Q&A Archive

  • [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] A recent New York Times article noted the very large donations ($10 million!) expected of donors to Manhattan’s large museums. Museums need the money, but: how should museums strike a balance between their need for board members with different skills (fundraising, professional services, publicity, mission-related), and broadly represent the community, when the expectations of donations are so high? How can museums create a Board of Directors with members that can help achieve success on many levels, not just financial? Is it ethical to stack a Board with members that will raise the most money or plan the best parties?

    Q & A: Museum Ethics and Board of Directors Fundraising

    Posted on June 28, 2010 | No Comments
    [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] A recent New York Times article noted the very large donations ($10 million!) expected of donors to Manhattan’s large museums. Museums need the money, but: how should museums strike a balance between their need for board members with different skills (fundraising, professional services, publicity, mission-related), and broadly represent the community, when the expectations of donations are so high? How can museums create a Board of Directors with members that can help achieve success on many levels, not just financial? Is it ethical to stack a Board with members that will raise the most money or plan the best parties?

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  • [ September 20, 2009; ] Q: Should museums treat recently created objects with questionable provenance any differently than they do older objects with questionable provenance? Submitted by Jennine Schweighardt, Graduate Assistant, Institute of Museum Ethics, student, M.A. Program in Museum A: Morris Museum Director Steven Miller says: In a word ­ No. Legal or perceived problems of ownership, origin, and/or use of objects seen in [...]

    Questionable Provenance

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ September 20, 2009; ] Q: Should museums treat recently created objects with questionable provenance any differently than they do older objects with questionable provenance? Submitted by Jennine Schweighardt, Graduate Assistant, Institute of Museum Ethics, student, M.A. Program in Museum A: Morris Museum Director Steven Miller says: In a word ­ No. Legal or perceived problems of ownership, origin, and/or use of objects seen in [...]

    Continue Reading...

  • [ September 21, 2009; ] Q: Museums have increasingly turned to open storage as a means to display parts of their collection which would normally not be on view to the public. What are the specific goals for this means of display, as compared to more typical displays found in galleries? How are visitors and researchers expected to interact with [...]

    Open Storage

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ September 21, 2009; ] Q: Museums have increasingly turned to open storage as a means to display parts of their collection which would normally not be on view to the public. What are the specific goals for this means of display, as compared to more typical displays found in galleries? How are visitors and researchers expected to interact with [...]

    Continue Reading...

  • [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] Q: What are the ethical issues North American museums have to take into account when considering establishing satellite branches or even temporary projects such as exhibitions or programs at cultural institutions in countries ruled by totalitarian regimes? Janet Marstine, Director, Institute of Museum Ethics A: Steve Miller, Executive Director, Morris Museum, writes:  To a degree, I suspect any [...]

    Museum Ethics in Totalitarian Regimes

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] Q: What are the ethical issues North American museums have to take into account when considering establishing satellite branches or even temporary projects such as exhibitions or programs at cultural institutions in countries ruled by totalitarian regimes? Janet Marstine, Director, Institute of Museum Ethics A: Steve Miller, Executive Director, Morris Museum, writes:  To a degree, I suspect any [...]

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  • [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] Q: How are museum exhibitions using technology to create cultural context for objects in the collections and to establish multi-sensory environments that help visitors understand the originally intended function of the artifacts on display?  What considerations should be taken to avoid the risk of producing spectacle in such exhibitions? A: Steve Miller- Executive Director- Morris Museum Putting [...]

    Q and A on Museum Ethics

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] Q: How are museum exhibitions using technology to create cultural context for objects in the collections and to establish multi-sensory environments that help visitors understand the originally intended function of the artifacts on display?  What considerations should be taken to avoid the risk of producing spectacle in such exhibitions? A: Steve Miller- Executive Director- Morris Museum Putting [...]

    Continue Reading...

  • [ September 21, 2009; ] Q: What are the ethics of bringing intangible heritage, such as indigenous sand painting practices, into the museum? A: Peter H. Welsh- Director Arizona Historical Society, Central Division Intangible heritage, so called, is brimming with ethical questions for museums. The notion itself is a loaded one that simultaneously and paradoxically invokes an opportunity to expand museums’ roles [...]

    Museum Ethics Q and A

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ September 21, 2009; ] Q: What are the ethics of bringing intangible heritage, such as indigenous sand painting practices, into the museum? A: Peter H. Welsh- Director Arizona Historical Society, Central Division Intangible heritage, so called, is brimming with ethical questions for museums. The notion itself is a loaded one that simultaneously and paradoxically invokes an opportunity to expand museums’ roles [...]

    Continue Reading...

  • [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] What are some of the most important ethical issues to consider when doing collections valuations for insurance purposes?  When do serious ethical breaches occur and how can we best prevent inappropriate decision-making? A: Peter H. Welsh- Director Arizona Historical Society, Central Division I approach this question first from the perspective of conflict of interest—more importantly, the appearance of conflict [...]

    Museum Ethics Q and A

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] What are some of the most important ethical issues to consider when doing collections valuations for insurance purposes?  When do serious ethical breaches occur and how can we best prevent inappropriate decision-making? A: Peter H. Welsh- Director Arizona Historical Society, Central Division I approach this question first from the perspective of conflict of interest—more importantly, the appearance of conflict [...]

    Continue Reading...

  • [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] Q: How do museums, especially anthropology and natural history museums, ensure that they are being respectful in exhibits that include human bodies? What guidelines are  followed and what factors influence treatment of human  remains? Martha Morris- Associate Professor and Assistant Director; Museum Studies Department, George Washington University In regard to the display of human remains, the overriding [...]

    Museum Q and A

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] Q: How do museums, especially anthropology and natural history museums, ensure that they are being respectful in exhibits that include human bodies? What guidelines are  followed and what factors influence treatment of human  remains? Martha Morris- Associate Professor and Assistant Director; Museum Studies Department, George Washington University In regard to the display of human remains, the overriding [...]

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  • [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] Martha Morris, Associate Professor and Assistant Director, Museum Studies Department, George Washington University: Museums have dealt with the issues of forgeries and fakes over time in various ways.  As scholarly knowledge and conservation science have advanced, and as the value of art and artifacts increased, there has been a much more concentrated effort to assure that [...]

    Museum Q and A

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ September 21, 2009; 4:00 pm; ] Martha Morris, Associate Professor and Assistant Director, Museum Studies Department, George Washington University: Museums have dealt with the issues of forgeries and fakes over time in various ways.  As scholarly knowledge and conservation science have advanced, and as the value of art and artifacts increased, there has been a much more concentrated effort to assure that [...]

    Continue Reading...

  • [ February 1, 2010; ] Q: An increasing number of museums are using their websites to demonstrate greater accountability and transparency through such means as identifying works for deaccession, discussing conservation decisions and making strategic plans available. How do you see this trend unfolding?  Which are the models and why?  What is the present and future impact of this development on museum [...]

    Q & A : Museum Ethics and the Web 2/1/10

    Posted on September 15, 2009 | No Comments
    [ February 1, 2010; ] Q: An increasing number of museums are using their websites to demonstrate greater accountability and transparency through such means as identifying works for deaccession, discussing conservation decisions and making strategic plans available. How do you see this trend unfolding?  Which are the models and why?  What is the present and future impact of this development on museum [...]

    Continue Reading...