Voice 3126 W. Cary St., #447 | Richmond, Virginia 23221-3504 | 804. 358.3170 | www.vamuseums.org | Summer 2014

Museums United: A Convening of the State Museum Associations

IMLS and America’s Museum Universe

Member Profile: Crab Orchard Museum

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VAM leaders brainstormed with museum association colleagues during a recent meeting at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.

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ryEarlier this year, the American Alliance of Museums and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) invited represen-tatives from every state museum association in the United States to attend a three day brainstorming workshop at Crystal Bridges Mu-seum of American Art in Arkan-sas. It was the first time since the late 1990s that a large group of state museum associations had come together, and the first time in history that every single exist-ing association was represented, with almost 100 participants.

At first, I cannot report overwhelming enthusiasm from the gathered par-ticipants; mainly because most of us were exhausted from just completing or getting ready to run our annual conferences. But that mutual exhaustion ended up being a great ice breaker, and by the end of the first evening we were all sharing stories and challenges, and learning about how the different state associations worked. By the end of the meeting, we had built lasting connec-tions, and developed a new support system that will help all of us do our jobs better; since our job is serving mu-seums and museum staff, all museums will benefit.

I thought you would like to share in some of the new information we learned during our time in Arkansas, so that you can better see how VAM fits into the national network of state associations.

• While all state associations serve the museums in their state, they each do it a

little differently. For example, in Alaska, where the state museum association staff have to fly to reach most of their members, AND their own state capital, one of their main programs focuses on providing transportation. In Florida, their primary focus is legislative action and advocacy; in fact, that association is even set up as a 501c4 so that they can lobby their legislature. Puerto Rico’s museum association is housed in the local university’s museum studies office, and graduate students work with the association as a part of their degree.

• 50% of state museum associations were founded in the 1970s; only nine of them, including VAM, were in existence before then.

• 63% of state museum associations have no paid staff, relying entirely on volunteer board members who work full time in museums around their state.

• Only six state associations, including VAM, have more than one full-time staff person. These same six are also, logi-cally, the largest associations in terms of membership and engagement. The other five states are: California, Florida, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas. VAM staff plan to build ongoing relationships with these other comparable states, so that we can share information and resources to make our individual asso-ciations stronger, and can help smaller associations build their capacity.

• There does not seem to be a common language shared by all the states. For instance, do we provide education, training or professional development? While to our members the programs that fall under all these words may look the same, when we are talking to each

other, the multiple meanings of these words cause confusion and conflict.

• There was a lot of conversation about the differences between the state associations and the regional, and how to ensure that each has a distinct role to play since so many of our members overlap between these two groups.

• The question of what makes a strong state association came up a lot. While “paid staff” was the easy answer, there are a number of all volunteer state as-sociations that do amazing things with no staff. The more complex answer was that a strong association is made up of engaged members, an active board, has diverse funding sources, and reaches all stages of a museum professional’s life

cycle (emerging museum professional to senior management).

What were the long range goals that AAM and IMLS had in mind when they organized this meeting? Both organiza-tions feel that stronger, more sustain-able state level associations will help national level museum service organi-zations in several ways. Stronger state level associations can be better partners for the national level associations, and can more effectively raise awareness of national issues within their states. Stronger states will also, presumably, be able to increase their reach to more museums in their state. AAM and IMLS can then reach out to those museums through the state museum associations.

While it is too early to tell what the lasting impact of this gathering will be, the experience VAM staff had in getting to meet and interact with our colleagues from across the country was one we will never forget. While we love our museum

Museums United: A Convening of the State Museum Associations by Jennifer Thomas

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Museums United: A Convening of the State Museum Associations by Jennifer Thomas

colleagues, we rarely get a chance to network with people who do exactly what we do—straddle the world of mu-seums and the world of associations.

Photos, from left: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; VAM staff with colleagues from Texas, Okla-homa, and California; meeting participants reviewing one of the graphic idea boards created during the meeting by one of the facilitators. Bar graph demonstrates state museum association membership numbers and the pie graph shows the proportion of state museum associations with paid staff. With nearly 1,000 members and two full-time and two part-time staff, VAM is a leader among state museum associations nationwide.

