Conversations

Historical organizations’ priorities change, and storage is overflowing. How do we clean up without getting rid of ...

 Conferences and meetings are in full virtual swing! The MHA’s IT guru Matt Friedman and Susan Grabski, executive

Take it outside! 2021 one is the year of the garden as many cultural institutions try to adjust their programming ...

It’s been one long year of ups and downs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are still wearing our masks ...

From bake sales to the annual calendar, most historical organizations occasionally sell something to raise funds. Many have also hosted someone’s event, upon occasion. But what does it take to make this a regular part of  your income?  What’s involved in having a shop, merchandising your collections, or running an event or wedding venue? Have you tried it? Where do you have things printed or made? What are some questions you have? Do you stock 200 logo tees or work with print on demand suppliers? How are you doing at creating income?

Massachusetts museums and public and local historians share the best andmost intriguing object or archival piece in their collectiosn. A white elephant? Something that cool and weird, or rare and valuable? We show it, post a picture, brag, ask for help interpreting, share what we have done with it. The first of a quarterly series of Conversations on the Commons that will focus on items in our collections and what we do with them. Moderated by Gloria Greis, Executive Director of the Needham History Center & Museum.

Advocacy starts in our neighborhoods and community centers, when we commit ourselves to a cause and communicate our passion to friends and associates. In a world of explosive issues and headline grabbers, how do we make a compelling case for history work? How can we craft an effective proposal and build the momentum to make a difference? Panelists Dan Everton, Project Lead and Community Archivist at New Bedford LGBTQ+ Archive, and Diane Pursley, Chair of the Turning Mill Association, lead a discussion on advocacy success stories and what we can learn from them.

An informal conversation with members of the State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB). Alejandra Dean provides information about this year's round of Veterans Heritage Grants (due April 9, 2021), and Evan Knight leads a conversation about climate control in your archives. What are the challenges you face in creating a climate-controlled archives? Have a success story to tell?

Margo Shea and Noah Berman prepare global holiday specialties and offer tips for busy cooks during the festive season. Margo Shea, editor at Historians Cooking the Past,  whose philanthropic virtual bake sales have raised thousands of dollars in 2020, will offer guidance and tools for organizing and implementing a flash virtual bake sale to support nonprofit organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Six months into the COVID pandemic, we’re settling into new routines. Many organizations are implementing new versions of what it means to interpret and teach history as a public history organization. Where are you now? How do you see the coming year, the future? What technologies are you adopting? How are you adapting them to provide quality historical experiences, create AHA!-moments, gain participation, and supplant the “hands-on” experiences that are the strong suit of public history? Are you mixing and matching in-person and virtual experiences? What is going well? What is not? Join us for a conversation about the value and challenges of our transitions, sharing our successes and also our failures so that we may, as a field, continue to bring indispensable history education to the public.

Outside of Boston, Local Cultural Councils are a good source of funding for programming for history organizations. Applications are due on November 16. What should you apply for? What makes an application likely to get funded? Join us for a conversation on cultural councils and their preferences. Plus, we’ll be workshopping applications! Bring your draft application as well as any priorities statements by your Local Cultural Council.