Class of 2008 Master's Project Abstracts
Elizabeth Austerman
Coffee or Community? The Impact of For-Profit Play Spaces on Children's Museums Children's museums have dramatically transformed since their inception in the late nineteenth century. Throughout their history, children's museums have been in a constant state of re-definition, responding to the changing society. This master's project explores a phenomenon that currently impacts children's museums - the rise of for-profit play spaces that target a similar audience and offer seemingly comparable experiences. Additionally, this project calls on children's museums to reinvigorate their fundamental spirit of creativity as they respond to this new potential competitor and educate visitors about the unique educational value of hands-on, interactive learning that they provide. Heather Fordham
Old Photographs, New Venues: Balancing Collections Management and Online Engagement This Master's project investigates the considerations of history museums as they prepare to digitize photography collections and make them accessible online. Museums are charged with the dual responsibilities of protecting their collections and providing access to them. While technology offers opportunities for preserving historic photographs and making them widely accessible, online access also poses new questions for this old dilemma as museums determine how to balance reach and risk to ensure their collections are both safe and accessible. This project examines these dilemmas and debates and explores some possible solutions. Gabriella Nicole Giuliani
Websites Lost in Translation: Art Museums' Bilingual and Multilingual Online Content This Master's project investigates and analyzes of bilingual and multilingual content on major Western European and U.S. art museums' websites in order to determine how information is disseminated and how it might be revised to meet the needs of international tourists. The method of research looked the amount of information presented on the museum websites, and the depth of content available in the secondary languages. This research was confined to English and the dominant Indo European languages: French, Italian, German, and Spanish (referred to as FIGS). The goal was to identify trends in content management systems, interface design, and educational information. Natasha Glushkoff
Not Gone But Forgotten: Rediscovering the Historic Cemeteries of the San Francisco Bay Area This thesis explores how historic cemeteries in the San Francisco Bay Area can raise their profile as historic resources and alternative learning environments. Cemeteries are "archives of human history," offering a wealth of educational opportunities. Through thoughtfully-designed interpretive programs, a visit to an historic cemetery can provide unique insights on many aspects of local history. This paper presents case studies of several sites on the east coast and Midwest as well as two local sites. It summarizes current interpretive programs being offered in the U.S., and proposes suggestions that could be applied by local sites. Ten appendices offer additional information. Tara Jeanne-Marie Hadibrata
GIVING BACK: University Museums & the Repatriation of Pre-Columbian Antiquities Since delving into the world of museums, I found that the mere mention of the word, "repatriation" immediately provoked a reaction. Curators, collections managers, registrars, executive directors, and even artists breathed a collective sigh of dread, an anxiety that was palpable once my research began. I knew I wanted to tackle a topic that amounted from these anxieties; something that was not only challenging, but also encouraged dialogue on an international scale. It is an issue that addresses museums at present and forces us to re-think centuries-old practices, specifically within the arena of archaeology and the field collection of artifacts. For my Master's Project Thesis, I sought to address these concerns and analyze them further, researching topics on cultural property management and legislation with a focus on pre-Columbian antiquities. I explored how repatriation has influenced these issues, analyzing ways that university museums have responded and how their practices have changed. Libbie Hodas
In The Moment: Encouraging Civic Dialogue Through Museum Theatre This project explores the use of live theatrical performance as a mission-related vehicle to create opportunities within the museum for the facilitation of civic dialogue about social issues. Investigating the use of theatre to generate visitor discussion, this master's project analyzes the current use of issue-based theatre programs and how they might spark visitor discussion and improve the relationships between museums and their communities, furthering civic engagement mandates made by the American Association of Museums. This project highlights findings from three case studies: The Autry National Center in Los Angeles, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and The UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. This research concludes that museum theatre is a catalyst for civic dialogue and also makes recommendations for best practices in museum theatre programming. Rebecca Horta