S u m m e r 2 0 1 4 3

Zero56%

One part-time only8%

One full-time only17%

Two full-time only8%

More than 2 full-time* 11%

Number of Paid Staff

Number of Paid Staff Zero One part-time only

One full-time only Two full-time only More than 2 full-time*

State Museum Associations, by Size of Membership: Largest to Smallest

Florida Association of MuseumsVirginia Association of MuseumsTexas Association of MuseumsOklahoma Museums AssociationMuseum Association of New YorkCalifornia Association of MuseumsNorth Carolina Museums CouncilIllinois Association of MuseumsArkansas Museums AssociationPA MuseumsColorado/Wyoming Association of MuseumsAssociation of Maine Archives & MuseumsAssociation of Indiana MuseumsMichigan Museums AssociationGeorgia Association of Museums & GalleriesIowa Museum AssociationOhio Museums AssociationKansas Museums AssociationMinnesota Association of MuseumsNew Mexico Association of MuseumsWashington Museum AssociationMuseum Association of Arizona Utah Museums AssociationSouth Carolina Federation of MuseumsTennessee Association of MuseumsWest Virginia Association of MuseumsOregon Museums AssociationKentucky Museum and Heritage AllianceHawaii Museums AssociationMuseums AlaskaMuseums Association of MontanaIdaho Association of MuseumsAlabama Museums AssociationAssociation of South Dakota MuseumsMissouri Association for Museums and ArchivesNebraska Museums AssociationLouisiana Association of MuseumsMississippi Museums AssociationWisconsin Federation of MuseumsMuseums in North DakotaPuerto Rico Museum AssociationDelaware Museum AssociationNew Jersey Association of Museums

No member numbers supplied:Nevada Museums AssociationU.S. Virgin Islands, Division of Museums

State Museum Association Member Numbers

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iThe IMLS and America’s Museum Universeby Heather Widener

Last month, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced some big news - there are over 35,000 museums in the U.S., more than double the agency’s working estimate of 17,500 from the 1990s.

The announcement of the new esti-mate came from IMLS Director Susan H. Hildreth during the annual conference of the American Alliance of Muse-ums (AAM), the nation’s largest annual gathering of museum professionals. The data used to calculate the number of museums in America’s “muse-um universe” is contained in the Museum Universe Data File (MUDF), a document made public for use in research, development and innova-tion, and as valuable public information. Going forward, the MUDF will be up-dated twice yearly, as stakeholders and others suggest edits that will make the data even more accurate and reflective of the vast community of museums in the United States.

How Data was CapturedThe IMLS relied heavily on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a core source of data for the Museum Universe Data File. The IRS collects financial information for all active nonprofit organizations on an annual basis. IMLS used two different types of records (IRS Form 990 and IRS Form 990-N) to identify nonprofit muse-ums that filed from 2009 through 2013. This one source provided 77 percent of the museums in the file. Data also came from IMLS’s own administrative records (2009-present) in addition to information gleaned from private foundation grant data (Foundation Center), identifying museums that received funds between 2009 and 2013. The information was used to cross validate IRS and IMLS data and to append additional information. IMLS en-gaged a third party commercial vendor, Factual, to supply and aggregate addi-

tional data. By obtaining data in this way, IMLS was able to gather more complete information than it could from a survey of the field, and with less expense.

This new data file is a public resource that is maintained by the IMLS Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. The file will undergo continual review and the IMLS will accept suggestions for edits on a rolling basis in an effort to contin-ually improve the data represented in the MUDF. Comments and suggestions for improving the file can be emailed to research@imls.gov. IMLS encourages the museum community to access the data and to contact the IMLS research staff if there are institutions known to be oper-ating in the U.S. that do not appear in the current data file, or in the event that mu-seums in the file are no longer active. The Data File will be updated and enhanced with new data elements over time.

What’s in the DataThe newly released Museum Universe Data File is available on the IMLS website at www.imls.gov/museum_universe. The MUDF includes a myriad of data points, although not all of the museums have complete information for every field. It also includes a variety of geographic

markers that can be used to incorporate the data into a wider variety of appli-cations and to visualize it in map form. Data includes museum URLs, address and contact information, budget information, and more for museums of all disciplines, including: arboretums, botanical gardens, nature centers, historical societies, his-toric preservation organizations, history museums, science and technology cen-ters, planetariums, children’s museums, art museums, general museums, natural history and natural science museums, and zoos, aquariums, and wildlife conser-vation centers. Nationwide, the largest categories are historical societies and un-classified, or “general,” museums with 48 percent and 33 percent respectively. See the IMLS nationwide graph of museums by discipline on the facing page.

According to the MUDF, there are 1284 museums in Virginia and Washington, DC; 1057 of those are in Virginia. Also, in Virginia, there are 330 general or unclassi-fied museums, 47 art museums, 26 arbore-tums, botanical gardens, & nature centers, 9 children’s museums, 524 historical societies, 100 history museums, 3 natural history & natural science museums, 10 science & technology museums & plane-tariums, and 8 zoos, aquariums, & wildlife

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“Americans love their museums. Museums of all types—35,000 strong— are a vital part of the American cultural and education-al landscape. They are places where Americans go to pursue the

discovery of art, history, science, technology, and the natural world. With 16,880 historical societies and historic preservation organizations alone, we can see that the preservation of history and culture is a passion that starts at the grassroots level. At IMLS we are proud to trumpet the impact of America’s museums at the federal level.

