Newsletter October / November / December 2018

AMA 2018 Councilexecutive committee

Ryan Blocker | presidentAlabama Department of Archives & History

Kari Barley | vice presidentLandmark Park

Kendall Chew | secretary Birmingham Holocaust Education Center

Dena Thurmond | treasurerMary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts

district representativesJulie Patton | district 1Guntersville Museum

Kristen Holmes | district 2The Evelyn Burrow Museum

Kathie Thurman | district 3The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art

Lindsay Elliott | district 4Vulcan Park and Museum

Mike Walczak | district 5Governor's Mansion

Ashlea Singleton | district 6Washington County Museum

at-large representativesBill Allen | place 1University of Alabama Museums

Brian Mast | place 2Black Belt Museum

Rebecca Duke | place 3Dr. J.C. Francis Medical Museum

www.alabamamuseums.org

Alabama Museums Association | Post Office Box 2866 | Birmingham AL 35202-3802

Dear AMA Members,

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! With the start of the new school year, tour season is gearing up. Museums across the state are starting to see an influx of students through their doors. We wish everyone a happy and productive tour season!

The 2019 AMA conference is right around the corner. The conference will be held in Montgomery, February 24th – 26th, 2019. The theme is Alabama Museums: Telling our Stories. Be on the lookout for a preliminary schedule and registration information in the next few months.

Are you interested in giving a session at the conference? You can find the session proposal form here alabamamuseums.org/members/annual. Please fill it out and send it to the email address provided.

Don’t forget to keep up with AMA news on Facebook! Visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/alabamamuseums/As always, the AMA is here to serve our members. If you have any suggestions or questions, please contact your local representative. You can find their contact information on the AMA website. alabamamuseums.org/contact

Ryan BlockerAMA President

Reminder!We are hosting a

Grants Workshop at the

University of West Alabama on October 30.

(See page six of this newsletter.)

Making Alabama. A Bicentennial Traveling Exhibit will be displayed this

fall in the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art in Tuscumbia, Smith Building Art Gallery in Marion, Greensboro Opera House, and Landmark Park in

Dothan! See the full schedule at makingalabama.org.

Around Alabama

The Wiregrass Museum of Art (WMA) has been awarded $20,000 from the Alabama Bicentennial Commission in support of Stories of the Wiregrass, a collaborative project to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Alabama's statehood. WMA will work with communities throughout the Wiregrass region to gather diverse stories with the goal of making them accessible to the general public.

WMA has also received $6,300 from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA). The award will be used to support the museum's mission of connecting contemporary artists in Alabama with the Wiregrass community through exhibitions and related programming from October of 2018 through September of 2019. wiregrassmuseum.org | StoriesOfTheWiregrass.com

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has hired Kate Cleveland as vice president of development. She will manage major giving, membership programs, capital campaigns and fundraising strategy, and also play a critical role as liaison with the city of Birmingham while it completes the restoration of the historic A.G. Gaston Motel. Kate most recently worked for the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama and also led development work at the Birmingham Museum of Art. bcri.org

AMA vice president Kari Barley now serves as curator at Alabama Agricultural Museum of Landmark Park in Dothan. Kari began that role in June. landmarkparkdothan.com

Two Alabama Bicentennial Commission staff are now with the Alabama Humanities Foundation. Jerald Cook joined AHF in June as programs coordinator. Graydon Rust, who managed the Alabama Bicentennial PastPort project, is now the AHF grants director. Former AHF program director, T.C. McLemore, is now executive director at Red Mountain Park. He was also previous president of their junior board of directors. Thomas Bryant, past AHF grants coordinator, recently began his role as executive director of the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center. Thomas served as a community representative on the BHEC board of directors. alabama200.org | alabamahumanities.org | redmountainpark.org | bhecinfo.org

Hallie Ringle will be the next curator of contemporary art at the Birmingham Museum of Art. She will begin in her new post on November 1. Hallie comes to the BMA after five years at New York’s Studio Museum in Harlem, where she served first as a senior curatorial assistant and then as assistant curator. artsbma.org

The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art, featuring the Westervelt Collection, permanently closed on Friday, August 31, 2018. While The Westervelt Company will maintain a core selection of art, most notably early American and nature themed pieces, the remaining collection will not be available for public viewing. The museum opened in December 2011 after the dissolution of its previous collections home, the Westervelt-Warner Museum. Best wishes to Kathie Thurman and Will Hawkins -- great supporters of AMA! tuscaloosamoa.org

Vulcan Park and Museum is now officially certified through KultureCity as sensory inclusive. This new initiative will allow VPM to provide a more accommodating and positive experience for all. Sensory bags equipped with various items to assist throughout the visit are available for families. Signage will be posted across the park to alert visitors to quiet areas throughout. visitvulcan.com

Staff Playlist is a first-of-its-kind exhibition for the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. Staff from the museum and the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center selected art from the permanent collection and paired it with a song. The exhibition features Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso, among others, and includes photography, sculpture, painting and works on paper. This is an immersive and interactive visitor experience, as you listen along on a Spotify playlist and get to know the people behind-the-scenes of the fine arts and performing arts at Auburn. jcsm.auburn.edu

The Alabama Constitutional Village is in the middle of a $2.2 million renovation project for the Alabama Bicentennial that is expected to be completed in March 2019.

As part of the project, the historical site is changing to its original name, Constitutional Hall Park. Project work includes interior and exterior repairs and improvements to the entrance.

