THE PEABODY AND COVID-19

COVID-19 has not been kind to most educational and cultural institutions. The American Alliance of Museums estimates that one-third of the museums in the United States may never recover from the consequences of the pandemic. The virus has affected all programs offered by the Peabody. The shutdown in mid-March put a halt to progress on cataloging our collection, ended on-site research visits and NAGPRA consultations, indefinitely postponed repatriations, and upended our hands-on, collections-based educational programs. A hiring freeze has left us shorthanded and all travel programs have been curtailed. Despite these challenges, Peabody staff members made a quick pivot.

Curator of collections Marla Taylor planned home-based collections work, largely focused on scanning photographs and archives, and completing ongoing transcription work. This is work that we have always wanted to do, but never thought we would have the time and resources. Over 17,000 images were digitized and added to our database.

Curator of education Lindsay Randall developed Diggin’ In, a half-hour web series cosponsored by the Massachusetts Archaeological Society. Diggin’ In was a way to stay connected to our friends in the Gene Winter/Northeast Chapter of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, since we have hosted their monthly meeting and lecture for many decades.

Ryan Wheeler, Peabody director, collaborated with Native artists Dominique Toya and Weshoyot Alvitre to sponsor Facebook Live and Zoom events for the Andover community. We look forward to continuing many of these new programs, especially those that provide a broader and more inclusive reach.