I just spent four days at the American Association of Museum’s annual conference in Philadelphia. It’s a chance to exchange ideas with peers from museums across the country. I chaired a panel session on rebranding. I gathered the branding experts Mark Minelli of Minelli Inc. in Boston, Beth Tuttle of Met Strategies in Alexandria, LeAnne Ruzzamenti of the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, and Honolulu’s own Bernard Uy of Wall-to-Wall Studios. The session was a success. Rebranding is a hot topic among museums, which are straining to attract new audiences. Many people say museums are important, but why? The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance produced a short film called “Spark,” in which everyday Philadelphians answer that question. The film was shown at one of two general assembly meetings, and had a big impact on the couple thousand museum professionals who watched it. (“He was just a common guy, but man, look what he left behind.”) Have a look for yourself. We’d like to hear from you—does the Academy ignite a spark in you? And if yes, why? Do you have a favorite work in the museum that makes you feel good?
HAA’s tagline is “Museum for Everyone” – so what specific things is HAA doing to fulfill & further that statement?
Wow, where to begin? For starters, we have galleries devoted to the art of most of Hawai‘i’s major ethnic groups, with works from Japan, China, Korea, the Philippines, Polynesia, along with European and American art.
Two days a month the museum is completely free to everyone—the first Wednesday and the third Sunday. We want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to experience the museum.
We offer a terrific film program that specifically tries to reach out to the community with events such as last month’s Filipino Film Festival, live music and free lectures at the Doris Duke Theatre. Adults and children can take art classes at the Art Center at Linekona. People can shop for gifts that won’t be found at any other stores on the island at The Academy Shop. And the Pavilion Cafe is one of the most popular lunch spots in town.
Next week marks the opening of the 58th Artists of Hawai‘i juried exhibition, which serves the local art community. In addition, the Art Center at Linekona has around 15 exhibitions a year that showcase local artists.
You can find out more about the Academy’s diverse programming at http://www.honoluluacademy.org.
I was referring to how HAA avails itself as an organization that represents the community e.g. incorporate stories by & from the community into your web and/or blog instead of articles only by HAA; cafe being open for longer hours like at other museums; cafe offering a more diverse price range for food/snacks; develop some HAA-branded souvenir items in different price range like at a lot of museums, etc.