I recently had the chance to speak with Ian Elsner, host of the podcast Museum Archipelago, about the work of the Arab American National Museum. Museum Archipelago is an “audio guide through the landscape of museums.” Our conversation, featured on episode 26, is now live.
The Arab American National Museum’s Yalla Eat! culinary program was recently featured on NPR’s The Salt. We’re incredibly honored our work is garnering national coverage. The tour is a key component of our institution’s work towards embedding museum experiences into the local community; dispelling stereotypes and misconceptions about Arab Americans; and working with the community to tell our story. Read on! Unlike most museums, the Yalla Eat! tours take people outside of the building and into the community. People whoRead More
On March 16, President Donald J. Trump put forth his budget proposal and it calls for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), among other governmental agencies. These vital government programs have been pillars of cultural and intellectual production throughout our nation. Thousands of museums, libraries, and cultural institutions will be significantly impacted if these programs are eliminated. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation onRead More
Last Friday I had the pleasure of speaking with Carol Bossert, host of the show The Museum Life, about the Arab American National Museum. It was big fun. Take a listen to the show!
I’m immensely excited to be in Miami for CityLab 2016. Over the next few days, attendees will explore both challenges and innovative approaches to creating more sustainable and vibrant cities. I have the honor of serving on a breakout session on Monday, October 24 called Community Building with Arts and Culture. Moderated by Sammy Hoi, president of the Maryland Institute College of Art, the panel will also include Franklin Sirmans, director of the Perez Art Museum Miami; and Joe RobertsonRead More
2016 Smithsonian Affiliations Annual Conference Opening Session: Saluting our Past, Shaping our Future October 18, 2016 at the Rasmuson Theater, National Museum of the American Indian Moderated by Harold A. Closter, Director, Smithsonian Affiliations Devon Akmon, Director, Arab American National Museum Sarah Holbrooke, Executive Director, The Pinhead Institute Allyson Nakamoto, Director of Education, Japanese American National Museum Jose Santamaria, Executive Director, Tellus Science Museum Affiliate partnerships can be enriching and occasionally transforming. What have we learned from 20 years ofRead More
On October 1, 2016, the Arab American National Museum proudly opened the exhibition Little Syria, NY: An Immigrant Community’s Life & Legacy at our nation’s most storied institution on immigration, the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration. This exhibition presents the rich history of the earliest concentrated Arab immigrant community in the USA, placing the Arab American experience in context with the greater American immigrant narrative. I cannot think of a better time, or a better location, for this exhibition. NothingRead More
Next week I’m heading to Washington, D.C for a couple of professional engagements. First up is the Smithsonian Affiliations Annual Conference. The conference runs from Monday, October 17 through Thursday, October 20. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Smithsonian Affiliations and our colleagues in Washington have put together an excellent conference schedule. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with colleagues, exchanging ideas, and learning fresh insights. Check out the conference agenda. My responsibilities at the annual conference are twofold. First,Read More
How do museums and libraries catalyze communities? More specifically, how do they serve as “enablers of community vitality and co-creators of positive community change?” These are fundamental questions the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is asking as part of the Community Catalyst Initiative. IMLS launched the initiative, in partnership with the William Penn Foundation and the Reinvestment Fund, in July 2016. On September 8–9, IMLS hosted around 70 museum and library professionals for a two-day Community Catalysts TownRead More
The Arab American National Museum was featured in the June 2015 edition of Hour Detroit. There’s a nice article on the museum’s tenth anniversary. Creating Conversations: For 10 years, Dearborn’s Arab American National Museum has been telling the community’s unique stories “It makes you optimistic about the future for this institution, no matter who is here,” Akmon says. “It’s our goal to continue to contribute and to continue to mold it to that next shape.”