Danny Beyer, sporting the new IMA Blog t-shirt

The IMA joined Flickr a little late in the game, but I feel like we are really starting to use it in some interesting ways.  My colleague Despi recently created a set featuring the new IMA blog t-shirts.  You’ll be hearing more about that.  Our conversation department has been active creating individual case studies on art objects.  You can learn about a recent Thornton Dial acquisition here (complete with video), or the treatment of a Saarinen Sideboard.  It’s an interesting glimpse into some behind-the-scenes action at an art museum and a new way of discovering engaging content.  Look for more of these conservation case studies in the very near future.

2009 will bring lots of activity to the IMA, especially in 100 Acres: The Virginia B.  Fairbanks Art and Nature Park.  The Nugget Factory will be working very closely with the contemporary department to document the art installations, capturing artist interviews and developing new visitor experiences.  On Flickr, we created a set dedicated set to Type A’s involvement in this space, here (I recommend the videos).  Under development, is the official 100 Acres Flickr group.  We’re still tweaking it, but please feel free to join and contribute your photography.

IMA’s Horticulture department was kind enough to place some new signs across the beautiful IMA campus.  We often spot photographers walking our grounds and we would love to see their perspective.  I hope these signs encourage or inspire our visitors to go online and shape IMA’s presence on Flickr.  I mean that.

We really want you to get involved in Flickr

IMA blogger Noelle, also just completed a Flickr article in PREVIEWS, the publication for members of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  I told you we love Flickr, perhaps a little obsessed.  If anyone is interested in a copy, leave a comment and I’ll send you one.

And finally, Museums and the Web will be hosting their annual conference in Indianapolis next April.  They’ve created a group requesting images of Indianapolis.  It will give conference attendees from all over the world (Australia, Japan and Holland) a chance to discover our city and check out the new airport.

I’m all Flickr’d out.  Have any Flickr ideas?  Let me know.

Parades Are Really Hard Work -
On Procession is just 2 weeks away. This seems almost incomprehensibly imminent. After nearly 2 years of hard work, the IMA is ready to take art into the streets of Indianapolis for an exhibition on parade. From porta-potties to posters, participants to police the logistics of organizing a parade have been challenging and at times, overwhelming. And the real kicker is that the parade’s success is dependant as much on Mother Nature as it is on the last few months of hard work. Rain or shine, hell or high water we’re having this event. I’m certain that on April 26 we’re going to see the streets of Fountain Square flooded with people and not rain!

People Love Swag – The T-shirt contest is a real hit. In fact, it’s such a big success that we’re considering producing more IMA blog-related items. If you have thoughts as to what kind of additional swag you’d like to receive from the IMA, please comment on this entry. We’re open to any and all ideas – the cleverer the better. Oh and by the way, does anyone know where we can purchase a t-shirt gun?

Project IMA = Huge Crowd – Last Friday night we had almost 2,000 people attend Project IMA. It was exciting to see so many people at the museum in support of fashion art and local designers. Filled to the brim with the hippest folks in the city, the IMA was FIERCE (to borrow a word from the most recent Project Runway winner, Christian Siriano). In fact, the event was so well attended that we reached max capacity for the show almost 30 minutes before it actually began.

I Bummed I’m Missing MW2008 – I’m looking forward to a full report from my colleagues who are attending MW2008 this year in Montreal. Social Media, User-Generated Content, New Media Art AND CANADA…seriously, I’m a geek for this stuff. If you find yourself in Montreal near the Hilton Montreal Bonaventure, you should stop by. On Friday, the Nugget Factory’s very own Dan Dark will be part of a large group conducting a mini-workshop about YouTube.