Despite unusually seasonal weather, a brave group made its way north to Salem for our March Drinking About Museum: Boston meetup, at the Peabody Essex Museum.
2012 continues to be a growth year for our merry band. Jim Olson, Director of Integrated Media at PEM, certainly raised the bar for what our meetings could be, by giving us a presentation on PEM’s exhibition development process, the strategy behind the digital interactives in “Shapeshifting” *and* a guided tour of the show, focused on the new media elements. I’ll have to go back to really take in the show. What I saw was remarkable, and you should consider checking it out, especially the exhibition website.
Afterwards, we repaired to the Salem Beer Works for drinks and socializing. It was good to see new faces and new museums represented, and totally worth the moderately treacherous drive home in the snow.
One of the highlights of the evening was the opportunity to learn what PEM was up to, get a peek at their design process and strategy, and then see the final products in situ. Several people thought it added tremendous value to the event and was worth trying to make a more regular feature. My question to you is, “What institutions would you like to try to see and learn from?”
Some suggestions included:
Who else should we add to our wish list?
As always, I found it very stimulating, and I got as much out of the event as anybody else. Stay tuned for the announcement of our April meeting, which will hopefully be in Boston, and less of a commute for most of us.
Thinking about Museums 