Winter 2016 VAM Voice

Voice

3126 W. Cary St., #447 | Richmond, Virginia 23221-3504 | 804. 358.3170 | www.vamuseums.org | Winter 2016

A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

iDirect Care of Collections: What it Means for Your Museum Member Profile: National D-Day Memorial FY2016 Annual Report

National Museum of African American History and Culture Photo credit: Alan Karchmer/NMAAHC

Contents Cover Story 3 - 4

A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story: National Museum of African American History and Culture

by Heather Widener

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Technical Insert

5-6 Direct Care of Collections: What it Means for Your Museum

by Heather Widener VAM FY2016 Annual Report

7 - 10

Program Updates 11 - 12

What is the Point of Museums?

A Q&A with Peter Armstrong

Member Profile 13 - 15

National D-Day Memorial

by April Cheek-Messier President’s Corner

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by Gary Sandling

Annual Conference

Our Mission The Virginia Association of Museums helps our museum community succeed.

Our Vision A united museum community inspiring the world around us

Our Governing Council President, Gary Sandling VP, Planning & Resources, Gretchen Bulova VP, Programming, Robert Orrison Secretary, Dana Puga Treasurer, Eric App Immediate Past President, Tracy J. Gillespie Ex-Officio Members, Robert C. Vaughan and Jeffrey Allison

D ire c tors Paige Gibbons Backus Lisa Martin Steven Blashfield Jeffrey L. Nichols Jamie Bosket Scott Stroh Mikell Brown, PhD Vanessa Thaxton-Ward, PhD Karen Daly Robin von Seldeneck Charles Grant Sarah Whiting Debi Gray Charlotte Whitted Joe Keiper, PhD Eric S. Wilson

O ur Contac ts Phone: 804. 358.3170 www.vamuseums.org

Fax: 804. 358.3174

O ur Sta ff Executive Director, Jennifer Thomas jthomas@vamuseums.org Assistant Director, Christina E. Newton cnewton@vamuseums.org Communications Director, Heather Widener hwidener@vamuseums.org Membership Coordinator, Rebecca Guest rguest@vamuseums.org Accountant, Su Thongpan su@vamuseums.org

O ur Voice The VAM Voice is a member benefit published quarterly.

VAM encourages readers to submit article proposals.

Contact the communications director for more information.

Voice D eadlines Spring: February 15th Summer: May 15th Fall: August 15th Winter: November 1st

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A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

by Heather Widener

“I

wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” remarked First Lady Michelle Obama this past July, during her speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Just steps from the White House, and nestled between the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History sits an epochal new addition to Washington’s skyline: the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Created in 2003 by an Act of Congress, which established it as part of the Smithsonian Institution, the long-anticipated NMAAHC opened its doors on September 24, 2016.

The design and architecture of the NMAAHC building itself is steeped in symbolism and history. A distinct exterior design element, the “Corona,” is made up of 3,600 bronze-colored cast aluminum panels. The imagery embodied in the Corona is intended as an expression of hope, faith, and resiliency. The Yoruban Caryatid serves as inspiration for the museum’s three-tiered shape, and the panels’ pattern mirrors the imagery of ornate 19th century ironwork from New Orleans, created by enslaved craftsmen.

Inside, as visitors move through the galleries, they’ll discover framed openings

The NMAAHC collection illuminates major periods in African American history, beginning with African origins and traveling through eras of slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, civil rights, the Harlem Renaissance, and into the 21st century. Supported by the museum’s approximately 37,000 artifacts, the inaugural exhibitions focus on broad themes of history, culture and community, music, cultural expressions and visual arts. These include an exhibition detailing the struggle – involving members of Congress and curators, architects and army veterans, ordinary citizens and presidents, and celebrities and art collectors – that led to the fulfillment of the dream of a national museum dedicated to African American history and culture.

It is entitled A Century in the Making: Building the National Museum of African American History. In it, visitors can also learn about the inspiration and symbolism behind the museum’s unique location on the National Mall as well as its architecture. Additional inaugural exhibitions include:

Dr. Rex M. Ellis Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture VAM is thrilled to announce Dr. Rex M. Ellis as our keynote speaker at the 2017 Annual Conference in Roanoke, Virginia. As associate director for curatorial affairs at the NMAAHC, Dr. Ellis is charged with planning, developing, directing, and managing all curatorial and education and outreach programs and activities. Prior to this position, Dr. Ellis was the first African American vice president for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where he managed all programs and operations.

He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Masters in Fine Arts from Wayne State University, a Masters of Divinity from Virginia Union University, and an Ed.D from the College of William and Mary. He is the author of two books, Beneath the Blazing Sun: Stories from the African American Journey, and With a Banjo on My Knee, which chronicles the history of black banjo players from the time of slavery to the present.

History Galleries: • Slavery and Freedom • Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: Era of Segregation 1876-1968 • A Changing America: 1968 & Beyond

Dr. Ellis’ presentations, lectures, workshops, and consultancies focus on public programming, diversity, interpretation, and African American History and culture.