Museums in America are powerful drivers of educational, economic, and social change and growth in their communities. As stewards of our collective cultural heritage, they provide the rich, authentic content for a nation of learners. Mu-seums respond to the needs of their communities and are recognized as anchor institutions. They are valued not only for their collections and programs but as safe, trusted places that support the ideals of our democratic society.

This announcement is a special one. I am certain it will lead to further analysis and study, and I hope it also will prompt the creation of new, innovative tools and apps. We are delighted to be answering the call to make more federal information open and accessible to everyone.”

– Susan H. Hildreth, IMLS Director

The IMLS and America’s Museum Universeby Heather Widener

conservation centers. Additionally of interest is that the IMLS also defines the type of geographic area in which each museum resides. For example, according to the MUDF, 327 of Virginia’s muse-ums are in an urbanized area inside a principal city, 279 are located in a suburban area, 117 are inside an urban cluster (town) that is outside an urbanized area, and 334 are in rural areas.

Why the MUDF is ImportantFrom the IMLS perspective, this project is core to their mission. In 2010, Congress provided authority in the Museum and Library Services Act (PL 111-240), for IMLS to “conduct policy research, analysis, and data collection to extend and improve the Nation’s museum, library and information services.” The law states that research shall be used to identify national needs and trends; measure and report on impact of services; identify best practices; and develop plans to improve service.” The data file is avail-able for both commercial and non-commercial use, and museum practitioners and researchers are encouraged to use it as a reference file for analysis of the museum sector.

From VAM’s perspective, the MUDF is extremely useful in many ways. First, it gives us a better sense of who comprises the museum community we serve. Second, the data can help us as we plan appropriate programs and services for our museum audience. Last but definitely not least, the aggregated data provides backup informa-tion necessary to our advocacy efforts both at the state and national levels.

VAM also plans to take an active role in the review process and will communicate sugges-tions for edits to the IMLS; in our first review, we have already noted many changes that need to be made. We encourage our members to do likewise; please take some time to visit the IMLS website, where you can download, sort, and fil-ter the data yourself. Check to see what informa-tion for your museum is listed. Again, if you find mistakes, omissions, or data that is no longer applicable (i.e., a museum that you know has closed), please take a moment to contact the IMLS at research@imls.gov. They are accepting suggestions and comments on a rolling basis and will release the next iteration of the MUDF in Fall 2014. At over 35,000 strong, museums count, and your voice matters!

S u m m e r 2 0 1 4 5

Source: Museum Universe Data File, FY 2014 Q3, Institute of Museum and Library Services

Distribution of Museums by Discipline, FY 2014

Arboretums, Botanical Gardens, & Nature Centers

Art Museums

Children's Museums

Historical Societies, Historic Preservation, & Historic Houses and Sites

History Museums

Unclassi�ed and General Museums

Natural History & Natural Science Museums

Science & Technology Museums & Planetariums

Zoos, Aquariums, & Wildlife Conservation

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%

4.5%

1.0%

33.1%

48.0%

2.4%

7.5%

0.9%

1.1%

1.4%

Source: Museum Universe Data File, FY 2014 Q3, Institute of Museum and Library Services

Distribution of Museums by State, FY 2014

0 1000 2000 3000Number of Museums

CANYTXPAOHILFLMIMAVANCWIMONJINWAMNGAIACOMDORTNKSOKMECTKYAZALLASCNHNEARMTVTNMMSWVUTDCSDRIIDNVHIWYNDAKDE

Museums of All Disciplines (Per 100,000 Population) by State, FY 2014

Source: Museum Universe Data File, FY 2014 Q3, Institute of Museum and Library Services

Fewer than 10 10 to 14.9 15 to 19.9 20 to 24.9 30 or more

Resources from IMLSInformation about the Museum Universe Data File

Downloadable Museum Universe Data Files

MUDF: Documentation

MUDF: Questions & An-swers

API and Developer Tools

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Extraordinary Alexandria ~ A Landmark Conference for 2014 by Christina E. Newton

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VAM traveled back to Northern

Virginia for its 2014 Annual Con-ference, which was held at the Alexandria Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia from March 15-18, 2014. Attendance increased by nearly 100 regis-trants over last year, indicating an increased enthusiasm for VAM’s annual meeting as well as an upswing in the economy and interest in the location.

The 422 registrants included full conference and one-day attendees, exhibitors, volunteers, and speak-ers. The demographic breakdown remains constant with last year’s numbers plus VAM continues to attract new interest with 35 first-time

attendees. While the category of “di-rector/site manager/administrator” remained the primary position rep-resented, the 2014 conference saw in increase in attendance by those designating themselves “curators/registrar/collections” and “educator/interpreter.”

VAM’s online presence is imperative to the success of its conferences. 75%

of respondents registered through the website. VAM’s email marketing communications such as the month-ly Enews was the most noted means by which attendees heard about the conference.

