Earlier this week, thousands of museum professionals descended upon Seattle, Washington for the
2014 American Alliance of Museums Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo. Among the thousands were several members of IMTAL. At our board meeting we said goodbye to outgoing board members Heather Barnes and Elizabeth Keaney, and welcomed new members Todd D. Norris, Amber Davis Parham, and S. Xavier Carnegie (Elizabeth and Xavier in absentia...).
Parties and excursions, early morning sessions and late night (re)caps, old friends, new friends, famous faces, and extraordinary hospitality (those volunteers were everywhere!) made for an enjoyable, exhausting, and memorable conference.
At the Annual IMTAL Luncheon, the 2014 IMTY Award was presented to Betty Brewer and Rebecca Gilliam of Minnetrista in Muncie, IN.
Rebecca Gilliam(c) accepts the 2014 IMTY from George Buss and IMTAL President Stephanie Long.
The First Annual Jon Lipsky Playwrighting Award for Excellence in Museum Theatre was given to Addae Moon (at left, with VP Elizabeth Pickard)of the Atlanta History Center for his play
Four Days of Fury: Atlanta 1906.
IMTAL was well represented at the conference. Catherine Hughes, Director of Interpretation at Conner Prairie Museum was a presenter for two sessions: A Model for Integrating STEM Activities and History, and "I Wish Somebody Had Told Me..."; Elizabeth Pickard (Missouri Historical Society) and George Buss (Minnetrista) provided situational improv for Working With You Is Killing Me.
(L-R) Elizabeth Pickard, Douglas Coler, Todd D. Norris, Carla Bruton, Cat Chiappa
Innovation Through Creation:The IMTAL Museum Theatre Showcase
featured a quartet of diverse offerings from around the country, presented by Todd D. Norris (Children's Museum of Indianapolis), Carla Bruton (Museum of Science + Industry Chicago), Elizabeth Pickard (Missouri Historical Society), and Douglas Coler (Discovery Place Charlotte). The panel discussion was moderated by Cat Chiappa (Monterrey Bay Aquarium).
The audience becomes owls at the behest of Glory the Gargoyle.
Pickard's Gargoyle, Coler's Chef, Norris's Federal Marshall. That's former IMTAL Treasurer Simone Mortan assisting the chef by eating FIVE petri dishes of bacteria, mold, and fungus.
photos courtesy of Judy Fort Brenneman and Amber Davis Parham
