The American Alliance of Museums has announced the launch of its 2020 Impact Report and Strategic Plan Retrospective, which is available to download now. In the report, the organisation will look back at a challenging year for the sector, but will also reflect on the previous five years of growth, innovation and transformation that have allowed museums to build back stronger.
The global pandemic showed how valuable museums can be to their communities, and also that, through the AAM, these institutions and the people who run them are stronger together.
Museums are stronger together
“As people everywhere quarantined, museums closed their doors and faced the worst financial crisis in generations,” says AAM’s President and CEO, Laura Lott. “Many institutions are still closed, some permanently, and others face years of recovery.
“On top of a global pandemic, 2020 piled on additional challenges in the form of an election cycle that sharply divided the United States and a national conversation about the systemic racism that has plagued us for centuries. Our mettle was tested far beyond what we ever imagined, but we also saw the good in people, society, and institutions.
“As museums across the country stepped up to fill critical gaps—whether that meant donating Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), offering their outdoor spaces to quarantined neighbors, or providing engaging, accessible educational content to students learning at home—AAM was fighting for museums.
“Billions of dollars in relief funding were made available to our field, thanks to thousands of hours we committed to museum advocacy efforts. Hundreds of free resources were assembled to help museums navigate an unprecedented crisis.”
Over the past few years, AAM has been working to strengthen the museum sector through advocacy and personal development opportunities, as well as a significant museum trustee initiative, in addition to providing COVID-19 resources over the previous 18 months.
“115 years after AAM’s founding, our field is more relevant and diverse than ever, our Alliance is bolder and stronger, our future is brighter—and our communities need museums like never before. Let’s continue to move our field and our communities forward together,” adds Lott.
To download the report, please click here.
Earlier this year, the AMM also released a report entitled Museums and Creative Aging: A Healthful Partnership, which calls on museums to change the narrative about growing old in America.
