Graveyard for Progress – Directors, Social/Digital Media, Mission Statements

Just throwing a quick post on a few topics before I do #MuseumNext takeway piece.

Graveyard of Directors:  We are haemorrhaging museum and art directors left, right and center and NO ONE seems to be asking ‘Why?’.  It’s not just one or two who have left – to be honest, I’ve lost track of the number which is a red flag in itself.  However, it’s also the demographic of these directors who are leaving. This is an international issue.

For me, it’s almost like rats jump ship.  It’s a clear sign of something major is about to happen but they never say what.

And it’s not just that they are leaving to retire, most are leaving for other sectors (academia or placement in other cultural venues but not necessarily a museum).

WHY?

Graveyard of Social/Digital Media Platforms: The other event / trend I’ve noticed is the retirement of many social media/digital platforms in favor of others.  I recently spoke at the Indianapolis Museum of Art Innovative Museum Leaders Speaker Series and mentioned that the sector has been burnt with putting all their eggs in one social/digital basket before (web site only, then shifted to one or two social media platform).  Now we’ve learned to not look at what is best for us but what is best for the people who will be using it.

Each institution/venue/museum needs to ensure they evaluate their platforms and ensure that they are still right for what their visitors want.  AND BE HONEST.  

Graveyard of Mission Statements: Ok, that’s a bit strong but really – the sector really needs to re-evalute their mission statements as so many are outdated and are keeping them from progress.  If they aren’t careful, they are going to outdate themselves so much they won’t be able to recover.

Our society needs to be entertained.  We can look at amusement parks, Netflix, or even airports (as Shelly Bernstein suggests) but whatever is being looked at needs to be achievable and that requires an appropriate Mission statement that everyone in the museum/venue can work with.

What are your thoughts?