His disciplinary interests include the spoken word and early American History, with special emphasis on slavery.

Community Galleries: • Power of Place • Making a Way Out of No Way • Sports Gallery • Military History Gallery

Plan to join us at 9:00 a.m. on March 21st, 2017 at The Hotel Roanoke to hear Dr. Ellis speak during our Annual Conference.

Learn more about the conference at vamuseums.org.

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Cover Story

African American history is America’s history - it is woven into our national fabric. And while all museums preserve our collective memory, some aspects of our history are so painful that we might choose to turn away, or to forget. That is why the NMAAHC is so important. From shameful institutions such as slavery to inspirational stories of unlikely triumph in the face of impossible odds, this museum takes a bold and comprehensive look at the African American experience. Many of these narratives only recently have begun to be integrated with our historical canon.

The NMAAHC in many ways codifies the African American story into America’s story in a way that only a major national museum can.

at selected intervals, offering views of the Washington Monument, the White House, and other Smithsonian museums. These are meant to provide moments of contemplation and respite. They also serve to highlight the fact that this museum views America through the lens of African American history and culture.

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A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story continued from page 3

Training aircraft used by Tuskegee Institute ca. 1944 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Culture Galleries: • Musical Crossroads • Cultural Expressions • Visual Arts Gallery • Taking the Stage Winding upward through the galleries (symbolic of the hard uphill battle that African Americans have fought throughout

their history), iconic artifacts on view include items belonging to Harriet Tubman, such as a lace shawl given to her by Queen Victoria (c.

1897), as well as her hymnal (c. 1876). Visitors can see a Bible belonging to Nat Turner (c.

1830’s) and the glass-topped coffin (c. 1955) that held the body of 14-year old Emmett Till, whose murder in Mississippi helped galvanize the civil rights movement. Additionally, works of art by the likes of Charles Alston, John Biggers, Elizabeth Catlett, Jacob Lawrence, and Romare Bearden are on view. Installed collection items showcase a varied, poignant history; visitors can experience a Jim Crowera railroad car (c. 1920), a slave cabin from Edisto Island, SC (c. 1800 – 1850), Chuck Berry’s red Cadillac convertible (c. 1973), a neon Soul Train sign (c. 1993), and a 20-foot-tall tower (c. 1930-1940’s) used by prison guards to watch prisoners at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, one of the largest maximum-security prisons in the nation.

Virginia artifacts are central to the story told at the NMAAHC. In fact, at the opening of the NMAAHC in September, President Obama’s speech ended with the ringing of a very special bell. This bell was from the Historic First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, a church established by slaves in 1776. In his speech that day, President Obama described its ceremonial ringing as, “… an echo of the ringing bells that signaled Emancipation more than a century and a half ago; the sound, and the anthem, of American freedom.” Indeed, from clothing made by unidentified slaves in the rural Blue Ridge to the leotard worn by Virginia Beach native Gabby Douglas during her first competitive season, artifacts that hail from Virginia help tell a story that is both painful and full of hope – a uniquely American story. d

Like Nat Turner’s Bible, which hails from Southampton County, many Virginians and VAM would like to thank Dorfman for their support of Virginia’s museums.

DORFMAN MUSEUM FIGURES, INC. Realistic Figures since 1957.

Conservation Forms since 1996.

Dorfman Conservation Forms created exclusively with Ethafoam® brand inert polyethylene foam.

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800-634-4873

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Direct Care of Collections: What it Means for Your Museum

by Heather Widener

Background: Direct Care Over two decades ago, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) adopted the Code of Ethics for Museums. In it, the following excerpt was intended to make recommendations regarding deaccessioning policies at museums:

The phrase, “direct care of collections,” was left broad enough to accommodate different museum disciplines and various museum policies. AAM did not define the phrase because the definition was meant to evolve and be further developed within collections management policies at museums. However, the phrase has continued to be a stumbling block; museums didn’t have the clarification they needed, and because of this, museums find it a challenge to apply the AAM standards consistently.

AAM’s Accreditation Commission prioritized the clarification and defining of “direct care of collections” and appointed the Direct Care Task Force, which in 2015 commissioned a field-wide survey related to the direct care of collections.

They found that the survey results reflected a surprising level of consistency regardless of museum discipline or a respondent’s position within a museum.

This assisted the Task Force in defining current standards and underlying principles.2 In April of 2016, AAM’s Direct Care Task Force issued a white paper entitled, Direct Care of Collections: Ethics, Guidelines, and Recommendations.

Along with the white paper, AAM has been working to disseminate the information and foster discussion at annual

Virginia Conversations on Direct Care The entire deaccessioning process is a challenge especially at small museums.

