In the United States, museums are served by six regional museum associations that are associated (allied?) with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM):
- Association of Midwest Museums (AMM)
- Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM)
- Mountain-Plains Museums Association (MPMA)
- New England Museum Association (NEMA)
- Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC)
- Western Museums Association (WMA)
While AAM is doing well with about $10 million in annual revenues and net assets of $2 million, the regional museum associations are much much smaller by comparison. Their annual revenues range from $70,000 to $600,000, which is 1-7% of AAM’s annual revenues (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Chart of revenues for regional museum associations in the US, FY 2014-16.
That might be acceptable given these associations serve a few states rather than all 50, but a further analysis of their financial condition in fiscal years 2014-2016 suggests that their health is decidedly mixed: Continue reading
I’m in back-to-back conferences—AASLH last week, SEMC this week—because I’m moderating sessions at both. The Southeastern Museums Conference is in New Orleans, which is enjoying incredibly beautiful weather, making it easy to wander the streets to find the many museums that are in walking distance. In the two days I’ve been here so far, I’ve visited the Southern Food and Wine Museum (which includes the Museum of the American Cocktail) and Historic New Orleans Collection, taken a guided tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1, and tonight I’ll be at the evening reception at the National World War II Museum. New Orleans has some unusual museums tackling such unusual topics as tattoos, Mardi Gras, and death but I’m not sure I’ll have time to visit them as well. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share what I’ve learned from the sessions that stood out for me but in the meantime, I’ll post my notes and observations on Twitter during the conference using #SEMC17.
Engaging Places 