The Exhibit Hall remains a popular mainstay of VAM conferences with 96% attending this top attraction. 69% of those spoke with a vendor about a product or service, noting that exhibition design and fabrica-

tion was the most needed service this year. Additionally, 64% of those visiting the Exhibit Hall helped VAM raise nearly $8,000 in much needed income by bidding in the ever popu-lar Silent Auction.

Our conferences are continually recognized for the outstanding program of educational sessions and events, and the 2014 conference did

not disappoint even with some hic-cups along the way. Sunday opened with a slate of highly ranked sessions featuring notable speakers, followed by an outstanding night visiting Old Town Alexandria. The festive events at the featured museums and snow glistening in the twinkling lights made for a winter wonderland in March. Unexpected snow threw us a curve ball early Monday with some speakers unable to attend. How-ever, sessions were soon smoothly sailing along thanks to our dedicated Council members who pitched in to share their expertise where needed. The final evening event was a night to remember as the staff and volun-teers of George Washington’s Mount Vernon rolled out the red carpet for a special members-only evening across the historic grounds and buildings.

While it’s nice to be able to quantify the quality of our conference and the statisfaction of our attendees with charts and statistics, it’s in the per-sonal comments that we receive that we are able to really gauge people’s reactions and impressions. Here are a few of our favorites from 2014:

“The Sunday and Monday night events were memorable and for me, make the difference in a great conference and

Left to right: Sean Fearns and the rest of the folks at the DEA Museum hosted a lively Scholarship Reception on Saturday evening, March 15th; Costumed interpreters from Mount Vernon took part in our evening reception in the exhibit hall, helping us to promote a “selfie contest;” John Forsythe, coordinator for FRAME North America, introduces himself and FRAME during the Governing Council Meeting on Sunday, March 16th.

Extraordinary Alexandria ~ A Landmark Conference for 2014 by Christina E. Newton

S u m m e r 2 0 1 4 7

just another conference. These were superb this year. Warm thanks go to the committee and sites that worked with VAM to set this up this year.” “VAM staff and board worked very hard to make both exhibitors and exhibit visitors feel welcome.”

“WOW! Our first VAM Conference. We were treated royally. We were educat-ed, fed, networked, met new people, were inspired with new ideas, taken to places we had never been before and entertained. Thank you!”

VAM looks forward to another suc-cessful Annual Conference in 2015 as we travel to Richmond, Virginia over March 7-10 for VAM’s 40th confer-ence. If you would like to participate in the conference program or local arrangements planning, please con-tact Christina Newton at cnewton@vamuseums.org or 804.358.3173. Additionally, we will be releasing the RFP for our 2015 conference with the July enews Forum. Look for it there, and be a part of #VAM2015!

Stay up to date on next year’s confer-ence by visiting www.vamuseums.org, and by following VAM on Face-book and Twitter.

Join us March 7th - 10th 2015 at the Omni Hotel in Richmond, VA for

#VAM2015

Mem

ber P

rofil

eHistoric Crab Orchard

Museum and Pioneer Park, Inc. in Tazewell,

VA, or Crab Orchard Museum, was organized in 1978 with a mission to collect, preserve and promote Appalachian cultural heritage. Mr. Jeff Higginbotham donated land and much of his extensive collection of pi-oneer and Native American artifacts to begin the museum on the site where a 1926 replica of the late 1700s Fort Witten was built by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

According to Charlotte Whitted, executive director, “This area of Southwest Virginia was the wild, wild

west in pioneer times. Settlers were not legally allowed to move this far west in the 1600s, but long hunters came anyway.”

Log and stone cabins and buildings were brought to the site and reas-sembled into a Pioneer Park, so that visitors could see what dwellings, farmhouses, and outbuildings

like a blacksmith shop, carpenter’s shop, apple house, loom house, smoke house, spring house, corn

cribs and barns were like between 1830 and 1870. There are now 14 period buildings in the Pioneer Park, along with the Red Barn horse-drawn transportation exhibition building.

When VDOT began to build High-way 19-460 in front of the museum, bulldozers ran into human remains from a 500 year old Native Ameri-

can village, which had been established for 50-75 years. Some of the artifacts from the emergency excavations became part of the mu-seum’s exhibits through the Virginia Historical Society, but the remains went to the Smithsonian Institute. Some sub-sequently discovered Native American remains have been reinterred on museum property in a separate burial ground maintained by the area tribal council.

The Higginbotham Museum Center opened to the public in 1982, with subsequent expansions

Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park

Sights Around the Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer ParkThe Pisgah Pumpkin Patch and Crab Orchard Corn Maze offer a full Appalachian autumn experience.

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The Cottage at Crab Orchard offers guests on-site accommodations for four with a scenic view of the Pioneer Park from the front porch. Two bed-rooms, den, kitchen, full bath and porch swing, continental breakfast, free wi-fi and museum admission make guests comfortable in a rustic setting.

Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Parkfor collections and administrative space. School children from local and regional schools visit fre-quently for hands-on experiences in pioneer life, colonial life, Native American life and spring planting. In 2012 the museum acquired the Frog Level Service Station, a 1932 retail establishment that was the last place in Virginia one could purchase gas, food, and a beer at the bar. The community icon is lovingly maintained by the Rota-ry Club of Tazewell and the Frog Level Yacht Club.

Crab Orchard Museum offers after-school classes and pioneer apprentice camp, as well as several large special events, including the Skirmish at Jeffersonville Civil War Reenactment, Primitive Mountain Man Rendezvous, Independence Day Celebration, the Tazewell Coun-ty Old Time & Bluegrass Fiddlers’ Convention and Frontier Christ-mas. Crab Orchard is a picturesque location to rent for weddings, family reunions, company picnics and professional portrait photography sessions.

In a quest to become more of a destination for visitors, Crab Orchard Museum now offers guest accommodations on-site in The Cottage at Crab Orchard, a two bedroom house overlooking the Pioneer Park. Up to four guests can stay in The Cottage, with continen-tal breakfast and museum admis-sion included.

Another amenity is Fisher & Company Restaurant, located in the 1907 Pisgah Store, which is on museum property. Offering signature food, including smoked barbecue and specials from the grill, along with delicious sides, salads and homemade desserts, the restaurant is a wonderful din-ing experience in a rustic setting, combining terrific food with the history of the nearby railroad and Clinch River.

The “next big thing” at Crab Orchard Museum is the opening of the Crab Orchard Corn Maze and Pisgah Pumpkin Patch, September 12 - No-vember 2, 2014. The sixteen acres of museum property that surrounds the Pisgah Store and Fisher & Company

Restaurant will open with a 3.5 acres corn maze, kids’ activities, a craft cor-ner, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch and a hay ride around the perime-ter on weekends for the public or weekdays for pre-scheduled groups. The design for the maze is based on a prehistoric Native American petroglyph from nearby Paint Lick Mountain.

Crab Orchard Museum is open Tues. – Sat. 9 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. year round. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the museum is also open Sundays, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.

For more information, visit www.craborchardmuseum.com , call 276-988-6755,or e-mail info@craborchardmuseum.com.

Sights Around the Historic Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park

S u m m e r 2 0 1 4 9

Youth Performers at the Tazewell County Old Time & Bluegrass Fiddlers’ Convention are learning to preserve traditional mountain music.

The Higginbotham Museum Center opened in 1982 with permanent and rotating exhibits about Appalachian culture, conference and meeting space, and a museum store.

VAM Welcomes Rebecca Guest, Top 10 Summer Intern

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Born in Dublin in 1922, Máire Mhac an tSaoi is the daughter of the politician and author Seán MacEntee and Margaret Browne MacEntee, a Lecturer in Irish at University College Dublin. Mhac an tSaoi spent long periods in the Kerry Gaeltacht around Dunquin during her childhood. She studied at Alexandra College, Loreto College, and University College Dublin. She spent two years at the School of Celtic Studies in the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, studied law at King’s Inns, and, in 1944, became the first Irish woman to be called to the bar. She spent two years as a postgraduate student in the Institut des Hautes Études at the Sorbonne. From 1947 to 1962, she served in the Irish diplomatic corps in Dublin, Strasbourg, and Madrid, in Africa and America, and at the United Nations. In 1962, she married politician and writer Conor Cruise O’Brien, and travelled, worked, and lived with him until his death in 2008. She lived for many years on the summit of Howth Head outside Dublin, and now lives with her daughter in County Meath.

author photograph: Candide Jones cover illustration: Dunquin Fields © Helene Brennan,

www.helene-brennan.com, used with permission.

cover design: Nathan W. Moehlmann, Goosepen Studio & Press

In a sense my poetry is a journal; each effort seeks to stabilise the emotions of a given circumstance, whether the

presentation be dramatic or lyric. I have found this facility a powerful resource in times of trouble. Yet another reason to be grateful! In the nature of things the poems treat of many kinds of love, and in this context it is important to realise that love of language is a passion like any other. Writing verse is an addiction, a rewarding one. Perhaps I should leave it at that and trust that so many willing interpreters will have made these points better than I could. Coimrí Dé orthu go léir!

— Máire Mhac an tSaoi,

from the Preface

wake forest university press

www.wfupress.wfu.edu

a generation before the groundbreaking achievements of Eavan Boland, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Biddy Jenkinson, Medbh McGuckian, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Rita Ann Higgins, and others, and in more daunting social circumstances, Máire Mhac an tSaoi’s poetry speaks to and from the intimate ex-perience of women at a time when women’s voices were largely inaudible, on the margins of Irish literature and society. This bilingual selection of her work is the first substantial collection to introduce her poems to an English-language audience and a reminder to readers of Irish as to why she is one of the most significant poets to emerge since the beginning of the language revival almost a century and a half ago.