We spoke with Meghan Townes, visual studies collection registrar at the Library of Virginia, who hosted an AAM local colleague discussion focusing on the new AAM white paper and direct care of collections. Says Meghan, “The most challenging aspect of deaccessioning is getting to the stage where you can even contemplate a deaccession. It can be tempting to look at a deaccession as the solution to a variety of collection problems, but it is a tool that you can only effectively use if you’ve put in the time and effort beforehand. You need to have a full, up-to-date inventory and good documentation on provenance, condition, and value. Your collections management policy should be in line with the mission, vision, and values of your organization, so that any decision you make about deaccessioning is in line with those guidelines... Once you’ve done the groundwork, the deaccession itself becomes much easier because you have clear documentation and rationale that can be shared with institutional or community stakeholders.”

In addition to staff from the Library of Virginia, representatives from the Virginia Historical Society, The Valentine, Agecroft Hall, Ashland Museum, Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, and Stratford Hall attended the local colleague discussion in Richmond. In general, the attendees felt the white paper was most useful for providing a tool for talking with boards and leadership about using funds from deaccessioned objects. One participant indicated that their board tended to respond well to information presented visually, and the ability to use the Direct Care of Collections Matrix (see page 6) to walk them through a decision

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about the proper use of funds from a deaccession will be a benefit going forward. Says Townes, “You need to be able to guide your board or leadership through the process as a collections specialist, which is where the AAM white paper can be a lifesaver.”

The purpose of the white paper is to help museum professionals understand the history behind the use of the phrase “direct care of collections,” review ethics surrounding governance and collections stewardship, assist museum professionals and governing authorities with decision-making related to direct care, and to recommend a strengthening of collections management and deaccessioning policies.

Discipline-Specific Recommendations While the white paper’s recommendations remain general in nature and AAM recognizes the vast range of museum disciplines (and types of objects or living populations in museums’ care), their recommendations are based in ethical principles that are somewhat universal: “Museums are educational organizations “grounded in the tradition of public service” and, as such, hold their collections for the public benefit.”

“Collectively, museums share a responsibility for collections stewardship that “entails the highest public trust and carries with it the presumption of rightful ownership, permanence, care, documentation, accessibility, and responsible disposal.””

“Although [items in a museum’s collection] may have a monetary value, once they become part of a museum’s permanent collection, that value becomes secondary to their importance as a means to understanding our world and ourselves.

Consequently, museum collections are considered cultural – not financial – assets; to be held for the public benefit.”2 In addition to emphasizing the ethical components involved in collections stewardship and museum governance, AAM’s white paper incorporates the recommendations of many discipline-based

Technical Insert

“Disposal of collections through sale, trade, or research activities is solely for the advancement of the museum’s mission. Proceeds from the sale of nonliving collections are to be used consistent with the established standards of the museum’s discipline, but in no event shall they be used for anything other than acquisition or direct care of collections.”1

meetings, online on Museum Junction, and by supporting local colleague discussions.

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Direct Care of Collections continued from page 5 organizations, including the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), the American Public Gardens Association (APGA), the Association of Science Museum Directors (ASMD), the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC).

While AAM offers general guidelines, they defer to more specific guidelines for various disciplines. For example, the AAMD’s Professional Practices in Art Museums allows funds to be used only for acquisition. AASLH refers to “preservation,” specifying that profits from deaccessioned collections shall not be “used to provide financial support for institutional operations, facilities maintenance, or any reason other than preservation or acquisition of collections, as defined by institutional policy.”3 Sites with living plants and specimens also must consider variables such as threatened, endangered, and invasive species. APGA’s Plant Protection Program, for example, emphasizes regulations governing transfer of some of these living collections.

Direct Care of Collections Matrix Strategic investment consistent with responsible fiscal planning and adequate planning for collections; expense not normally considered part of museum’s operating budget

Makes physical or immediate impact on object(s) that increases or restores its cultural or scientific value, thus prolonging its life and usefulness

Tools for Decision-Making If all of this seems as clear as mud, or if your museum is in the unenviable, but not uncommon, position of having collections that fall into two, three, or more of these categories, AAM’s white paper offers even more support for your decision-making regarding the use of funds from deaccessioning. The Direct Care of Collections Matrix (upper right) is a tool that allows museums to plot a proposed expenditure to ascertain if the use of funds is appropriate under AAM guidelines. Additionally, AAM provided the following Guiding Questions2 to assist with decision making: • Will this investment enhance the life, usefulness, or quality of an object?

• Is this a strategic decision based, for example, on an institutional plan, a collections care plan, or a conservation assessment?

• Will the expenditure have a physical impact on an item(s) in the collections?

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1

2

The expense is considered direct care of collections.

The expenditure is in a gray area. Consider the ethical principles of direct care and ethics and standards of the museum’s discipline.

3

4

The expenditure is in a gray area. Consider the ethical principles of direct care and ethics and standards of the museum’s discipline.

The expense is not an acceptable use of funds.

Makes institution-wide impact that benefits areas or operations of entire museum, not just those associated with collections

Quick fix or Band-Aid used to fill budgetary gaps; not directly related to collections care; routine operating cost; regular maintenance

• Will this investment improve the physical condition of an item(s) in the collections rather than benefit the operation of the entire museum?

• Is this decision being made without pressure resulting from financial distress at the museum or parent organization?

• Is this a cost that is not normally considered part of the museum’s operating budget?

