Here is what we talked about in class today:
Strengths -
* Specific institution, subject based
* Relatable content
* Diversity/variety in exhibitions and programming
* Universal, resonant to everyday life and all people
* Unique Learning Environment: Programming
- Have diverse staff in both cultural/ethnic make-up as well as food topic experience and knowledge.
- Have some bi-lingual content in audio guides
* Committed to accessibility and transparency
* Use food to address larger social, cultural experiences in the United States
* Part of Museum's Core will be interpretation, we will make food resonant with visitors.
* Serve as a center for academia to work through our collection, write papers and publications as well as add content, academic knowledge to the museum. We will take that content and make it accessible to the larger public.
- Combine Academia with the accessibility of the Food Network, a balance of scholarship and broad interpretation and dissemination.
**Innovation:
A key strength, have innovative exhibitions and programs, such as the Memory Food Bank or Food Memory Bank where visitors from across the world (ie the website) and in the museum can relate discuss their food memories, their food experiences, recipes, etc with the musuem.
- we can thus share those on the website or in other exhibitions (if allowed via permission).
** Weaknesses
- Having a diverse, young staff with scattered training and topic focus
-- How do we address this, unify our museum and its topic focuses
* Do we do job training related to the various topics so everyone has experience, general knowledge?
* How do we compete with other small, subject based museums in NYC (Toy Museum, Transit Museum, Museum of Finance, etc)
- Provide engaging exhibitions on our specific subject, work in partnerships
* How do we compete with online food content: virtual museums, blogs, etc
- Perhaps more partnerships and promotion of each other?
* How do we advertise?
** Opportunities:
- External Advertising
-- We will have a board of network heads that can help advertise, partner with other museums and cultural institutions.
- The buzz around food is a constant
-- We will always have trends, discussions, news, content to display and discuss.
** Unique Services:
- Memory Food Bank
- Teaching Lab
- Interactives (website), social media
** Clear, easy to use, functioning website
Perhaps have section where people can customize content if they create a login?
** Threats
Web-Based Competition
Having to Deal with large corporations for funding, content
Too Many Donations, how to be selective (maybe internal issue too)
How to get the word out about the Museum before opening?
Launch website before Museum opening have space for feedback, updates on creating the museum.
* Cultural Values/Goals
- Knowledge of different departments, either through shadowing for a day, creating own tour program each year, or having weekly/monthly lunch-ins to share with whole museum.
- Be able to be passionate carriers of the museums programs, mission
- Diverse Staff Members in knowledge base and cultural affiliation.
- Team environment on projects but a general hierachy of people to report to
- Professionalization also key!
Board of Directors:
Have meetings with staff after board meetings at the museum. Ask and answer questions, mingle in reception like event.
But Director of Museum and Chairman of Board have main overall contact
Volunteers, Interns, and Junior Staff:
All have orientations, professional training, info sessions, presentation dates, special events
- feel included in the overall structure of museum, understand importance of their work
Weekly emails/newsletter to staff written by staff.
- Provide Amenities and focus to lower level staff
External Strategies:
Community Based Work: Informed through focus/front end evaluation, especially for cultural exhibitions.
- Utilize website to pose and ask for feedback
Access the overall community and audience periodically
Have exhibitions travel after in museum to other partner museums, including university museums.
Donors: Compromise will be key, how to promote the donor, while keeping Museum integrity
Location? LES for the start and if in need of space expansion utilize neighborhoods like Atlantic Avenue BK or Astoria Queens.
MAKE SURE WE HAVE:
- Executive Summary
- How did the Strategic Plan Come Together? Who were the players?
- Steps to plan taken to get to plan
- Broad Summaries and then Action Plans
- Constant Role of Assessment and Evaluation (studies, audience, community, school groups, etc.)
Who are not our constituents, how do we reach them?
Audience Demographic Meeting Notes:
As you know I think a lot about education here are some things I thought about on my own.
- Food is essentially relatable and resonant with people, thus I do not believe we would have a museum that does not attempt to relate its exhibits to the lives, memories, and understandings of our visitors.
- Something to think also about is scaffolding, people come in (esp with food) a knowledge base, how can we add to it?
- Because we will be talking history we will have some didactic labeling but also have inquiry-based questions to relate it back to the visitor.
** Target Audiences:
- Tourists (American)
- Families
- School Groups
- Adults (foodie, food enthusiasts)
- Children
What to have to appeal, education, garner to those audiences?
Archives: Used by Students, and School Groups, as well as academics.
General Library: for families, and all audiences
Family Day (one a month free): Families, Kids
Audio, Programs, Tours: In different languages (make sure to do survey of languages of the area as well as common)
Audio Guide/large text packets: sight impaired, difficulty reading small text, also for those who want to see the permanent gallery and speak other languages.
Teaching Lab: School Groups, have tactile objects on hand for those who are signt impaired or for School groups
Handicap accessible entrance, galleries, and bathrooms.
Food Museum Tours for those who are signt impaired, special education
a One Hour "Food Museum See and Learn Tour:" For Tourists to see the bulk of the museum so they can feel like they accomplished seeing the museum in a short time.