— Louis de Paor, from the Introduction

wake forest univer sit y presswww. wf upre s s . wf u. e d u

isbn 978-1-930630-68-0 | $17.95

Dedicated to Irish Poetry

T h e An paróiste M I r a c u l o u s

míorúilteach Pa r I s h

Máire Mhac an tsaoirogha dánta selected poems

in eagar ag louis de paor edited by louis de paor

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4.5 4.55.75 5.75.5625.125 .125

four collections of american art

blowing rock art and history museum

ARTAMONGFRIENDS

published in conjunction with the blowing rock art and history museum’s exhibition “art among friends: four collections of american art” (may 4 – november 2, 2013), this catalogue features photographs and thoughtful interpretation of eighty-one paintings and one bronze sculpture comprised entirely from four private collections in the north carolina high country.

spanning one of the most dynamic periods of american art history, the works were created between roughly 1880 and 1940 and portray the evolution of american impressionism to urban realism.

Art Among Friends demonstrates the influence of friendship not only between the four collectors, but also the artists themselves. The depth and breadth of each collector’s holdings made it possible for guest curator Jonathan stuhlman, of the mint museum, in charlotte, north carolina, to trace the rise and fall of significant artistic movements and demonstrate the remarkable talents of some of this country’s most important artists.

www.blowingrockmuseum.org

Jonathan stuhlman has been the curator of american art at the mint museum since 2006. he was previously the anne and harold berkeley smith curator of american art at the norton museum of art and has worked at the university of Virginia art museum, the Virginia museum of fine arts, the art institute of chicago, and second street gallery in charlottesville, Virginia. stuhlman has organized exhibitions exploring the work of georgia o’keeffe, robert henri, kay sage and yves tanguy, and charles seliger. he received his ba with honors in art history from bowdoin college and his ma in modern and contemporary art history, theory, and criticism from the school of the art institute of chicago. he is currently a doctoral candidate in art history at the university of Virginia where his dissertation focuses on the work of the surrealist painter yves tanguy.

Joann mitchell was selected as the founding director of the blowing rock art and history museum (brahm) in 2005. her responsibilities have included managing the inaugural capital campaign, working with the architects and builders to complete the museum facility, and guiding the organization through its initial years of operation. as a year-round resident of blowing rock, Joann values the significant contributions of the long-time locals who make the town extraordinary as well as the seasonal residents who give generously of their resources to enrich the community. both groups have added immeasurably to the success of the blowing rock art and history museum.

jacket design: nathan w. moehlmann, goosepen studio & Press

front: Young Tennis Player, c. 1920. agnes millen

richmond (1870–1964). oil on canvas. back: In Tennessee,

1925. John adams spelman (1880–1941). oil on canvas.

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AblAze Pottery tradition in the Catawba Valley

VAlleyVAlleyVAlley

Jason harPe and brian dedmond

m. dawn Crouse Principal PhotographyWith a foreword by Charles g. zug iii

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VAlley AblAze is the first volume to examine carefully the entire scope of both historical and contemporary pottery in the Catawba Valley of North Carolina, a tradition dating over two centuries old. Initially utilitarian, made and used out of necessity, the pottery has evolved with the times into sometimes decorative but always highly collectible works of art, though today’s potters, as authors Jason Harpe and Brian Dedmond delineate, still embrace the time-honored methods and knowledge of their forebears passed from generation to generation. With a foreword by renowned scholar Charles G. Zug III, Valley Ablaze’s detailed histories of the potters themselves complement historical, candid images from the archives of collectors and museums. Dawn Crouse’s vivid photographs capture the pottery-making process as well as displays of over 1,050 pieces of Catawba Valley pottery to define one of North Carolina’s and the nation’s most distinguished ceramics traditions.

A native Charlottean, Jason Harpe received his BA in history and MA in public history from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. For nearly sixteen years, he has served as Executive Director of the Lincoln County Historical Association and Lincoln County Museum of History in Lincolnton, North Carolina. In 2008, he founded Harpe Consulting, LLC. Harpe has authored and edited eight books, including Two Centuries of Potters: A Catawba Valley Tradition. Dr. Brian DeDmonD was born and reared in Lincolnton, North Carolina, and received a BA degree in biology and a DDS degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He now practices dentistry with his father in Lincolnton. As an undergraduate, Dedmond took several independent study courses in ceramics. In 2002, he purchased his first Burlon Craig face jug and has been passionately collecting contemporary Catawba Valley pottery ever since. melany Dawn Crouse of Lincolnton, North Carolina, became interested in Catawba Valley pottery in 2006 after attending a summer sale of Kim Ellington’s. She started experimenting with photography while working full time in the furniture industry. In 2009, she combined her interests in both photography and pottery and founded Melany Dawn Crouse Photography. Crouse is also chief photographer for the Lincoln County View and a part-time photography instructor at Catawba Valley Community College, in Hickory, North Carolina.