Museum Representations of the Mexican Immigrant Experience: Contando la otra historia de Los Angeles In this project, I explore how Los Angeles museums can better represent and engage local Mexican immigrants through programs and exhibitions. I achieve this by analyzing how three museums personify and connect with immigrant communities. My three case studies are: The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York, The New Americans Museum in San Diego, and the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle. Los Angeles has a long history of Mexican immigration, and there is an opportunity for museums to better address the topic because it would resonate with the Los Angeles community. While there has been a continued interest in Mexican American art and culture in Los Angeles over the past decades, there have been minimal museum representations dedicated to Mexican immigration. Therefore, by showcasing the Mexican immigrant experience, not only would museums give voice to those stories, which may go unheard, but also strengthen its place in the history of Los Angeles. Jennifer Levy
From Sharks to Sugar: Addressing Conservation Issues of Non-Traditional Contemporary Art Media This project is an investigation into how museums holding contemporary art in the United States can more effectively communicate with artists in order to conserve artwork made from alternative media and accessioned into museums' permanent collections. This type of art is made from non-traditional materials that conservators are not typically trained to care for. Historically, fine arts conservation has been broken down into categories of traditional media such as paintings, textiles, photographic materials, etc. However, approaches to conservation have changed over time as artists have increasingly employed everyday objects, mixed media, and ephemeral media. In this project, I focus on contemporary art made with nontraditional ephemeral materials by living artists. Artists and all museum staff should be educated about this type of art and its unique conservation needs. This Masters project focuses on conducting and documenting artist interviews at the time of accession. Interviews can capture information valuable for conservation such as artist intent, process, and materials used. In the field of conservation, training for interviewing living artists is becoming increasingly valued. However, when there are no conservators on staff at a museum holding this type of contemporary art, collections managers and registrars should become involved in or even instigate an interview program, and should receive training on how to interview artists. As a form of preventative conservation, capturing this important information and documenting it as soon as possible when acquiring a work can be invaluable for future conservation efforts. Kerrick A. Lucker
A Question of Voice: The de Young Museum's African Gallery and the Museum of the African Diaspora Responses to criticisms of racial inequity in museums include the reform of traditional museums to interpret indigenous art in more respectful ways, and the formation of "first voice" museums to present the experiences of groups of people in their own terms. This paper compares two museum experiences: the African Art Gallery of the de Young Museum, a traditional art museum that was revisioned in 2005, and the Africa.Dot.Com exhibition of the Museum of the African Diaspora, a new museum positioned as a "first voice" museum for people of African descent. Kathrin Elizabeth Randall
Sign of the Times: Parental Advisory Signs and Family Visitors in Art Museums A new kind of fig leaf seems to be appearing in today's art museums: parental advisory signs for visitors have become an increasingly common feature of art exhibitions. On the basis of three case studies of art museums in Northern California and additional interviews, this Master's Project attempts to investigate the issue of parental advisory signs in art museums. The research found that advisory signs seem to have a dual purpose: they seek to "warn" a specific family audience about themes and content of art works that the museum expects to be difficult for families, but also seem to have a symbolic function to pre-empt external censorship and avoid disenfranchising' financial donors. Celeste L. Scholz
Art Museum Educators and Working Artists Artists have had a long and diverse relationship with museums. However, a recent trend in programming now focuses on the collaboration between artists, communities and families. A critical element of programmatic success relies on the caliber of artist chosen to participate in these programs. It is left to the museum educator to seek out artists who can help bring success to museum programming and impact the visitor's experience in a positive and effective manner. This project investigates the recruiting and hiring techniques used by museum educators when seeking to hire artists to facilitate public programs in the museum. Also investigated is the artists' perspective of this relationship and what their needs are. This project determined that there is a lack of standardized practice when museum educators recruit and hire visual artists for museum programs. A list of desired criteria is provided for the museum educator to consider when hiring visual artists. Recommended recruiting and hiring practices for museum educators are also provided. This study proves there is a need for further investigation into the complex relationship between the working artist and art museum educator. Kathryn S. Williams
Programming for Children and Teens with Asperger's Syndrome in Museums The number of recent articles and books written about Asperger's syndrome are not only evidence of public interest in the subject, but also the desire to understand and produce more information about the syndrome. This Master's project is intended to add to the conversation, and raise awareness of Asperger's syndrome and how children and teens with the disorder can be accommodated in museum environments. In this document, I detail ways in which museums can accommodate children and teens who have Asperger's, based upon the experiences and suggestions of the parents, children, teens, and museum professionals I interviewed. Sarah Wininger