Forty-four delegates of the constitutional convention gathered here in a vacant cabinet shop on July 5, 1819, to organize Alabama as the 22nd state.earlyworks.com/alabama-constitution-village

The Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area (MSNHA) has announced a new partnership with local fashion designer Alabama Chanin for “Project Threadways,” which will document the rich textile history and its connection to the Tennessee River. Oral histories are being gathered from men and women who worked in the Tee-Jays T-shirt Factory, which was located in the building Alabama Chanin occupies today. Staff and University of North Alabama public history program students will develop an exhibit, which will open at the Alabama Chanin store next spring. A symposium about textile history is also in the works. The partnership also brings in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. MSNHA also continues work the national Trail of Tears Association, the Roots of American Music Trail and are launching Phase II of Hidden Spaces documenting six new regional locations in a exhibit on display at the UNA Art Gallery, November 5-31, 2018. msnha.una.edu

In MemoriamMary Ann Oglesby Neeley, author and official historian for the city of Montgomery, was born in Montgomery, Alabama, as a seventh generation Alabamian. She died on August 29, 2018.

A lifelong love of history especially that of Montgomery, led her to become a valued collaborator, speaker, and prolific author. Her walking tours of downtown Montgomery and Oakwood Cemetery were extremely sought after opportunities for both locals and visitors to share her enthusiasm and knowledge of local history and lore. Developing an annual symposium called Cultural Crossroads, she brought together academia, writers, and others who explored historical topics drawing attendees from across the region. Neeley was executive director for Landmarks Foundation of Montgomery, a nonprofit organization dedicated to historic preservation, from 1979 until 2003. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Landmarks Foundation or the charity of your choice. landmarksfoundation.com Now in its eleventh year, the AUM Southern Studies

Conference, hosted by Auburn University at Montgomery will take place February 1-2, 2019. It explores themes related to the American South across a wide array of disciplines and methodologies. Registrants to the interdisciplinary conference enjoy a variety of peer-reviewed panels, two distinguished keynote speakers and a visiting artist, who gives a talk and mounts a gallery exhibition.

The 2019 Conference Committee invites proposals for twenty-minute academic papers, creative presentations, or pre-formed panels on any aspect of Southern Studies (broadly defined), including those relating to the fields of anthropology, geography, art history, history, literature, theater, music, communications, political science, and sociology. Disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to this theme are welcome.

Proposals can be emailed to southernstudies@aum.edu and should include a 250-word abstract and a 2-page CV. The deadline for submission is October 22, 2018. Please note that submission of a proposal constitutes a commitment to attend, if accepted. Presenters will be notified of acceptance by November 2018. For more information, please visit the conference website, or contact Naomi Slipp, Conference Director and Assistant Professor of Art History, Auburn University at Montgomery: nslipp@aum.edu.

Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson is hoping to raise $500,000 for renovations to the park. Plans include a new pavilion that would allow the park to host events to generate revenue and educational programs to engage the community. The park is managed by the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham-Southern College. Donations are accepted through their website. turkeycreeknp.com/donate | bsc.edu/sec

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AMA Classifieds

The Alabama Association of Nonprofits is offering some valuable professional development opportunities this fall -- and they maintain an active Jobs Board. See all of their resources at alabamanonprofits.org.

The Southeastern Museums Conference announces the 19th annual Jekyll Island Management Institute (JIMI 2019). Scheduled for January 22-29, 2019, JIMI is specifically designed for administrators from new and emerging museums and for museum professionals with subject area expertise desiring knowledge of general museum administration and operations. The deadline for JIMI 2019 applications is October 21, 2018.

Scholarships, including the Peter LaPaglia Scholarship, are available. Thanks to the generosity of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), SEMC is also pleased to offer the John Kinard Scholarship Fund for two staff members of AAAM institutional museums or individual AAAM members to attend JIMI 2019. Find the application here semcdirect.net/jimi.

The 47th Annual Kentuck Festival of the Arts, hosted by the Kentuck Art Center, will be October 19-21, 2018. kentuck.org

ARCS/CCAHA Integrated Pest Management Workshop Registration Now Open!

Date & Time: November 14 & 15, 20189:00am – 12:00pm

Location: Michael C. Carlos Museum571 South Kilgo Cir NEAtlanta, Georgia

arcsinfo.org/programs/2018-ipm-for-cultural-institutions-workshop

The Alabama Historical Association Fall Pilgrimage is Saturday, October 27 in Camden, Alabama. For more information, visit alabamahistory.net/meetings

ALABAMA 200 announces that the Fall 2018 Community Grant Cycle and applications are now open. The grants, $2500 each to communities and $5000 for counties, will be awarded until the final application deadline of October 26, 2018. Grants are available to support community and county activities, events, and projects that commemorate the state’s 200th anniversary. An online application process is available at Alabama200.org.

We can't share your news unless you tell us!Add info@alabamamuseums.org

to your media distribution list.

Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation and Alabama Historical Commission has announced the 2018 Places in Peril. alabamatrust.info | ahc.alabama.gov

MUSEUM STUDIES CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

at Auburn University at Montgomery

Why Should You Join Our Program? Our flexible, interdisciplinary Museum Studies Certificate program gives students the knowledge, skills, and information they need to succeed in the non-profit sector. The program trains students in the history, theory, organization, and best practices of collections-based institutions and museums. There is also a focus on historical and archival research and writing methods. Students enroll in four courses – Historical Methods, Theory and Method of Museums, and two electives – plus an internship, gaining practical hands-on experience in the field. Our program is accredited for undergraduate and graduate degree-seeking students and post-professionals.

Who are we? • We are the only Museum Studies Program in Central Alabama • Our required classes are project-oriented with low caps on enrollment • We work with you to select elective courses that fit your career goals • We have internship partnerships with numerous regional institutions • We employ area collections, professionals, and resources in the classroom • Our students utilize the University Art Collection to curate exhibitions • Our program Director is an art historian with 10+ years of museum experience

Contact the Fine Arts Department at AUM to learn more: ashughes@aum.edu