jacket design: Nathan W. Moehlmann, Goosepen Studio & Press jacket illustrations: M. Dawn Crouse. Front: The Hart Square kiln. Back: {top} Burlon Craig double face jug; Daniel Seagle jar; and Kim Ellington vase. {mid left} Charles Lisk large and small swirl ring jugs and Michel Bayne swirl rooster. {mid right} Burlon Craig kiln sale, 1990. Courtesy of Allen Huffman. {bottom left} Harvey Reinhardt swirl pitcher.

 “flAmes roAring tHrougH kilns AnD tHe exCitement of ACquiring new ADDitions to A ColleCtion Are ultimAtely wHAt keep tHis VAlley AblAze.” — Brian Dedmond

www.goosepenpress.Com

Published for the linColn County HistoriCal assoCiation by   Goosepen stuDio & press Conover, North Carolina www.Goosepenpress.Com PrINteD IN CaNaDa

JACKET Valley Ablaze MAIN.indd 1 11/11/12 9:39 PM

Clients with upcoming titles include the Grolier Club of New York City; Genealogica, Los Angeles; Tellus Science Museum, Cartersville, GA; The Virtual Steam Car Museum, Dallas, TX; Wake Forest University Press, Winston-Salem, NC; Bob Timberlake & Ambassador Mark Erwin, Lexington and Charlotte, NC; North Carolina Department of Archives & History, Raleigh. 5 Nathan W. Moehlmann | nwm@goosepenpress.com | 828.850.2705

This summer, VAM welcomes Rebecca Guest, who is our intern focusing on VAM’s Top

10 Endangered Artifacts Program. Rebecca currently studies history at Virginia Commonwealth University, and is interested in museum studies and public history. Additionally,

Rebecca is training to be a certified archeological technician through the Archeological Society of Virginia.

Rebecca first learned of VAM and our Top 10 program while volun-teering with the Fairfield Foun-dation in Gloucester, VA. In 2012, Fairfield nominated sales receipts from Ware Neck Store to the Top 10 program. Documents in this collec-tion include receipts, bills, advertise-ments, and customer shopping lists.

After being featured as a Top 10 hon-oree, the collection received interest from the general public. This publicity garnered support for the foundation’s conservation efforts, which are un-derway, and created awareness about the importance of preserving artifacts.

Rebecca was able to see firsthand the effect that a VAM Top 10 designation can have on a museum and on its artifacts.

This summer, Rebecca will be con-tacting previous Top 10 honorees and nominees to learn the current status of their artifacts. We’ll be compiling a blog to track the stories that come out of this project! Ad-ditionally, Rebecca will be assisting with the 2014 Top 10 program. We are so grateful to have her time and expertise on our side! Remember, your museum can nominate an endangered artifact through July 11th at www.vatop10artifacts.org. Rebecca and the rest of the VAM staff hope to hear from you!

“The only constant is change.” VAM staff embraces this notion as we transition to a completely new way of doing business, using the YourMembership.com association management platform. We all love change (right?) - it keeps us fresh and alive; more importantly, it ensures we are using the best technology in the interests of member service. With that in mind, we dedicated this space to giving you, our membes, some pointers on our new system, which is rich in features to serve your needs.

Jennifer says:“Certifcate students can now easily add workshops to their records. Our new da-tabase allows you to view all your activity in a section of your profile called “professional development.” It also means no more fulfillment forms! If you are getting credit for a VAM-spon-sored workshop, you will receive an email following the workshop that will guide you through getting your credit recorded.

If you want to add a non-VAM workshop, click on the “professional development” section of your profile once you’ve logged in. Then click “add entry,” and fill out the form there. Once you submit, it will come to me for review and approval.

Keep in mind, anything that has to go through the review committee will still need a fulfillment form. I am working on one that can be submitted electronically.”

Christina says: “With the launch of VAM’s new brand and website and membership database system, VAM is proud to

offer FREE membership for students! By joining, students can gain access to VAM’s numerous educational resources. Also, membership gives students the opportu-nity to build a professional network with museum professionals and other students from across the Virginia and DC museum community. As always, VAM membership means discounts on programs like VAM’s Annual Workshop Series and the Annual Conference. These opportunities offer a real leg-up in an increasingly competitive job market.

Visit www.vamuseums.org and join today. Simply fill in the required information, upload a photograph of your student ID, and get engaged in the VAM community! If you are already a student member of VAM, when you renew your membership, you’ll be asked to review your online profile, upload a photo of your student ID card, and your renewal fee will be zero! If you are a museum professional who works with students or with your local university, please pass the word along about our free student membership in VAM. It’s just one way we can ensure a bright future for Virginia’s vibrant museum community!”