Thought for Food: Healthy Eating Exhibits in Museums In this Master's Project I examine how museums are addressing the obesity epidemic through exhibits on healthy eating. Museums have a reputation of educating the public on health crises through exhibits and exhibitions. The American obesity epidemic is a major concern that museums are beginning to tackle on a national scale. However, local San Francisco Bay Area museums are not as urgently addressing the obesity epidemic through healthy eating exhibits, a finding discovered through a survey of eight Bay Area science and children's museums. The findings section also includes two case studies of exhibitions with messages on healthy eating developed by local museums, and interviews with six nutritionists. Conclusions are drawn from overlapping points from the exhibitions and nutritionists. Recommendations of this project seek to inform local science and children's museum in particular, in developing innovative and effective exhibits and exhibitions on healthy eating. Pamela Wong
Learning, Friends and Fun in Children's Museum Summer Day Camp Programs Increasingly, children's museums are getting into the summer camp business. They offer these camps not only as educational programs but as revenue generators- producing necessary income in this era of dwindling financial resources. Because summer day camp programs have a high potential to be a strong source for unrestricted funds, museums need to pay attention to the planning, implementation and evaluation of these programs. This Master's Project examines parents' expectations of summer day camp programs with what is being offered at children's museums and discovers similarities and differences. This report also compares three summer day camp programs offered at children's with two summer day camp providers, a non-profit organization and a for-profit organization in San Francisco's Bay Area. Jeanette Woodburn
Passing the Torch: A Survey of Succession Planning in California Museums The role of the executive director is one of the most critical to the success or failure of a museum. Currently, there is a leadership crisis in the field. One solution to improve the status of leadership in the museum field is succession planning. This master's project determines a baseline for the status of succession planning in California museums using a literature review, data collected from a survey and interviews. This study revealed that despite the challenges of retaining and grooming successful executive directors, the outlook for succession planning and the future of leadership in the museum field is positive.
Coffee or Community? The Impact of For-Profit Play Spaces on Children's Museums Children's museums have dramatically transformed since their inception in the late nineteenth century. Throughout their history, children's museums have been in a constant state of re-definition, responding to the changing society. This master's project explores a phenomenon that currently impacts children's museums - the rise of for-profit play spaces that target a similar audience and offer seemingly comparable experiences. Additionally, this project calls on children's museums to reinvigorate their fundamental spirit of creativity as they respond to this new potential competitor and educate visitors about the unique educational value of hands-on, interactive learning that they provide. Heather Fordham
Old Photographs, New Venues: Balancing Collections Management and Online Engagement This Master's project investigates the considerations of history museums as they prepare to digitize photography collections and make them accessible online. Museums are charged with the dual responsibilities of protecting their collections and providing access to them. While technology offers opportunities for preserving historic photographs and making them widely accessible, online access also poses new questions for this old dilemma as museums determine how to balance reach and risk to ensure their collections are both safe and accessible. This project examines these dilemmas and debates and explores some possible solutions. Gabriella Nicole Giuliani
Websites Lost in Translation: Art Museums' Bilingual and Multilingual Online Content This Master's project investigates and analyzes of bilingual and multilingual content on major Western European and U.S. art museums' websites in order to determine how information is disseminated and how it might be revised to meet the needs of international tourists. The method of research looked the amount of information presented on the museum websites, and the depth of content available in the secondary languages. This research was confined to English and the dominant Indo European languages: French, Italian, German, and Spanish (referred to as FIGS). The goal was to identify trends in content management systems, interface design, and educational information. Natasha Glushkoff
Not Gone But Forgotten: Rediscovering the Historic Cemeteries of the San Francisco Bay Area This thesis explores how historic cemeteries in the San Francisco Bay Area can raise their profile as historic resources and alternative learning environments. Cemeteries are "archives of human history," offering a wealth of educational opportunities. Through thoughtfully-designed interpretive programs, a visit to an historic cemetery can provide unique insights on many aspects of local history. This paper presents case studies of several sites on the east coast and Midwest as well as two local sites. It summarizes current interpretive programs being offered in the U.S., and proposes suggestions that could be applied by local sites. Ten appendices offer additional information. Tara Jeanne-Marie Hadibrata