• Can this decision be clearly explained to the museum’s stakeholders and the public?

As you may have inferred, “yes” answers to these questions indicate that you are taking action in support of “direct care of collections.” Hopefully, the clarification provided by AAM and renewed professional discussions about deaccessioning will provide additional resources and food for thought for those who may otherwise have limited experience and confidence to go forth and deaccession (perhaps that will be a future VAM workshop title).

As Meghan Townes surmised, “The paper may encourage smaller museums to feel more confident about taking the step to use the funds from the sale of deaccessioned items towards the direct care of collections items.” d This Technical Insert is designed to provide information about the subject matter covered. It is published with the understanding that the Virginia Association of Museums does not engage in rendering accounting, legal, or other professional services or consultations. If you require expert assistance, seek the counsel and services of a knowledgeable expert.

The Direct Care of Collections Matrix was reproduced with permission from the American Alliance of Museums.

Code of Ethics for Museums, American Alliance of Museums; 1994.

Direct Care of Collections: Ethics, Guidelines, and Recommendations, American Alliance of Museums; 2006.

3 Statement of Professional Standards and Ethics, American Association of State and Local History; 2012.

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www.vamuseums.org

2015 - 2016

Annual Report

This past year, VAM implemented our new membership program, allowing ALL staff, volunteers and board members of member institutions to have free individual memberships and benefit from all of our services.

We are so excited about the enthusiastic reception this program has gotten, and even more excited to have new faces engaged with VAM, coming to workshops, joining the certificate program, and taking advantage of services like resume review. To date, we have added over 1600 new members due to this program! FY2016 also saw our 69th graduate from our successful 11 year old Virginia Certificate in Museum Management. Our partnership with John Tyler Community College grew, too, as they saw the first graduates from our joint museum studies career certificate. Overall, FY2016 was an exciting time of change and growth for VAM. As we head into 2017, we are counting on your support to keep VAM not only the largest state museum association in the nation, but the nation’s very best example of professional stewardship and collegiality.

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Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

Al Schweizer, in honor of VAM Staff and Board Blair, Inc. Capitol Museum Services, Inc. Cinebar Productions, Inc. Cortina Productions DeLoris Lowe Davis Glavé & Holmes Architecture Gropen, Inc. Gunston Hall

HealyKohler Design Highway Information Media, LLC Hollinger Metal Edge Muscarelle Museum of Art Museum Studies Program, Lynchburg College Northern Trust OnCell Quatrefoil Associates

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Left to right: Former VAM President Tracy Gillespie receives a standing ovation during our 2016 Annual Conference in Williamsburg; with the help of artifacts, VAM members educate representatives from the General Assembly during our 2016 Virginia Museum Advocacy Day, held January 14, 2016 in Richmond; The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown rolls out the red carpet during an evening event for VAM conference attendees, March 14, 2016.

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RCM&D Riggs Ward Design The Design Minds, Inc. Tracy Gillespie University of Richmond’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies Virginia Foundation for the Humanities Waukeshaw Development Willis Fine Art, Jewelry and Specie

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Thank You Member Museums VAM represents all Virginia and Washington, D.C. museums through advocacy, professional education and support. We have over 2,000 members, consisting of individuals, businesses, and organizations, which range from historic houses to botanical gardens, aquariums, zoos, children’s museums, historical societies, art museums and galleries, battlefields, military museums, and more. VAM thanks the following member institutions for their support in FY2016, making our museum community the best in the nation!

Leadership Level Members

George Washington’s Mount Vernon Virginia Historical Society Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Virginia Museum of Natural History

INS-8 (annual budget over $4M*) Chrysler Museum of Art Colonial Williamsburg Foundation James Madison’s Montpelier Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Mariners’ Museum

Gunston Hall Plantation Hermitage Museum & Gardens Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU National D-Day Memorial Foundation National Sporting Library & Museum Oatlands Historic House and Gardens Portsmouth Museums Prince William County Historic Preservation Division The George Washington Foundation The Valentine Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest

Foundation William King Museum of Art Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library

INS-4 (annual budget $250,001 $500,000 *)

Belle Grove Plantation City of Fairfax (Fairfax Museum, Ratcliffe-Allison House, Historic Blenheim) City of Petersburg Museums Danville Museum of Arts & History DAR Museum

VAM would like to thank the following organizations for their substantial and ongoing support and commitment.

