Being Braver

I have been studying Bulgarian for the last year or so with an excellent (and extremely patient) tutor based in Sofia, named Billyana.  The other day, during our Zoom lesson, Billyana reminded me to "Be Brave!"

For me, learning a new language as an adult is paradoxical.  You need to acknowledge, right upfront, that you will be making mistakes -- even if you don't want to make those mistakes.  It may be that to really learn a new language, you need to make LOTS of mistakes! And it is important to learn from those mistakes.

So, when Billyana tells me to "Be Brave," it's a shorthand way of encouraging me to dive in and do my best and make mistakes. можело!

Being "braver' carries over to other aspects of life, of course, including museum work. Your first attempt at creating an exhibition or museum program is unlikely to be "perfect." You'll likely need to encounter a few setbacks before you end up with a really great program or exhibit.

Maybe that's why I enjoy doing exhibit prototyping so much. Prototyping actually gives you permission to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and bring "brave" ideas and energy to your work.

I hope this post encourages you to be "braver" this week in your own creative work!

 

Благодаря Биляна!

 

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

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Why Don't Museums Like To Talk About Money?

Conversations with colleagues (in North America, as well as Europe and Asia) had me thinking about some of the things we, as museum and design professionals, don't like to talk about.

But this recent open letter about some of this country's greatest science-based museums accepting money from the Koch family distributed by The Natural History Museum (that I'll characterize as an activist group working in the museum format) really made me wonder why folks attached to the museum field so dislike discussing money (and where and who our funding comes from.)

So let's talk a little about money.  Even after spending my entire professional life working in museums, I still can remember my immigrant paternal grandfather's bewilderment at my career choice.  "Why do you want to work in museums? Museums are for rich people!"  he would often say to me.  And despite the strides that museums have made over the past 30 years, deep down I think my Grandpa Orselli knew more than I gave him credit for.

One dirty little secret we don't like to share with the public is that there really is no such thing as a financially self-sustaining museum. Museums are a classic "bad business model."  So we try to make up for our constant money shortfalls by rattling our collective tin cups to shake down donors (both private and governmental) or pimping ourselves out with off-mission events and programs that, at times, barely separate our institutions from glorified catering halls.  How many times have museums put up with just downright crazy and seriously off-mission ideas from a donor (or even potential donor!) because we were so desperate for their money?

It's bad enough for an art museum like the Met to get into bed with corrosive robber barons like the Kochs, but when science museums(!) link up with the biggest funders of groups denying climate change science, something is seriously out of whack.

Well isn't that just a reality of the not-for-profit world of museums?  Since we rely on outside funders, can we afford (literally!) to upset our donors?  That, my friends, is part of the slimy, slippery slope of the museum world that even I wish we didn't have to acknowledge.  But the only way to change that stupid system is to acknowledge and discuss it, and drag it out into the harsh light of public scrutiny, instead of continuing to rationalize and avoid it.

So I say bravo to the folks behind The Natural History Museum! I hope your open letter upsets lots of people and makes taking money from dubious donors a topic for discussing and not dissembling.



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