I'm an independent curator, based in Boston, who specializes in urban history. I spent most of the last decade working for the Bostonian Society, Boston’s local historical society. Now I spend my time researching city museums, writing about city museums, and consulting to city museums. In 2010 I was a Fulbright Scholar in Helsinki, Finland, studying European city museums, and in 2011 I was a fellow at Brown University’s John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities, investigating how to build a better city museum. I blog at CityStories and I also teach in the Museum Studies Graduate Program at Tufts University. In addition to urban history, my professional interests include museum mapping projects, sensory history, small museum capacity building, and creativity in museums.
With this book museum professionals can learn how to unleash creative potential throughout their ... more With this book museum professionals can learn how to unleash creative potential throughout their institution. Drawing from a wide range of research on creativity as well as insights from today’s most
creative museum leaders, the authors present a set of practical principles about how museum workers at any level—not just those in “creative positions”—can make a place for creativity in their daily practice. Replete with creativity exercises and stories from the field, the book guides readers in developing an internal culture of creative learning, as well as delivering increased value to museum audiences.
The CAMOC conference that took place in Berlin in 2011, with its theme“Participative Strategies i... more The CAMOC conference that took place in Berlin in 2011, with its theme“Participative Strategies in Capturing the Changing Urban World,” is partof a larger discussion that museums in general—and city museums in particular—have been having recently about our collections and whether theyare serving our current needs. We have been assessing our collections—whatwe own versus what we wish we owned—and we are noticing a disconnect.Most of our collections were formed at the turn of the twentieth century, andwe’re having a lot of trouble making them fit the stories we want to tell aboutour cities here in the twenty-first century. So, we’re experimenting with contemporarycollecting, and participatory collecting, in an attempt to make ourcollections more inclusive and more representative. This is important workand we need to do more of it.
Today’s history museums are struggling to connect with their audiences. For example, a 2007 study... more Today’s history museums are struggling to connect with their audiences. For example, a 2007 study of 5,500 museum-going families by Reach Advisors found that these families were less likely to visit history museums and historic sites than any other type of museum. Many history museums seem to be operating under an outdated, 20th-century model, and they are having trouble articulating and demonstrating their public value. The public doesn’t necessarily want to learn what history museums want to teach them, and they don’t necessarily want to learn in the ways that history museums are offering. A handful of city museums in Europe and North America, however, are working to find a new model for public history that does resonate with their urban audience, and their efforts warrant further consideration by the museum field as a whole. A definition of the city museum is in order. In this context it refers to institutions located in major metropolitan areas that collect and interpret the history of their city: think Museum of the City of New York or Atlanta History Center, for example. It is a museum type that is particularly prevalent in Europe and North America, although it is also sometimes found in other parts of the globe. And although city museums have much in common with local historical societies in small communities across the US and elsewhere, they differ from the latter institutions in the scale of operations and ground they cover, as well as in the complexities of reaching diverse urban populations and competing within crowded urban cultural landscapes. Despite these differences, throughout the 20th century city museums functioned much like other history museums. They collected maps and street views, as well as objects and archival records documenting historical events, the city fathers, local industry, and major landmarks. They mounted exhibitions about their cities; provided lectures, walking tours, and school field trips;
With this book, museum professionals can learn how to unleash creative potential throughout their... more With this book, museum professionals can learn how to unleash creative potential throughout their institution. Drawing from a wide range of research on creativity as well as insights from today's most creative museum leaders, the authors present a set of practical principles about how museum workers at any level-not just those in "creative positions"-can make a place for creativity in their daily practice. Replete with creativity exercises and stories from the field, the book guides readers in developing an internal culture of creative learning, as well as delivering increased value to museum audiences.
This essay uses Steven Conn’s recent book Do Museums Still Need Objects?, as a jumping-off point ... more This essay uses Steven Conn’s recent book Do Museums Still Need Objects?, as a jumping-off point for considering seven major issues currently confronting history museums and historic sites as they seek to make their collections meaningful, relevant, and accessible for a general audience.
