From writing large-scale, big-budget marketing plans to proofing marketing pieces for the printer, I generally have about 15-30 different projects cross my desk every day. Some things take a considerable amount of attention, while others take seconds. Some days I have six meetings, while others I have just one. As with many jobs, my position requires me to switch back and forth between projects all day, every day. At times, I find the harried nature and varied scope of my work to be exhausting. But most of the time, I find it exhilarating. Regardless, I love every minute.

To give you an overview of what someone who works in museum marketing does , I thought that I’d outline my typical day. In order to do that, I recorded my activities throughout the past Monday. While some of you were relaxing (or partying) on your Columbus Day off, I was hard at work with my fellow colleagues at the IMA.

Image taken from ugotbling.com

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Filed under: Marketing, Musings

It’s amazing how time flies.  It seems like yesterday that ArtBabble officially launched, all the way back in April.  I remember many of the IMA staff, and even our friends at Art:21 working into the early hours of the night to make sure everything was ready for the launch.  I might have even enjoyed a glass of scotch to celebrate when I finally went to bed around 3am.  It was a proud accomplishment for many of us at the IMA who had poured a tremendous amount of effort into creating the site.  On top of that, we were beyond thrilled to partner with organizations like Art:21, LACMA, SFMoMA, MoMA, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and NYPL.

But, you might be quick to point out, that’s yesterdays news.  And you’re right.

Goodies on ArtBabble

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Filed under: New Media, Technology

Though I’m writing this post from NYC I don’t want you to get the impression that I travel a lot.  The vast majority of my days are spent down in the “service level” of the museum conserving objects.  But today is a rare exception:  I’m at the Conflux Festival for the rest of the weekend with IMA adjunct curator Rebecca Uchill to experiment with ways to enhance our work with documenting variable art – art without a static original visible state (such as time-based media or ephemeral art).

Here’s a link to our project description.

Since the Conflux Festival is “The art and technology festival for the creative exploration of urban public space” we thought this would be an ideal place to expand our ideas and methods for documentation as we prepare for a number of upcoming projects in the contemporary department.

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Filed under: Art, Conservation, Current Events

I’m glad to have Irvin’s report that clearly shows spring is on its way and to know that in a matter of weeks the sky won’t be that low, oppressive grey. This means soon I’ll be working on the outdoor sculpture – from washing, cleaning, and waxing to the occasional, necessary repair. You may have seen some of the conservation work we’ve done on the IMA’s famous LOVE sculpture in this youtube video.

But this year I’d like to ask you to lend me a hand in taking care of the IMA’s outdoor sculpture. No, no, I’m not talking about actually getting you to join me in doing the labor, but I’d like to ask you to participate in a kind of experiment in documenting some of the sculpture on the grounds – that is to say make Wikipedia entries and upload some pictures of the IMA’s sculptures. If you don’t’ already know, anyone can make Wikipedia entries!

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Filed under: Conservation

Prostitution. Politics. Humiliation. The headline of The New York Times yesterday read, “Foes of Sex Trade Are Stung by a Champion’s Fall” in bold letters. For most people a cover story about the sexual exploits of a major politician would stop them at page one. Not me.

Don’t get me wrong, the downfall of a two-timing governor is fascinating. Typically, I’d be all over that story, but Wednesday’s The New York Times (NYT) had more thrilling tales buried deep within…

What could possibly be more captivating than a bona fide sex scandal? If you peel yourself away from page 1 and dig deep into the paper, past sections B, C, and D, and continue all the way to section H, you’ll find the NYT’s annual special section on Museums. It’s 44 pages dedicated to the art, business, and people of museums.

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Filed under: Current Events, Marketing