How are museums responding to COVID19?

Here is a loose collection of discoveries about museums around the world, resulting from a brows-and-search exercise. There was no specific target other than getting a feel for how museums around the world are reacting to the COVID19 pandemic. We may add to it if we make interesting discoveries, but we’ll have to see. Thank you to those who contributed – you know who you are 🙂

Initial/Physical Response

• Most institutions shutting doors until April-May, or indefinitely.
• Some continue very limited admission (not advisable).
• Some retain back-of-house staff, which allows them to engage more easily via social media as they work on projects (conservation, exhibits, etc.).
• Regarding finances: some institutions are asking whether cancelled events would be willing to donate (at least partially), rather than refund $. Unfortunately, best case seems to be to wait/hope for government grants.
• Many museums have been rapid collecting, and asking people to record/share their experiences during the pandemic: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/31/arts/design/museums-coronavirus-pandemic-artifacts.html

Digital Transition

• China, hit first by the epidemic, has curated ~50 online exhibits, accessible via their cultural heritage website: http://www.ncha.gov.cn/art/2020/2/1/art_722_158567.html. This includes everything from video to interactive websites to google street view.
• Social media presence has increased(?) For example, #musuemfrom(at)home, #museummomentofzen, #localmuseumsunite and #colourourcollections have been trending; these are possible bandwagons to jump on.
• The Smithsonian’s Learning Lab (@SmithsonianLab) is very on top of their virtual engagement/education right now.
  • See their “create collections” capability.

Resources for the Present

• The Philbrook’s quick, but smart response can provide some guidance for the rest of us: https://www.museumnext.com/article/reorganise-reuse-get-creative-and-relaunch-lessons-from-philbrook/
• Museum Hour (@museum_hour) on twitter had a COVID-19 question session that garnered a lot of responses from people at different institutions. Particularly relevant:
  Q3: With many people now self-isolating what can museums do to support and engage with these people? Do you have any ideas to share for supporting, calming and brightening communities and individuals that does not involve physical presence? (https://twitter.com/museumhour/status/1240627079927836672?s=20)
  Q4: Continuing this theme, with school closures due to come in to force at the end of this week across the UK, what can museums be doing to remotely support learning and engagement of children and young people in particular? (https://twitter.com/museumhour/status/1240628589802008577?s=20)
• Many people are sharing this comprehensive guide to virtual museum resources: http://mcn.edu/a-guide-to-virtual-museum-resources/.
• Another resource for anything related to collections care: https://www.connectingtocollections.org/resources/.
• Peak Experience Lab put out a blog post on empathetic engagement: http://www.peakexperiencelab.com/blog/2020/3/25/empathetic-audience-engagement-during-the-apocalypse?fbclid=IwAR1jOzufEMaNrOrV4BgLTjmI_ht0VSgtGb_ZmYiai9mNddPoORZAeBUbKLU & an accompanying google doc to identify new target audiences + their needs https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MwE3OsljV8noouDopXJ2B3MFXZZvrVSZR8jSrDomf5M/edit.
• There’s a lot of chatter about general & specific COVID-19 related problems/solutions on the Facebook group “Emerging Museum Professionals”, for those eligible to join.
• Cuseum is producing a series of resources, including:
  • Webinar 1: How to Keep your Audience Engaged in the Age of Coronavirus https://cuseum.com/webinars/how-to-keep-your-audience-engaged-entertained-and-inspired-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-video. Some main points from this webinar:
    • Now is the time to be catching the interest of the usual non-visitors
    • People want to share, & to be with other people in some way (2-way engagement). They’re looking for a) education and b) an escape.
    • Focusing on ‘verbs’ i.e. learn, explore, make.
    • Maybe not the time to reinvent, but to adapt/modify current tools.
    • Think about peoples’ daily rhythms (thoughtful content fresh in morning, lighter content in the afternoon).
    • Museum games! e. Sunday crossword.
    • Considering sharing other resources/linking to other museum efforts (it’s not a competition; network!).
    • Brand yourself as more than ‘smart’.
    • Changing the paradigm of what is shared/included.
    • Staying relevant/in peoples’ consciousness.
    • What can we do for the community in this moment?
    • Keep goals realistic; resist the urge to take on too much.
    • Can’t ‘compete’ with national museums with large collections/resources, so focus on unique, local take.
  • Webinar 2: How to Captivate and Connect with your Audience During Coronavirus
    https://cuseum.com/webinars/how-to-captivate-connect-and-communicate-with-your-audience-during-coronavirus-video
    Webinar 3: How Museums Can Experiment with Social Media to Boost Audience Engagement During Coronavirus https://cuseum.com/webinars/how-museums-can-experiment-with-social-media-to-boost-audience-engagement-during-coronavirus-video
    Webinar 4: How to Craft Meaningful and Mindful Content in the Age of Coronavirus
    https://cuseum.com/webinars/how-to-craft-meaningful-and-mindful-digital-content-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-video
  • Note: Linked to an older article put out by the ROM about successful social media strategies (“epic” content) for museums & non-profits: https://medium.com/rom-web-team/epic-content-how-to-build-high-impact-content-f5f241a8285f
  • Webinar 5: Thinking Outside the Box to reach Audiences Inside their Homes: https://cuseum.com/webinars/thinking-outside-the-box-to-reach-audiences-inside-their-homes-video
• Connecting to Collections Care hosted a live chat focusing on Collections Care in the Age of COVID-19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqiCJQq6Ejo&feature=youtu.be

Planning for the Future

• The American Alliance for Museums has provided some guidelines + theoretical models for the outbreak, based on level of risk: https://www.aam-us.org/2020/03/13/using-scenarios-to-plan-your-museums-covid-19-coronavirus-response/.
• For those who rely on visitors for revenue, an article was written re: retaining your audience and the importance of marketing in the lull: https://www.colleendilen.com/2020/03/18/why-marketing-matters-during-covid-19-closures-key-factors-to-consider-data/
• Some preliminary data re: visitors’ plans to return to cultural institutions: https://www.colleendilen.com/2020/03/16/special-how-covid-19-is-impacting-intentions-to-visit-cultural-entities-data/
• NEMO has released the results of an ongoing survey (end: April 17^th) which assesses the impact of COVID-19 upon museums in the EU, and makes recommendations for the future. 650+ institutions surveyed so far: https://www.ne-mo.org/news/article/nemo/nemo-publishes-results-of-survey-on-the-impact-of-the-corona-crisis-on-museums-in-europe.html?fbclid=IwAR0ntvjjE6emL-bN0rNjxXKZHpqS6wNv_Zm4TeLL0ArzglOq8RiHLvdwsWY