GIVING BACK: University Museums & the Repatriation of Pre-Columbian Antiquities Since delving into the world of museums, I found that the mere mention of the word, "repatriation" immediately provoked a reaction. Curators, collections managers, registrars, executive directors, and even artists breathed a collective sigh of dread, an anxiety that was palpable once my research began. I knew I wanted to tackle a topic that amounted from these anxieties; something that was not only challenging, but also encouraged dialogue on an international scale. It is an issue that addresses museums at present and forces us to re-think centuries-old practices, specifically within the arena of archaeology and the field collection of artifacts. For my Master's Project Thesis, I sought to address these concerns and analyze them further, researching topics on cultural property management and legislation with a focus on pre-Columbian antiquities. I explored how repatriation has influenced these issues, analyzing ways that university museums have responded and how their practices have changed. Libbie Hodas
In The Moment: Encouraging Civic Dialogue Through Museum Theatre This project explores the use of live theatrical performance as a mission-related vehicle to create opportunities within the museum for the facilitation of civic dialogue about social issues. Investigating the use of theatre to generate visitor discussion, this master's project analyzes the current use of issue-based theatre programs and how they might spark visitor discussion and improve the relationships between museums and their communities, furthering civic engagement mandates made by the American Association of Museums. This project highlights findings from three case studies: The Autry National Center in Los Angeles, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and The UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. This research concludes that museum theatre is a catalyst for civic dialogue and also makes recommendations for best practices in museum theatre programming. Rebecca Horta
Museum Representations of the Mexican Immigrant Experience: Contando la otra historia de Los Angeles In this project, I explore how Los Angeles museums can better represent and engage local Mexican immigrants through programs and exhibitions. I achieve this by analyzing how three museums personify and connect with immigrant communities. My three case studies are: The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York, The New Americans Museum in San Diego, and the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle. Los Angeles has a long history of Mexican immigration, and there is an opportunity for museums to better address the topic because it would resonate with the Los Angeles community. While there has been a continued interest in Mexican American art and culture in Los Angeles over the past decades, there have been minimal museum representations dedicated to Mexican immigration. Therefore, by showcasing the Mexican immigrant experience, not only would museums give voice to those stories, which may go unheard, but also strengthen its place in the history of Los Angeles. Jennifer Levy
From Sharks to Sugar: Addressing Conservation Issues of Non-Traditional Contemporary Art Media This project is an investigation into how museums holding contemporary art in the United States can more effectively communicate with artists in order to conserve artwork made from alternative media and accessioned into museums' permanent collections. This type of art is made from non-traditional materials that conservators are not typically trained to care for. Historically, fine arts conservation has been broken down into categories of traditional media such as paintings, textiles, photographic materials, etc. However, approaches to conservation have changed over time as artists have increasingly employed everyday objects, mixed media, and ephemeral media. In this project, I focus on contemporary art made with nontraditional ephemeral materials by living artists. Artists and all museum staff should be educated about this type of art and its unique conservation needs. This Masters project focuses on conducting and documenting artist interviews at the time of accession. Interviews can capture information valuable for conservation such as artist intent, process, and materials used. In the field of conservation, training for interviewing living artists is becoming increasingly valued. However, when there are no conservators on staff at a museum holding this type of contemporary art, collections managers and registrars should become involved in or even instigate an interview program, and should receive training on how to interview artists. As a form of preventative conservation, capturing this important information and documenting it as soon as possible when acquiring a work can be invaluable for future conservation efforts. Kerrick A. Lucker
A Question of Voice: The de Young Museum's African Gallery and the Museum of the African Diaspora Responses to criticisms of racial inequity in museums include the reform of traditional museums to interpret indigenous art in more respectful ways, and the formation of "first voice" museums to present the experiences of groups of people in their own terms. This paper compares two museum experiences: the African Art Gallery of the de Young Museum, a traditional art museum that was revisioned in 2005, and the Africa.Dot.Com exhibition of the Museum of the African Diaspora, a new museum positioned as a "first voice" museum for people of African descent. Kathrin Elizabeth Randall
