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Debate about Deaccessioning in US Museums

A recent important resource about the legal and ethical dimensions of deaccessioning is the inaugural “Civil Conversations Program” of the University of Miami School of Law’s Hoffman Forum. The video is of wide interest to its global community of university museums and collections.

Participants:

Jill Deupi, Beaux Arts Director & Chief Curator, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Martin Gammon, Founder and President, Pergamon Art Group

Glenn Lowry, The David Rockefeller Director, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Elizabeth Merritt, Vice President for Strategic Foresight and Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums, American Alliance of Museums

Stephen Urice, Professor of Law, Dean’s Distinguished Scholar, and Director, Entertainment, Arts, & Sports Law LL.M., University of Miami School of Law

Co-hosted by: Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Graduate Program at the University of Miami School of Law and the LOWE Art Museum

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UMAC AWARD 2021: Call for Nominations

UMAC invites the university museums and collections global community to submit nominations to the UMAC AWARD 2021.

Do you know a particularly outstanding project by a university museum or collection? Was your own university museum or collection involved in an exceptionally significant project that you think deserves international visibility?

The Call for Nominations will be open until 28 February 2021 and the nominations can only be made online.

Please find the online form and information about eligibility, selection criteria and more here.

We can’t wait to see the 2021 nominations!

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University of Tartu Museum Wins the UMAC Award 2020

The 2020 UMAC Award was won by the project ‘A Hundred Faces of the University of Tartu’, submitted by the Tartu University Museum, Estonia. The award was accepted by Mariann Raisma, Director of the Museum, during an online ceremony held today on youtube:

The objective of the University of Tartu Museum’s project was to portray the University through encounters between current scholars and historical objects. In the course of the project, a photo exhibition called “Get Your Spirit Ready! A Hundred Faces of the University of Tartu” was mounted, and a book called A Hundred Faces of the University of Tartu was published. The latter focused on 100 objects from the University of Tartu collections which enabled the scholars to describe their fields of activity. The exhibition travelled to the University’s various buildings around Estonia, thereby introducing colleagues to each other, and the University’s outstanding scholars to the students. Now the exhibition is part of a new permanent exhibition called The University of Our Lives at the Museum.

In second place were the “Egyptian Coffins Project” by the Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge University, UK) and the “Return of Cultural Heritage Project: Manchester Museum Repatriation” by the Manchester Museum (University of Manchester, UK).

 

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Nominees for the UMAC Award 2020

Today, the three nominees for the UMAC Award 2020 have been announced by Akiko Fukuno, Chair of the UMAC Award Committee.

We invite you to learn more about these three outstanding projects every Monday in September on our YouTube channel:

7 September: The Egyptian Coffins Project, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, with Steph Scholten (UMAC)

14 September: Return of Cultural Heritage Project, The Manchester Museum, University of Manchester, with Akiko Fukuno (UMAC)

21 September: A Hundred Faces of the University of Tartu, Tartu University Museum, with Andrew Simpson (UMAC)

28 September: Announcement of the Winner of the UMAC Award

 

 

 

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Solidarity with University Museums and Collections in Beirut — UPDATES

Wednesday, 9 September 2020

Grâce Homsy-Gotwalles discute des opportunités de formation des professionnels des musées après l’explosion à Beyrouth.

Avec Sébastien Soubiran, UMAC Board/UNIVERSEUM/Université de Strasbourg.

Thursday, 27 August 2020

Suzy Hakimian, Chair of ICOM-Lebanon talks to us about the impact of the explosion, the reconstruction of museums, the international effort, and more.

Friday, 14 August 2020

Elsa Urtizverea, Heritage Protection Coordinator at the ICOM Secretariat in Paris shares her first hand impressions and explains the next steps for the international recovery efforts.

Wednesday, 12 August 2020

To the volunteers in Beirut:

Transcription:

Dear volunteers,

The international community of university museums and collections is deeply sorry for the shocking tragedy that happened last week in your beautiful city of Beirut, Lebanon. You, your family, your friends and all citizens of Beirut are in our minds and hearts, and I sincerely hope you are all well.

I want to express my deepest gratitude, on behalf of UMAC, for your amazing capacity of response and spirit of solidarity. The task ahead is huge and barely starting, but I am confident that with your help, resilience and passion, the cultural heritage of Beirut – particularly the outstanding museums, collections and archives of Beirut universities – will soon be well preserved and accessible again for research, education and culture.

On the international community side, the response has also been super quick and we are proud to be part of a coalition of institutions involving ICOM, ICOMOS, the Blue Shield, and others, led by ICOM Lebanon.

I want each and every one of you to know that you are not alone. You will be working towards the preservation of heritage that is not only of the Lebanese but of citizens from all over the world, of citizens of the future. Your hands and minds will be the hands and minds of hundreds of us who cannot be physically with you at this moment.

Thank you all, and thank you Gilbert, Elsy and David for mobilizing this extraordinary group. Together we will restore Beirut’s cultural heritage to its 3 August glory – perhaps even better. And I look forward to meeting you personally, one by one, as soon as possible.

Take care.

Marta Lourenço, University of Lisbon

12.08.2020

Sunday, 9 August 2020

The architects Gilbert Nicolas, Elsy Sayegh and David Chelala are mobilizing volunteers to assess damages to museums in Beirut, assist with the clean up and reporting back to ICOM-UMAC.

They will be working with ICOM-Lebanon and Elsa Urtizverea, from the Heritage Protection Department of the ICOM Secretariat in Paris.

If you are in Beirut, your help is most appreciated. Sign in here to volunteer.

Friday, 7 August 2020

For the past 48 hours, Gilbert Nicholas has been visiting museums in Beirut, talking to staff, documenting damages and helping with the clean up. Today, he gives UMAC a first-hand report on the impact, particularly to university museums and collections.

 

 

 

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Treasures of Polish University Heritage

In May 2014, the first non-governmental organization in Poland dedicated to Polish museums and museum units at universities was established – the Association of University Museums. The strength of the university museum community in Poland is evident in the Association’s growth: with 13 museums on 2014, today it has 102 university museums.

The Association of University Museums makes the society aware of the importance of academic heritage as an important dimension of national identity. The most important goal of the Association is to develop university museums and preserve academic heritage through its protection, dissemination and promotion, as well as to support the collection, documentation and conservation of monuments, and develop scientific research. A wide range of information activities is carried out, promoting the idea of university museums in Poland and abroad.

Several publications have resulted from the activities of the Association: “University Museums”, ed. H. Kowalski, M. Grassmann, M. Bukowski; “University Museum in Poland”, ed. H. Kowalski, M. Grassmann, M. Bukowski, Warsaw 2016; K. Pomian, “Museums and nations in Central Europe”, Warsaw 2016; “University Museums. Catalogue” ed. H. Kowalski, M. Grassmann, M. Bukowski, M. Piszczatowska, J. Ślaga, Warsaw 2017.

In 2020, the Association of University Museums is implementing the project “TREASURES OF THE POLISH UNIVERSITY HERITAGE”. This project will publish in English a catalogue of the most valuable objects from 102 museum units of Polish universities. The project will also create a website in English. The official launch of the catalogue will take place December 16th, 2020 in the Warsaw University Museum.

The project “TREASURES OF THE POLISH UNIVERSITY HERITAGE” has been co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund.

More information about the project here.