Monticello National Museum of the Marine Corps Norfolk Botanical Garden Office of Historic Alexandria Science Museum of Virginia Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources Virginia Living Museum

INS-7 (annual budget $2.5M-$4M*) Maymont Muscarelle Museum of Art Museum of the Shenandoah Valley Preservation Virginia Stratford Hall Plantation, Robert E. Lee Memorial Association The American Civil War Museum

INS-6 (annual budget $1M-$2.5M*) Birthplace of Country Music Museum Fralin Museum of Art

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Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art Virginia Zoological Park

INS-5(annualbudget$500,001- $1M*)

Agecroft Hall & Gardens Dumbarton House Frontier Culture Museum Gari Melchers’ Home and Studio at Belmont Hampton University Museum Henricus Historical Park, Henricus Foundation Longwood Center for the Visual Arts Manassas Museum System Pamplin Historical Park Science Museum of Western Virginia Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum Tudor Place Foundation Virginia Holocaust Museum Virginia Museum of Transportation, Inc. Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Virginia War Memorial Education

Hampton History Museum Hanover Tavern Foundation Historic Christ Church Historic St. Lukes Church Historical Society of Western Virginia Jefferson School African American Heritage Center Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, UVA Lynchburg Museum System National Firearms Museum Pleasant Grove House Museum Red Hill - Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation St. John’s Church Foundation Taubman Museum of Art Virginia Beach Historic Houses Washington Heritage Museums Wilton House Museum / NSCDA-VA Woodrow Wilson House, National Trust for Historic Preservation

INS-3 (annual budget $100,001 $250,000 *)

Aldie Mill Historic Park, NVRPA Carlyle House Historic Park Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum Clarke County Historical Association Museum & Archives Daura Gallery, Lynchburg College DEA Museum & Visitors Center Edgar Allan Poe Museum Fairfax County Park Authority Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center George Washington Masonic National Memorial Hampton Roads Naval Museum Historic Crab Orchard Museum Historic Hopewell Foundation, Inc. Historic Smithfield Plantation James Monroe Museum & Memorial Library James Monroe’s Highland Lee Chapel and Museum Lee Hall Mansion / Endview Plantation Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden Loudoun Museum Menokin Foundation Museum of Culpeper History Newtown History Center of the Stone House Foundation Old City Cemetery Museums & Arboretum Old Coast Guard Station Reedville Fishermen’s Museum Reynolds Homestead Robert Russa Moton Museum Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park The Heritage Museum, HarrisonburgRockingham Historical Society Virginia Museum of the Civil War Virginia Quilt Museum Virginia Repertory Theatre Virginia War Museum

INS-2 (annual budget $25,001 $100,000*)

Afro-American Historical Association

of Fauquier County Museum Archaeological Society of Virginia Artspace Gallery Baron & Ellin Gordon Art Galleries at ODU Bath County Historical Society Bedford City County Museum Beth Ahabah Museum & Archives Blacksburg Museum & Cultural Foundation Blue Ridge Institute & Museum Botetourt County Historical Society & Museum Chesterfield Historical Society Eastern Shore of VA Historical Society Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum Essex County Museum Fauquier History Museum at the Old Jail Friends of Chevra Thelim-Jewish Museum & Cultural Center George C. Marshall Museum Gloucester Museums, Gloucester CH Green & Visitor Center Henrico County Museum Services Historic Sandusky Historical Society of Washington County John J. Wright Museum Louisa County Historical Society MacCallum More Museum & Gardens Maier Museum of Art, Randolph College Mary Ball Washington Museum Montgomery Museum & Lewis Miller Regional Art Center Museum of Bags Museum of Chincoteague Island Museum of the Middle Appalachians Oakland, Nelson County Historical Society Princess Anne County Training School Riddick’s Folly Rockbridge Historical Society Salem Museum & Historical Society

South Boston-Halifax County Museum of Fine Arts and History Spotsylvania County Museum Stonewall Jackson House Suffolk-Nansemond Historical Society Town of Wytheville Museums U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum U.S. Army Transportation Museum U.S. Army Women’s Museum University Collections of Art and History, Washington and Lee University University of Richmond Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society Virginia Civil War Trails VMI Museum Warren Rifles Confederate Memorial Museum Waynesboro Heritage Foundation Weems-Botts Museum, Historic Dumfries Wilderness Road Regional Museum Wolf Creek Cherokee Tribal Center & Museum Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum

INS-1 (annual budget up to $25,000*) A.T. Johnson Museum African American Historical Society of Portsmouth Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society Alleghany Historical Society Allen E. Roberts Masonic Library & Museum, Inc. Appomattox County Historical Society Arlington Historical Society Ashland Museum Association for the Preservation of Henrico Antiquities Brownsburg Museum Camera Heritage Museum

Cape Charles Historical Society, Museum & Welcome Center Captain Timothy Hill House Carver Price Legacy Museum Cherry Hill Farmhouse, Friends of Cherry Hill Farm Foundation Cold War Museum D. Ralph Hostetter Museum of Natural History Danville Historical Society Emory & Henry College Esther Thomas Atkinson Museum Fairfax Station Railroad Museum, Friends of the Fairfax Station Floyd County Historical Society Fort Valley Museum, Inc. Gloucester Museum of History Grayson Crossroads Museum, Historic 1908 Courthouse Greene County Historical Society Holley Graded School, Inc. Hopewell Museum of Art & Intercultural History Josephine School Community Museum Kernstown Battlefield Association King & Queen County Historical Society & Museum L.E. Coleman African American Museum Legacy Museum of African American History Library of Virginia Mathews County Historical Museum, Inc. Matthews Living History Farm Museum Middlesex County Museum & Historical Society, Inc. Miles B. Carpenter Museum Complex Miller’s House Museum Norfolk Southern Museum Ohef Sholom Temple Archives Ordnance Training & Heritage Center