Sign of the Times: Parental Advisory Signs and Family Visitors in Art Museums A new kind of fig leaf seems to be appearing in today's art museums: parental advisory signs for visitors have become an increasingly common feature of art exhibitions. On the basis of three case studies of art museums in Northern California and additional interviews, this Master's Project attempts to investigate the issue of parental advisory signs in art museums. The research found that advisory signs seem to have a dual purpose: they seek to "warn" a specific family audience about themes and content of art works that the museum expects to be difficult for families, but also seem to have a symbolic function to pre-empt external censorship and avoid disenfranchising' financial donors. Celeste L. Scholz
Art Museum Educators and Working Artists Artists have had a long and diverse relationship with museums. However, a recent trend in programming now focuses on the collaboration between artists, communities and families. A critical element of programmatic success relies on the caliber of artist chosen to participate in these programs. It is left to the museum educator to seek out artists who can help bring success to museum programming and impact the visitor's experience in a positive and effective manner. This project investigates the recruiting and hiring techniques used by museum educators when seeking to hire artists to facilitate public programs in the museum. Also investigated is the artists' perspective of this relationship and what their needs are. This project determined that there is a lack of standardized practice when museum educators recruit and hire visual artists for museum programs. A list of desired criteria is provided for the museum educator to consider when hiring visual artists. Recommended recruiting and hiring practices for museum educators are also provided. This study proves there is a need for further investigation into the complex relationship between the working artist and art museum educator. Kathryn S. Williams
Programming for Children and Teens with Asperger's Syndrome in Museums The number of recent articles and books written about Asperger's syndrome are not only evidence of public interest in the subject, but also the desire to understand and produce more information about the syndrome. This Master's project is intended to add to the conversation, and raise awareness of Asperger's syndrome and how children and teens with the disorder can be accommodated in museum environments. In this document, I detail ways in which museums can accommodate children and teens who have Asperger's, based upon the experiences and suggestions of the parents, children, teens, and museum professionals I interviewed. Sarah Wininger
Thought for Food: Healthy Eating Exhibits in Museums In this Master's Project I examine how museums are addressing the obesity epidemic through exhibits on healthy eating. Museums have a reputation of educating the public on health crises through exhibits and exhibitions. The American obesity epidemic is a major concern that museums are beginning to tackle on a national scale. However, local San Francisco Bay Area museums are not as urgently addressing the obesity epidemic through healthy eating exhibits, a finding discovered through a survey of eight Bay Area science and children's museums. The findings section also includes two case studies of exhibitions with messages on healthy eating developed by local museums, and interviews with six nutritionists. Conclusions are drawn from overlapping points from the exhibitions and nutritionists. Recommendations of this project seek to inform local science and children's museum in particular, in developing innovative and effective exhibits and exhibitions on healthy eating. Pamela Wong
Learning, Friends and Fun in Children's Museum Summer Day Camp Programs Increasingly, children's museums are getting into the summer camp business. They offer these camps not only as educational programs but as revenue generators- producing necessary income in this era of dwindling financial resources. Because summer day camp programs have a high potential to be a strong source for unrestricted funds, museums need to pay attention to the planning, implementation and evaluation of these programs. This Master's Project examines parents' expectations of summer day camp programs with what is being offered at children's museums and discovers similarities and differences. This report also compares three summer day camp programs offered at children's with two summer day camp providers, a non-profit organization and a for-profit organization in San Francisco's Bay Area. Jeanette Woodburn
Passing the Torch: A Survey of Succession Planning in California Museums The role of the executive director is one of the most critical to the success or failure of a museum. Currently, there is a leadership crisis in the field. One solution to improve the status of leadership in the museum field is succession planning. This master's project determines a baseline for the status of succession planning in California museums using a literature review, data collected from a survey and interviews. This study revealed that despite the challenges of retaining and grooming successful executive directors, the outlook for succession planning and the future of leadership in the museum field is positive.