The Museology Program partners with other institutions and programs to advance the relevance and effectiveness of museums and museum professionals. Examples of special initiatives include.
Museums & Social Issues, a peer-reviewed journal published by Left Coast Press, Inc., provides a forum for considering and discussing social issues and the engagement of museums in those issues. Each issue, available in print and online, focuses on a specific theme and includes theoretical, philosophical and practical perspectives from inside and outside the museum field. Past issues have dealt with a range of topics such as immigration, race, public understanding of evolution, losing touch with nature, civic discourse, etc.
New Directions in Audience Research & Evaluation will prepare a new generation of evaluators and museum practitioners, through an innovative apprentice-styled laboratory that integrates the strengths of mentoring, fieldwork, academics, and client-centered experiences. Led by University of Washington’s Museology Program, and joined by partners the Woodland Park Zoo and the Learning in Informal and Formal Environments Center (LIFE), New Directions will develop a model of university and community collaboration. Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services 21st Century Museum Professionals Program.
The Emerging Curator Initiative is a collaborative venture shared between the Kirkland Arts Center (KAC) in Kirkland, WA and the Museology Graduate Program to provide a museology graduate student with the opportunity to plan and execute an exhibition hosted in the KAC Gallery as the focus of the student’s master’s project. Once selected, the student works closely with representatives of both organizations to shape their concept, define their inquiry, and connect that framework to artwork that expresses it. This collaboration provides a bridge between the academic and professional world and creates an educational experience that benefits the “emerging” student curator, regional artists, and the public.
