***Committee Feature: Meet the Member Advocacy Committee*** The member advocacy committee is a volunteer-run committee of ARCS. Since our inception, we have been advocating for equitable and transparent pay, paid internships, self-advocacy and mental health resources during the pandemic, underscoring DEAI concerns in our field, as well as practical ways that ARCS can promote and support collections professionals.
This year we are focused on the importance of providing support for ARCS members during the pandemic. Look out for upcoming resources and programming informed by the results of the COVID-19 Employment Impact Survey ( http://www.arcsinfo.org/programs/resources/covid-19-employment-impact-survey-results) conducted last fall, including a slate of resources to support contract professionals, as well as a series of educational webinars in partnership with the Education Committee this summer. We also suggest checking out the newly released Working with Independent Museum Professionals: A Guide to Help Museums Find and Work with IMPs ( http://www.arcsinfo.org/content/documents/working_with_imps_final.pdf), which seeks to promote a more equitable and transparent relationship between museums and contractors. Hear more from us next week during our ARCS Instagram #takeover! Are you working on advocacy issues or have suggestions for topics our committee should address? We want to hear from you! Reach out to chair, MJ Hagan, at m...@mjhcollections.com. Committee Members MJ Hagan, Chair Sydney Briggs Erin Tohill Robin Rebecca Forrest Skye Monson Cynthia Tovar, Board Liaison ***ARCS/IMP-AAM Working with Independent Museum Professionals Guide*** Independent museum professionals (IMPs, aka freelancers, consultants, and contractors) are essential to the museum economy. Remarkably, few resources exist to guide American museums to find and work effectively with consultants and contractors. IMP, a professional network of AAM, in collaboration with the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists (ARCS), has developed a primer to assist museum staff at all levels to understand, appreciate, and benefit from working with independent colleagues. Working with Independent Museum Professionals: A Guide to Help Museums Find and Work with IMPs (2021) describes how to engage and collaborate with independents across myriad disciplinary specialties. Perhaps most important, Working with Independent Museum Professionals calls out the need for ethical contracting and collaboration to benefit both the museum and consultant. http://www.arcsinfo.org/content/documents/working_with_imps_final.pdf ***#ARCSchat Lost in the News: Paddy Johnson Decodes the Headlines*** Deaccessioning, unionizing, social justice, NFTs, and more. For the April episode of #ARCSchat, we dish on the great cultural and collections controversies in the news with Paddy Johnson, founder of VVrkshop and the Art F City blog, as well as the co-host of the Explain Me podcast. She has contributed to The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Economist, CNN, VICE, Gizmodo, Observer, Frieze Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, The Art Newspaper, and Hyperallergic. She was a columnist for Artnet, The L Magazine, and Art in America. Show up to this indulgent chat with a giant bottle of your hottest takes and let Paddy uncork it with her cunning insight. Paddy Johnson: @artfcity @vvrkshop.art Tuesday, April 6, 2021 1:00 p.m. ET YouTube Live- https://www.youtube.com/c/AssociationofRegistrarsandCollectionsSpecialists Don't forget to sign in to your Google/Gmail/YouTube account to participate in the chat ***Upcoming Events and News*** --Save The Date Leadership Series - May 6, May 27 & June 17, 2021 1:00pm ET--- ARCS is excited to announce its first webinar series, which will focus on Leadership in Museums. The goal of this three-part series is to provide attendees with the skills and guidance to become better advocates and leaders in their field and within their individual institutions. Session 1, “What Do We Mean by Leadership?”, will be an interactive workshop style webinar that explores what leadership means in a nonprofit and museum context. Session 2, “Leadership & Communication”, will explore the connections among leadership, communication, and leadership styles, and the ways they impact how you work with and lead others. Session 3, “Leadership & Teams”, will build on the ideas of the previous webinars to leverage your leadership strengths to achieve team goals. Members can attend just one session, or attend all three for maximum growth potential. This series will be taught by Dr. Debbie Ford, Faculty member for the Smithsonian Cultural Heritage Initiative (SCRI)/Prince Klaus Fund Leadership for Cultural Heritage Professionals course, Associate Professor of leadership and communication in Creighton University’s Interdisciplinary Leadership EdD program, and Associate Vice Provost for Creighton’s Teaching & Learning Center. _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l@mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://lists.mcn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l The MCN-L archives can be found at: http://www.mail-archive.com/mcn-l@mcn.edu/
