Arts & Technology

An Introduction to RFID Technology

An Introduction to RFID Technology

Radio Frequency identification technology (RFID) is nothing new, and many museums are already using it for inventory and security of their pieces. If organizations already have the technology, there are boundless opportunities as to how they can use it to increase efficiency and enhance the visitor’s experience. But how does this new technology work?

Intro to Beacons for Arts Managers

Intro to Beacons for Arts Managers

Connecting the real and digital worlds, beacons will prove to be excellent pieces not only for marketing and general propaganda about your specific location, but as informational tools in your local museum or performing arts company. Beacons focus on the consumer, the integral part to any organization regardless of industry. So far, beacons are most common in the retail world, but they can easily be transferable into other industries, like the arts. That’s why you’re here today. Beacons could transform your organization, and I’m here to navigate you through this process in an understandable way.

Gallery One: Engaging Audiences Infographic

Gallery One: Engaging Audiences Infographic

How do you learn best about art? Maybe you lightly browse, interact with friends, or get right in the middle of the action. There are multiple ways to engage with and explore art forms, however cultural institutions may not always program to meet these needs. 

The Cleveland Museum of Art's Gallery One activities, on the other hand, were designed with people's learning needs and preferences in mind. In this article I apply WolfBrown's Making Sense of Audience Engagement Audience Typologies to the different initiatives to see how learners can interact with the the Art Lens App, Collection Wall, Interactives, and Studio Play at the CMA. 

The Giving Pledge: A Start to Engage Tech Philanthropy

The Giving Pledge: A Start to Engage Tech Philanthropy

To understand why arts organizations have struggled to capture funds from tech billionaires, arts managers and development professionals would do well to recognize what philanthropic sectors they are losing these dollars to, and why.  Armed with these insights, arts professionals can then adjust their strategies to better appeal to this new and growing donor segment.

STEAM Learning at the Carnegie Science Center

STEAM Learning at the Carnegie Science Center

Moving the conversation around public education from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) has long beleaguered arts managers and arts educators alike.  Defending the argument for arts programming and arts education can be difficult in the face of shrinking school budgets and a highly competitive grant environment.  Particularly in a country that increasingly favors the hard sciences above the humanities, cultural pursuits, and artistic studies.  Despite gains at the federal level with the new core arts standards, the STEAM caucus, and the first budget increase for the National Endowment for the Arts in years, it is still easy to feel defeated.  The question remains, what can arts leaders and community organizers do at the local level to push the conversation in a positive direction?