Newly appointed President of Old Salem Museums and Gardens, Franklin Vagnone, will begin his tenure with a ‘One Night Stand’ in the historic Tavern Museum.
Co-author of The Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums, Vagnone routinely spends the night in historic house museums and heritage sites before writing about their relevance for modern audiences in his internationally popular blog.
“We believe Frank is the ideal candidate to push us as we work to make our museums more relevant to 21st-century audiences, ” said the Chairman of Old Salem’s Board of Trustees, Chris Minter-Dowd. “You can expect that he will bring creative and unconventional ideas and approaches to our programming and operations.”
Vagnone’s overnight stay in the Tavern Museum is planned for December 1, 2016. The venue, built around 1784 played host to George Washington when he visited Salem in 1791. Vagnone, who heads up cultural and museum consulting firm, Twisted Preservation, plans to blog about his experiences and his first impressions of Old Salem.
“Old Salem has set a clear, new path toward innovation and immersive experiences for heritage sites, and it perfectly aligns with my professional efforts, ” reported Vagnone. “We will be a national model for creative ways that heritage sites can remain central to our everyday lives.”
Old Salem Museums & Gardens is one of America’s most comprehensive and authentic historic visitor attractions. It encompasses the Historic Town of Salem, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), and the Gardens at Old Salem, which together shine a light on the history of the people who lived and worked in the early South.
