Happenings
AGO / OSC / ROM Web Summit
Every few months the web teams of the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ontario Science Centre and the Art Gallery of Ontario get together for a nerd-fest. The events are a welcome diversion from the daily grind of production, and a vital expression of community and common purpose.
Museum Row Guest House
Speaking of LA, while in town to attend the Origins opening I stayed at the Museum Row Guest House, operated by Carla Roth and Merritt Price. The house is located just a short stroll through the charming neighborhood to LACMA, the La Brea Tar Pits and the farmers market and shops at The Grove. You can see the Hollywood sign.
They’re great hosts, having thought of — and provided — everything a traveler needs to feel comfortable. The space, newly renovated in a contemporary fashion, is stylish and clean, with a private entrance through a garden. Staying there was a real pleasure. It’s lovely and you should book it for your next visit!
Presentation at MW 2015: Agile Methodologies For Changing Project Scopes
I’ll be presenting at Museums and the Web in April. Sarah Wambold and I have put together a talk on Agile project management methodologies for museum website redevelopment projects we’re calling “Building the car while driving it.” We’ll be presenting on the first day of the conference, Thursday, April 09. From the programme:
Using real-world projects from the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Clyfford Still Museum as the basis for our discussion, the authors identify the principles of an Agile design approach tailored specifically to the needs of museums—with their many stakeholders, diverse audiences, and limited resources. We discuss roles, timelines, and the benefits achieved by employing Agile methodologies to respond to evolving project needs and priorities.
In preparation for the talk, we’ve put together a paper which has been published online.
Museums and the Web is “an annual conference featuring advanced research and exemplary applications of digital practice for cultural, natural and scientific heritage.” This year it’ll be held at The Palmer House in Chicago, April 8-11, 2015.
MuseumCamp 2015
MuesumCamp this year was amazing! Kudos to Nina Simon, Beck Trench and the team of organizers for crafting such a well-thought-out experience enabling 100+ of us to work through ideas of space and community.
I experienced Camp as a giant, time-and-space-constrained act of collaborative creation, the result of which will be a deck of “space making” exercise cards. But the deck is just a byproduct; the real accomplishment was the format of the event itself. It was an awe-inspiring feat of facilitation, scattering talks and workshops in between bursts of team collaboration, bonding opportunities and alone time.
The theme was “space”, in all the ways that can be interpreted. Emphasis was on making space for others, and claiming space for oneself and one’s community. The attendees came from such diverse backgrounds that I was able to have both conversations premised on commonalities (“I know, right?”) and difference (“I’ve never thought about that before”).
For me, there were two moments that really stood out. One was learning of the experience of a group of Filipino youth in SF, striving for life, liberty and punk rock in the face of societal alienation, peer violence and gentrification. It opened my mind to communities that might exist in my own neighborhood. The other was an impromptu opportunity to rehearse the seminal Fluxus happening Kicking a Guitar Around the Block, which drew a spontaneous audience murmuring, “oh they’re making art!”
After camp, I stayed on in Santa Cruz for a few days with MAH staff and nights with the community at the top of Mystery Spot Rd. Being among those beautiful people was an energizing experience, and I love them deeply.