXWjum It was an inspiring event with valuable insights from NL and UK-based experts who exchanged their thoughts and practice of this deeply rooted connection. Many thanks for the invitation Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands Sofia Lovegrove, and many thanks for hosting this event Miles Greenwood!😊

One of the great shifts going on in the history museum field is the way we think about, manage and present the interpretive technique known as "living history." This piece in the The Colorado Sun is an excellent and thoughtful look at how the tensions around representation, volunteerism, and historical accuracy are being experienced at one NPS site in Colorado. Institutional models are changing, and there's a new generation of independent interpreters who choose the times and places they want to present who are changing the focus and experience of living history. Scott Magelssen, whose scholarship on this has been so influential, makes some interesting comments in the piece about how these changes in museums are sitting within a broader cultural interest in immersive experience. I'm interested in more conversation about first-person techniques - when, how, and even whether to use them - and how they are evolving in a time of whole history - perhaps for a future issue of the Journal of Museum Education. Let me know of interesting trends, presentation styles, experiments, and challenges you're witnessing out there! #livinghistory #museums #publichistory #interpretation #performance #museumtheatre #immersiveexperience #volunteers Museum Education Roundtable (MER) @https://lnkd.in/eVERh6uc

Keep your Community History Alive Every community has a history, some recorded events bring tourism and notoriety. Once upon a time a town Museum or Library was the only way to learn about the history of the area, then came the internet. So many historic buildings are closing down and being repurposed, including Museums and Libraries. Our town histories are slowly being forgetting in favour of expansion and progress. I believe that every town has a story to tell, and YLM Enterprises - The Digital Story Telling Company are helping communities to keep their history alive. #digitalstorytelling #ylmenterprises #yourlovingmemory

Learn about Alexandria's Freedom House Museum, a National Historic Landmark in Old Town, in this powerful piece by Tykesha Spivey Burton in AFAR.

Hello everyone, check the blog post by one of our co-chairs, Avi Margolis, on the polite Canadian narrative and how it harms the effort of decolonizing our museums. https://lnkd.in/gB6VrBGf

"Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right." --Dr. Jane Goodall (widely credited, specific source unknown) Dr. Goodall understands that there can be no progress without dialogue, and listening is an essential element of dialogue. At UCA, we consider constantly how we are engaging in the advocacy process. Are we listening? Are we giving space for everyone to be heard? Are we listening openly and honestly to those we disagree with, with the intent to understand? It is sometimes challenging to juggle this ideal with the emotions we may feel in the moment about any particular situation. We are so grateful to all of you for engaging so thoughtfully with the legislature and with each other these last two months. It's hard work (albeit important work) sometimes, but seeing positive change encourages us that we're on the right path (check out the Session Report at the link in bio to see some of those positive changes!). As an aside: one of our staff enjoyed taking his family to the exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah, Becoming Jane, which is currently running at the museum through May 27. We encourage you to visit and learn more about the influential and determined Dr. Jane Goodall, her scientific endeavors, and also her strong advocacy for the things she believes in. Here's the link for the exhibit: https://lnkd.in/gfycUz-5 #UtahCulture #UtahAdvocacy #UtahMuseums #UtahHumanities #utleg #utpol Photo of Dr. Goodall by Nick Stepowyj, provided via Flickr at the link listed below, and licensed under Creative Commons 2.0. Image was modified to better fit in the designed graphic with the included quote. Image Title: Jane Goodall Image Description: Jane Goodall attending the 18th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival at the Maidstone Hotel in East Hampton, New York. Image Date: October 10, 2010 https://lnkd.in/gcZGMZ-V

A brilliant article