Pamunkey Indian Museum & Cultural Center Patrick County Historical Society Museum & Family Research Center Patsy Cline Historic House Piedmont Arts Poquoson Museum Port Republic Museum Portsmouth Historical Association Radford University Art Museum Rappahannock Historical Society Rawls Museum Arts Reuel B. Pritchett Museum Richmond County Museum Richmond Railroad Museum Rockfish Valley Foundation Rosewell (The Rosewell Foundation, Inc.) Sanders House Charitable Trust Schoolfield Museum & Cultural Center Second Union Rosenwald School, Inc. Suffolk Art Gallery Sweet Briar College, Art Collection & Galleries Tangier History Museum The National Civil War Chaplains Museum TRADOC Military History & Heritage Office Vietnam War Foundation Virginia Distillery Company Virginia Institute of Marine Science Warren Heritage Society Warrenton Antiquarian SocietyWeston Farmstead Waterford Foundation Workhouse Arts Center York County Historical Museum

* As reported to VAM, FY2016

Thank You Benefactors!

The following individuals maintain a higher level VAM membership, allowing us to proivde free membership to students.

Contact the VAM office for information on upgrading.

Eric App Paige Backus Leighann Boland Jamie Bosket Mikell Brown Gretchen Bulova Margo Carlock Roger Courtenay

Karen Daly Audrey Davis Elizabeth Davison Tracy Gillespie Linda Gouaze Charles Grant Douglas Harvey Michael Henry

Anna Holloway William Kelly Twyla Kitts Melanie Mathewes Melissa Mullins Jeanne Niccolls Jeffrey Nichols William Obrochta

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Robert Orrison Nancy Perry Robin Reed Kym Rice Gary Sandling Alvin Schweizer Scott Stroh Robert Vaughan

John Verrill Dale Wheary Sarah Whiting Charlotte Whitted

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2015 - 2016 Annual Report, Continued Statement of Financial Position *Modified Cash Basis

Assets

FY2015 FY2016

Current Assets

Cash & cash equivalents $64,076 $73,686 Investments, at fair value $145,613 $145,985

Total Assets

VAM is grateful to have significant volunteer support. We had 254 volunteers assisting us in FY2016 with everything from our Annual Conference to Virginia Museum Advocacy Day to Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts Program. Our volunteers embody the spirit of VAM and inspire our museum community every day.

A SNAPSHOT OF VAM’S REACH IN FY2016 2447 members

$209,689

$219,671

$424

$1,013

Unrestricted $196,487 Temporarily Restricted $12,778

$214,578 $4,080

115 students enrolled in the Virginia Certificate in Museum Management

$218,658

452 Conference Attendees

Liabilities Payroll Liabilities

Net Assets

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Thank You Volunteers!

Total Net Assets

$209,265

Total Liabilities and Net Assets

$209,689 $219,671

Virginia Museum Advocacy Day (in partnership with Virginia Foundation for the Humanities): 36 participants met with 62 representatives and general assembly staff

172 Workshop Attendees

2015 Top 10 Endangered Artifacts: 25 participating sites 35,000 votes cast 42 press clippings

What is the Point of Museums?

A Q&A with Peter Armstrong

PA: I’ve been involved in the making of a major new museum. Museums are great and wonderful, but the real question is why would you want to build one today?

100 years ago the only way to see artifacts and to understand them was to go to a museum. Then, museums were each other’s primary competitors. But knowledge is no longer reserved for a few. Museums are no longer the keepers of that knowledge.

The information is available in your pocket.

VAM: Now that we can find information on any topic at any time, what is a museum’s role?

VAM: If we can view images of any object in high resolution why would anyone want to see the real thing?

PA: That is a provocative question. You might have something online, but if you

There was once a time when our great cities were growing and those cities felt they needed a museum, a huge museum like a Greek temple with steps and pillars. Now we have these incredible museums, but we need to look at ourselves very hard, because we’re not in that space right now. We need to spread our message much farther and wider. But we love our museums. We love our buildings. We love our objects and our cases. But actually we can fulfill our mission by sometimes allowing people to sit on the sofa in their homes with their iPads.

VAM would like to thank Historic St. John’s Church for their support of Virginia’s museums.

Program Updates

Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation (JYF) Senior Director for Museum Operations and Education Peter Armstrong will present a Town Hall session at VAM’s Annual Conference entitled What is the Point of Museums? Coming to JYF from Great Britain, Mr. Armstrong brings unique insights from a non-American perspective. We talked with Mr. Armstrong as we gear up for the conference session.

We need to start looking at museums’ function in a whole new way; what is their role now within society? Do they have a message they are trying to get across?