With this book museum professionals can learn how to unleash creative potential throughout their ... more With this book museum professionals can learn how to unleash creative potential throughout their institution. Drawing from a wide range of research on creativity as well as insights from today’s most
creative museum leaders, the authors present a set of practical principles about how museum workers at any level—not just those in “creative positions”—can make a place for creativity in their daily practice. Replete with creativity exercises and stories from the field, the book guides readers in developing an internal culture of creative learning, as well as delivering increased value to museum audiences.
The CAMOC conference that took place in Berlin in 2011, with its theme“Participative Strategies i... more The CAMOC conference that took place in Berlin in 2011, with its theme“Participative Strategies in Capturing the Changing Urban World,” is partof a larger discussion that museums in general—and city museums in particular—have been having recently about our collections and whether theyare serving our current needs. We have been assessing our collections—whatwe own versus what we wish we owned—and we are noticing a disconnect.Most of our collections were formed at the turn of the twentieth century, andwe’re having a lot of trouble making them fit the stories we want to tell aboutour cities here in the twenty-first century. So, we’re experimenting with contemporarycollecting, and participatory collecting, in an attempt to make ourcollections more inclusive and more representative. This is important workand we need to do more of it.
Today’s history museums are struggling to connect with their audiences. For example, a 2007 study... more Today’s history museums are struggling to connect with their audiences. For example, a 2007 study of 5,500 museum-going families by Reach Advisors found that these families were less likely to visit history museums and historic sites than any other type of museum. Many history museums seem to be operating under an outdated, 20th-century model, and they are having trouble articulating and demonstrating their public value. The public doesn’t necessarily want to learn what history museums want to teach them, and they don’t necessarily want to learn in the ways that history museums are offering. A handful of city museums in Europe and North America, however, are working to find a new model for public history that does resonate with their urban audience, and their efforts warrant further consideration by the museum field as a whole. A definition of the city museum is in order. In this context it refers to institutions located in major metropolitan areas that collect and interpret the history of their city: think Museum of the City of New York or Atlanta History Center, for example. It is a museum type that is particularly prevalent in Europe and North America, although it is also sometimes found in other parts of the globe. And although city museums have much in common with local historical societies in small communities across the US and elsewhere, they differ from the latter institutions in the scale of operations and ground they cover, as well as in the complexities of reaching diverse urban populations and competing within crowded urban cultural landscapes. Despite these differences, throughout the 20th century city museums functioned much like other history museums. They collected maps and street views, as well as objects and archival records documenting historical events, the city fathers, local industry, and major landmarks. They mounted exhibitions about their cities; provided lectures, walking tours, and school field trips;
With this book, museum professionals can learn how to unleash creative potential throughout their... more With this book, museum professionals can learn how to unleash creative potential throughout their institution. Drawing from a wide range of research on creativity as well as insights from today's most creative museum leaders, the authors present a set of practical principles about how museum workers at any level-not just those in "creative positions"-can make a place for creativity in their daily practice. Replete with creativity exercises and stories from the field, the book guides readers in developing an internal culture of creative learning, as well as delivering increased value to museum audiences.
This essay uses Steven Conn’s recent book Do Museums Still Need Objects?, as a jumping-off point ... more This essay uses Steven Conn’s recent book Do Museums Still Need Objects?, as a jumping-off point for considering seven major issues currently confronting history museums and historic sites as they seek to make their collections meaningful, relevant, and accessible for a general audience.
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Books by Rainey Tisdale
creative museum leaders, the authors present a set of practical principles about how museum workers at any level—not just those in “creative positions”—can make a place for creativity in their daily practice. Replete with creativity exercises and stories from the field, the book guides readers in developing an internal culture of creative learning, as well as delivering increased value to museum audiences.
Papers by Rainey Tisdale
Conference Presentations by Rainey Tisdale
creative museum leaders, the authors present a set of practical principles about how museum workers at any level—not just those in “creative positions”—can make a place for creativity in their daily practice. Replete with creativity exercises and stories from the field, the book guides readers in developing an internal culture of creative learning, as well as delivering increased value to museum audiences.