Heather says:“We’ve been able to build out a much more robust Career Center with YourMembership.com. it allows employers greater control over their job postings. Free posting to the VAM site is a benefit to our museum and business members. Just log in with the or-ganization’s username and password and click “Career Center.” There you’ll be able to submit a posting.

In addition, our museum and business mem-bers may view the resumes of members who have opted to include those in their online profiles (a great strategy for any individual member who may be looking for a new posi-tion). To do this, simply log on to the VAM site with your organization’s login, and navigate to the Career Center. From there, you’ll be able to conduct a Resume/CV Search.

For individual and benefactor members,

you have access to job openings and can post a resume to your online profile. You may also want to build a network of col-leagues via our online community’s “con-nections” feature! To post your resume, log on to the VAM site and click on “Manage Profile” on the right of your screen. From there, scroll down until you see a category called “Networking and Careers.” Within that category, click Resume/CV and fill in the form to post your resume!

To build your connections, go to Member Directory (under the Membership tab), and use the basic or advanced search to find a colleague or group of colleagues. Once you find someone you’d like to connect with, click on the person’s name. From their profile, you’ll be able to click the “Connect” button underneath their name. As always, feel free to contact us if any questions come up.”

Su says:“Our new online platform gives you greater control than ever over your trans-actions with VAM. Whether you need receipts for reim-bursement at your museum or whether you need to re-print an invoice, your online profile can help. Just log on to vamuseums.org and click on “Manage Profile” to the right of the page. From there, find the “Invoicing, Payments & History” category. Under that category, you can click on “Invoices” to view, print, and pay your invoices. Your transaction history will also be recorded in your profile, so you can refer back at any time to see a transaction or a payment. You’ll also be able to see whether an invoice has been closed, is in process, or remains open.

Also, rest assured that our online payment portal is secure and easy to use. You can easily pay any invoice online with a credit card. You can also opt to be billed for an invoice, however, if you prefer to pay by check. We hope that you’ll find this flexible system both easy to use and useful to your needs.”

Ask-a-VAM StafferQuestion: “So, what should I know about this new website of yours?”

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President’s Corner

Our Governing CouncilPresident, Al SchweizerVP, Planning & Resources, Gary SandlingVP, Programming, Gretchen BulovaSecretary, Anna HollowayTreasurer, Norman BurnsPast President, Tracy J. GillespieEx-Officio Members, Robert C. Vaughan and Robin Nicholson

Direc torsEric App April Cheek-MessierJamie Bosket Robert OrrisonKaren L. Daly Dana PugaCharles Grant Barbara RothermelDebi Gray Vanessa Thaxton-WardJoe Keiper Charlotte WhittedLisa Martin Eric S. WilsonMelanie L. Mathewes

Our Staf fExecutive Director, Jennifer ThomasAssistant Director, Christina NewtonCommunications Director, Heather Widener Accountant, Su Thongpan

Our Contac tsPhone: 804. 358.3170 Fax: 804. 358.3174www.vamuseums.org

Our VoiceVAM Voice is a member benefit published quar-terly for museum professionals and volunteers. The editor encourages readers to submit article proposals. Contact the communications director for more information.

Our News Deadl inesSpring: February 15thSummer: May 15th Fall: August 15thWinter: November 1st

Our MissionThe mission of the Virginia Association of Museums is to serve as the resource network of the Virginia and District of Columbia museum community through education, technical assistance, and advocacy.

Dear Members,

Thank you for your vote of confi-dence coincident with my election as the next President of VAM in a long line of outstanding leaders before me. Little did I know about 10 years ago that my supervisor’s request for me to assist a local plan-ning committee would result in this honor - thanks Nancy Perry.

My sincere admiration and appre-ciation also goes to Tracy Gillespie who set an example of graceful and inspired leadership and who helped prepare me to assume this important role. I am here to serve you, and with the assistance of the outstanding Council I am privileged to work with, I look forward to moving our organization forward and making it an asset for you and your organizations. You already know this but the staff at VAM is noteworthy in their knowledge and commitment to serving the mem-bership and industry partners and all you have to do is contact them for assistance.

We’ve heard good comments about the March conference and have al-ready started planning for the next one in Richmond. The committee is hard at work and the creative juices are flowing. Stay tuned for more details as they become available. We’ve been at the Omni Hotel before and they are ready for us to return.

Our programs continue - be sure to take advantage of the workshops and other offerings as they are announced. Let us know if you need any help with a particular task or issue, chances are we can find someone who can assist you.

Again, I am honored to be your leader and working together I am looking forward to what we can accomplish.

Cheers,

AlAl SchweizerPresidentVirginia Association of Museums