What more could a museum be doing? Ask yourself If your museum closed tomorrow, who cares? You’d be unhappy, because you would be out of a job. But for the public, would they just say, “oh that’s a shame” and move on? Do you have an influence?

put it in a museum, there’d be lines around the corner. There is a draw to seeing the real thing. Of course there are always objects that will be blockbusters, things like the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Terra Cotta Warriors. The question is how do you make your objects that compelling? Museums need to use every technique possible.

Don’t dismiss the idea of having it on the iPad. If you want to tell the story, want people to understand the object, then there is value in that. There are multiple ways of getting those messages across.

VAM would like to thank dmdg2 for their support of Virginia’s museums.

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A Q&A with Peter Armstrong continued from page 11 VAM: How has the role of curators changed?

PA: Curators need to reassess who they are, and what they are saying. Previously, they were the keepers of the knowledge but now others have that knowledge too. These days, we expect a two-way communication. We all expect to be able to (digitally) have a conversation, leave comments, give opinions. We need to be able to give and receive information. Information dissemination is no longer a one-way street.

Curators understand that many stories accompany an object. For example, there is a musket.

There are varied stories related to that musket: How does it work? What’s the story behind the person who fired it? What’s the story behind the person who was fired at? How was it manufactured? It is no longer acceptable to offer just one interpretation. For example, some visitors want to survey and scan the museum, then leave. Others dive in and swim with the information a bit deeper. Still others come armed with more knowledge and really want to dive deep. We need to give opportunities for all of these types of visitors.

General George Patton Museum Fort Knox, Kentucky

I just want people to start thinking about it particularly about the social role of the museum.

What are they doing that makes a difference in the outside world? If they are just allowing people to come in and see their stuff, that’s not good enough.

I think it’s interesting that The Museums Association in Britain (think the counterpart of AAM)

issued a five point objective for museums, and the first of those was to be socially relevant to society. Next came to look after objects and collect.

This is a major shift. Perhaps we now think about a different role for museums. d Interested in the conversation? Join Peter Armstrong and VAM for more in-depth discussion Monday, March 20, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. for the Town Hall session at The Hotel Roanoke.

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10/20/16 2:11 PM

National D-Day Memorial Prepares for Another Milestone

by April Cheek-Messier

S

eventy-five years ago, a group of American boys kissed mothers and girlfriends goodbye, picked up their duffels, and filed in good order onto a train in Bedford, VA. None could know it, but they were departing for a rendezvous with history. They were Company A of the 116th Regiment, 29th Division—better known as the Bedford Boys.

And then word had come that the guardsmen would be nationalized in

It wasn’t long before the 29th Division found themselves headed for war-torn England. Company A would be chosen as the leading wave at a place in France soon renamed Omaha Beach. There the Bedford Boys would make history.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, over 150,000 troops made their way to the coast of Normandy. Out of the 170 soldiers in company A, 91 died, 64 were wounded, and only 15 were able to continue fighting. Most were killed within the first fifteen minutes of the assault. Of the 37 Bedford soldiers in Company A, 19 died on D-Day, as well as another soldier from Company F, thus accounting for the highest per capita loss from any single community in the United States.

Years of hard work and dedication to see a monument to D-Day established were finally realized on June 6, 2001 when the National D-Day Memorial

Wi nte r 2 0 1 6

officially opened to the public with a dedication ceremony that included President George W. Bush and over 24,000 people in attendance.

Fifteen years later, the Memorial is continuing its original mission of honoring the valor, fidelity and sacrifice of the Allied Forces who participated in the Normandy invasion. Yet, it is important to note, we do not preserve the story simply for its own sake, historically momentous as it was, but rather for how it informs the world we live in today, and what it has to tell the future. We live with the effects of D-Day every day; the freedom and opportunity enjoyed by so much of the world was reborn in the first steps of Allied soldiers on Normandy’s beaches more than seven decades ago. A list of major international powers today reveals the presence of nations that over seventy years ago were either firmly under the fascist boot-heel or mightily resisting the same fate. The success of those same nations today was set in motion by millions of ordinary men and women on a single extraordinary day. The power of people, of individual courage, of innovation, these are the lessons D-Day offers the future.

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They were farmers, factory workers, baseball players, hunters. Few were married; most were barely old enough to shave. Generally, they had joined the National Guard for the adventure—and the $30 a month stipend, big money in the days of the Depression. While they understood that they could be called up, and (as had happened once to their fathers) be sent to war, it seemed a remote possibility. The nation was at peace, and the faraway European war seemed unlikely to intrude on their idyllic hometown.

early 1941 for a one-year stint in the regular army. The men accepted it as a part of the game: part inconvenience, part grand adventure. A year of drilling, training, shooting—it would all be over soon. Except, it wasn’t.

In keeping with those lessons, the Memorial has embarked on exciting new initiatives as it enters the four-year commemoration phase of WWII’s 75th anniversary. Working with the Virginia World War I and World War II Commemoration Commission, the Memorial is already planning for the 75th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 2019, an event that will bring international attention and most likely the last and largest gathering of Normandy veterans in the country. The event represents one of the last, best opportunities for dialogue about this pivotal moment in history

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National D-Day Memorial Prepares for Another continued from page 13 between large numbers of those who lived it, those who study it, and those who live with its effects.