ALSO: Scratch and Sniff Stickers, different foods each day!
Collections Meeting Notes:
Here are some blurry notes from this weeks mini meeting.
Debra said some key things for us to remember, such as perhaps having a draft checklist for everyone as we present at the end of the semester
as well as some key aspects of determining the collection:
- Statement of Purpose of the Collection
- Statement of Collection Strategies
- Collection parameters
- How it relates to the mission, strengthens, is in response to, accomplishes it.
So this is what we discussed:
- Some parameters (because anyone and their grandmother could send us stuff)
* Highest Quality (within its field)
* Of good physical quality
*Has significance/a story (whether that be historical, cultural) why is this object important.
* Good Provenance, strong history of ownership
*Is rightfully owned by who is donating it.
*Reviewed by the Board, Collections Committee
* Fits within our mission
*Physical Constraints (?)
Statement of Purpose *for collection
DRAFT: The Museum of Food in America, will utilize its collections to express to visitors the long history of food production, consumption, and culture in the United States as well as highlight how they interact and understand food in their dailies lives and its use, effect, in history.
DRAFT 2: Objects will be displayed, used in programs to educate the visitor about how food reflects or effects the larger social, cultural, political, and economic issues throughout history.
Will utilize food as documentation, human expression of daily life inside and outside the home. (that's my own)
We will have key trends of collect from
Agriculture
Food Trends
Relating to Health
Tools of Consumption and Containment
Advertising
We will collect in terms of exhibitions in some aspects
but should start with a general collection
* Would like to have foundational objects
* Multipurpose objects, that can serve many functions or be in different exhibitions.
I was thinking it would be nice to have a community member or a family provide us some key food material culture and tell the story of how these items relate to their history of food in america, what that is more exhibition side or small gallery space size, or even a case somewhere in the museum.
Board Creation Meeting Notes:
We wanted to ensure that EDUCATE, DIVERSITY, and DAILY LIFE (sorry for the caps) were all key to the mission:
The Museum of Food in America strives to educate the public about the ever-changing and diverse role that food has played in American history, as well as in the present daily lives of America's diverse inhabitants.
OR
The Museum of Food in America strives to educate the public about food's diverse and ever-changing role in American society.
-America (meaning US proper)
** everyone check out "Seeds of Change"
Board:
Potential ideas:
Ruth Rial (Gourmet Magazine Editor) (either good for Board, consultant)
Susan Cand - Culture Through Food (academic, could be one board, consultant, or perhaps a key researcher)
Frank Burr (Restaurant Critic) (Potential board, researcher, brought in consultant curator)
Laura E. Butzel: Lawyer, Museum and Law (potential Board, key museum consultant)
David C. Novak (CEO of YUM!) (pot. Board)
Odie C. Donald (Restaurant Owner Corp) (Pot. Board)
Michael .... (Food Channel) (Pot. Board, consultant)
Robert Federer (CEO of Kraft foods) (pot. board)
Rayna Greene (Academic, Food and Wine History Team at the Smithsonian) (pot. board, consultant or guest curator)
Ethnobotanist (potential researcher, consultant, pot. board)
USDA Previous Director (potential board, federal legitimacy)
Feeding America, one of the largest feeding, hunger networks in the US (Consultant, potential board, non-profit based)
Tom Collicio (star power)
* Responsibilities/Duties:
- Contribute Funds (give and get system)
- Contribute expertise or knowledge related to museums focus (law, federal knowledge, history, marketing, etc)
- Garner support and visibility for the museum
- Advocate for the museum, its mission.
-Attend Board functions
* 4 times a year meetings (allowed to miss one)
* Attend large annual meeting (mandatory)
- No less the 10 members and no more then 20
(how long are the terms of being a board member (2 years, 5 years?)
Do we want trustee committees?
-Collections committee, education, marketing, nominating (helps the process of electing board)
ALSO treasurer, Secretary for the board (staff member?), head of the board (who directly deals with the Director of the Museum on a consistant basis and communicates info to the rest of the board.
First Meeting Notes:
Museum of Food in America
Ideas we through out as perhaps a part of a potential mission
- food is foundational
- can be a catalyst of social, cultural, political change upheavel or symbolic of that change.
- Interested in american adaptations of immigrant, international foods.
- Iconography around food
What type of museum are we (history, cultural, art)
A museum that utilizes culture, history, and art as fields to look at food (scopes to discuss food in america)
cultural
political
personal
economic
embedded in media
yummy
scientific
Relatable, Fun, educational, necessity
Permanent exhibit: a historical timeline of food in america than highlight interesting aspects, themes, trends, etc
Engage diverse communities about the Evolution of food in America
Education is key
Audience: Families, individuals of all ages, gastronomes, foodies, history enthusiasts, local NYC community.
Ideas for a mission? Food reflects the innovation, creativity, and diversity of the united states.
Food as representative of the cultural, historical, political shifts and evolutions in the United States from the moment indigeous peoples made their first meal to today. We aim to reflect the true, long history of America from Native American meal items and preperations to the movements and evolutions in food preperation and consumption in the present.
** so these are some random notes, please add if you have ideas, jags of inspiration for this mission!