The Memorial is also working closely with the commission in the planning of a series of teacher symposiums in 2017 as well as panel discussions that focus on

the future of WWII heritage sites once the WWII generation is no longer with us.

Among our most recent initiatives on site is the creation of a Gold Star Families Memorial Monument. This latest addition will be dedicated on Memorial Day 2017 and will honor Gold Star families who have sacrificed so much throughout our history.

Next spring, the Memorial also will dedicate a period style Quonset hut as seen on military bases across the nation in the 1940s and in both theaters of the war. The Quonset hut will pay tribute to this important facet of WWII history and to the men and women who utilized them to help win the war.

This particular project is a small portion of the Memorial’s multi-faceted 20-year master plan, completed earlier in the year. Included in the master plan is an

outdoor amphitheater, a large event center, a nature trail, and the Memorial’s education center.

The Memorial has embraced virtual learning through the Field Trip Zoom platform and has partnered with Google through the Google Cultural Institute and Google cardboard projects to make the Memorial more interactive.

With a large collection of artifacts, our goal is to show as much as we can virtually and to provide an added resource to teachers and students. The Memorial’s virtual programming will have reached out to over 200 classrooms in downtown Chicago alone by the end of this year.

With these educational initiatives, the Memorial continues to highlight the epic story of D-Day and WWII. There are more veterans of D-Day than any other

VAM would like to thank The Curtis Group for their support of Virginia’s museums.

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Milestone engagement in the Second World War, derived from every sector of our population and reflecting a wide variety of backgrounds, each one with a distinct and unique tale to tell. As keepers of their memory, it is up to all of us to pass on

their stories and inspire others to discover what one generation was willing to give to preserve freedom for the next. d Though the Memorial was warranted by Congress, it receives no state or federal funding.

National D-Day Memorial P.O. Box 77 Bedford, VA 24523 800-351-DDAY dday.org April Cheek-Messier is the president of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation. She is a also a former VAM council member.

Photo captions: Nearly 400 Virginia Tech freshmen from the Corps of Cadets visit the National D-Day Memorial each Fall (page 13). One of Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts for 2016: Eisenhower’s Order of the Day, issued to troops prior to the June 6, 1944 invasion of Normandy. Bob Slaughter, D-Day veteran and the founder of the National D-Day Memorial, had 75 of his fellow soldiers sign his copy prior to the battle (page 14). Thru the Surf sculpture located in the Memorial’s Invasion Tableau at the National D-Day Memorial (left); View of the English folly and sculpture of General Dwight Eisenhower at the National D-Day Memorial (below). Photos courtesy of National D-Day Memorial.

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President’s Corner Dear Colleagues,

The Virginia Association of Museums will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2018, and preparations are underway to honor that milestone. Send us your old-school pictures!

As we plan to celebrate VAM’s first half-century, the governing council is planning VAM’s future.

Our vision is to create a “united museum community inspiring the world around us.” We all recognize the power of museums to preserve, to teach, and to inspire. VAM’s purpose is to connect, to assist, and to empower all of you and to grow our museum community. With growth in mind, we have taken recent steps related to membership, to advocacy, and to fundraising for VAM’s growth. We restructured our membership in 2015, allowing everyone affiliated with a member museum—volunteers, staff, and board members—to join VAM at no charge to you. This is an important step in our community’s growth. As of November 2016, we have 200 member institutions and over 2000 individual members. Our total membership has doubled with no attendant loss of membership revenue.

But growth must mean more than just membership numbers and membership revenue. To promote and provide for the needs of our museum community, VAM has to grow in what it offers. Toward that end, VAM is working to increase our advocacy at the state and federal levels. Mark your calendars for Museum Advocacy Day on January 12th in Richmond and for National Museum Advocacy Day in Washington on February 27th &

28th. I hope to see us turn out more than 100 people to show our delegates and senators what museums mean to the Commonwealth and to post an equally impressive delegation in Washington. Stand up and tell the story of your museum’s impact on the quality and life and on the economy of your community!

We are also working with sponsors and vendors to develop new benefits and opportunities for member institutions and professional development opportunities for individuals. We are reaching out to more universities in the Commonwealth, including a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, about our student membership program. Our museum community will benefit from fully representing all of the people of Virginia.

We want to create a VAM that is not only sustainable, but flourishing. A VAM that has thousands of members who are engaged in promoting the significance of our member museums throughout the commonwealth to elected officials, community leaders, and our fellow citizens. Help spread the word, and, if you can, help by contributing to VAM’s annual giving effort.

You’ll notice that we’ve included a donation envelope in this magazine. Please consider a donation that will help grow and nurture our museum community.

This is your association. As we grow in vitality and in size, we want to hear from you about what you want VAM to be, and VAM to do, as we grow our united museum community.

Sincerely,

Gary Gary Sandling President Virginia Association of Museums

Save the Date - VAM’s 2017 Annual Conference will be in Roanoke March 18th - 21st. Join us!