#drinkingaboutmuseums Baltimore

Although I haven’t felt significantly homesickness since moving to the USA, one thing I do miss is the group of friends and colleagues who regularly used to congregate in Sydney for #drinkingaboutmuseums. In that diverse group of professionals, which ranged from emerging career folk to those in leadership positions, were likeminded souls who pushed my thinking and grew my sense of connection to–and understanding of–the sector.

Not long after moving to Baltimore, I organized a local version of the event here, but I was so new and unsettled that it remained a one-off. Until now.

Next week, #drinkingaboutmuseums will be back in Baltimore, and I cannot wait. Held all over the world, #drinkingaboutmuseums is a regular, informal gathering of museum professionals and enthusiasts that tends to take place in over drinks.

If you’re in the area, join us on Tuesday, February 16 to celebrate, connect and converse with Baltimore’s art community over drinks in an open dialogue about local and global museum landscapes, conditions and concerns, as well as recent news, actions and events.

#drinkingaboutmuseums
When: Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Time: From 6pm
Where: Tír na nÓg Irish Bar & Grill
Who: You!!

Happy Hour specials include $3-5 drafts, $5 glasses of wine, $5 quick bites.

Keep an eye on the Facebook event page or follow the #drinkingaboutmuseums hashtag on Twitter for updates in the lead-up to the event. And if you haven’t been to a #drinkingaboutmuseums before, get in contact with me and I’ll send you my cell number so you can locate us.

I can’t wait to see you there.

PS – A special shout out to my Visitor Services team and colleagues at the BMA who are a major part of making this event happen: Julia Nadeau, Erica Ward, Allie Linn, Ashley Pratt, Annie Fortenberry, Mercedes Lopez, and Shannon Young.

#drinkingaboutmuseums – Sydney – 4 September 2013

Today Seb Chan and Aaron Cope dropped news of one of the coolest things I’ve heard in musetech circles in some time. The Cooper-Hewitt has acquired Planetary – it’s first piece of code – to be preserved as a living object. This is such an interesting idea, and one that fits right into my own ideas about what museums need to be doing and confronting in an era of networked knowledge. I am going to spend a few days sitting with their post and thinking through its implications further before I respond fully, but this is a perfect excuse for plugging next week’s #drinkingaboutmuseums in Sydney, because Seb himself is going to be in appearance. This also means that if you haven’t been to a #drinkingaboutmuseums in a while, it will be a really great one to attend.

So, if you’re a museum/art gallery/culture professional – or student – located in or near Sydney, you should come along. If you haven’t been to a #DAM event before, get in contact with me and I’ll send you my phone number so you can locate us. Or you can follow the #drinkingaboutmuseums hashtag on Twitter for updates in the lead-up to the event.

#drinkingaboutmuseums
When: Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Time: From 5.30pm
Where: Down the Rabbit Hole (a totally appropriate choice following Seb’s most recent immersive theatre experience.)
Who: You!!

The Cooper-Hewitt’s decision to acquire their first piece of code is a really important one, and bound to spark a significant amount of conversation in the sector. This is a great opportunity to talk about it. It’s also a chance to build stronger internal networks within the museum community here in Australia, which is so important.

Earlier tonight I attended the Sydney Open Research meeting and launch of the Open Knowledge Foundation Network Australia – a really important organisation doing great work to open up knowledge. I’ll talk more on this later, but being in the room tonight with a group of passionate, interested people all working on great projects left me really inspired, and renewed my appreciation for the value of informal connections and networks. It’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about the fact that #drinkingaboutmuseums has becomes something of a regular thing. So do come along.

And as always, a quick note about the nomenclature… Despite it’s somewhat US-centric name, #drinkingaboutmuseums is not just about object-based museums. It definitely includes art people, or anyone interested in the GLAM and cultural sectors. Hope to see you there!

#drinkingaboutmuseums – Sydney – Tuesday 9 July

Next Tuesday afternoon, George E. Hein, author of the seminal book Learning in the Museum and more recently Progressive Museum Practice, will be in Sydney to present on the future of learning and education in cultural institutions. Learning in Museums is taking place at the Australian Museum from 3.00pm-4.00pm. Since those who attend will likely to have lots to talk about and digest afterwards, we thought it would be the perfect excuse for #drinkingaboutmuseums.**

If you’re a museum/art gallery/culture professional – or student – located in or near Sydney and can get to Hein’s talk, you should. But if not, come along to the Lord Roberts Hotel afterwards, and we’ll fill you in. If you haven’t been to a DAM event before, get in contact with me and I’ll send you my phone number so you can locate us. Or you can follow the #drinkingaboutmuseums hashtag on Twitter for updates in the lead-up to the event. I’ve posted all the details below.

Learning in Museums
Where? Australian Museum | 6 College Street, Sydney 2000
When? 3.oo-4.00pm. Tuesday 9 July 2013

#drinkingaboutmuseums
Where? Lord Roberts Hotel | 64 Stanley Street, East Sydney 2010
When? From 4.30pm
Who? You! Come along.

**BTW – although in Australia, we tend to call art museums ‘galleries’ rather than ‘museums’ this is an event that is definitely, definitely open to people from the art world. Hope to see you there.

#drinkingaboutmuseums – Tuesday 19 March – Jurassic Lounge

It has been a while since I popped a notice up about a #drinkingaboutmuseums session. The last one was all the way back in November, although there was an impromptu event held earlier this year when Ryan Donahue and Eleanor Whitworth were both in town which I had to miss.

This means that there’s lots of catching up to be done and discussions to be had on all the summer exhibitions, the launch of the National Cultural Policy, and upcoming conferences like Museums and the Web and Museums Australia 2013 So this coming Tuesday 19 March 2013 is the date to do it. And since we are museum people, it has been decided that we shall meet… at a museum. Yep, this month #drinkingaboutmuseums is going to be at Jurassic Lounge at the Australian Museum.

If you’re a museum/GLAM professional (or student) located in or near Sydney and can get to the Australian Museum on Tuesday for Jurassic Lounge, do. Since the museum is a big place, we’ll post updates on location within the museum to Twitter using the #drinkingaboutmuseums hashtag. Or if you’re new and haven’t been to a DAM event before, get in contact with me and I’ll send you my phone number so you don’t get lost.

Where? Jurassic Lounge – Australian Museum | 6 College Street, Sydney, Australia 2000
When? 5.30pm. Tuesday 19 March 2013
Who? You! Come along.

Confession: This is my first time to get to Jurassic Lounge, and I’m looking forward to getting in amongst the dinosaurs to have a drink and a think. I’m also a little excited to notice that the theme for the event next week is Bollywood! Not only does this sound fun in itself, but it also recalls to me an amusing episode from my past, when I was a dream-sequence dancing girl in a Bollywood movie filmed in Sydney in the late 90s. Yes, it’s true. Somewhere out there exists footage of me, getting my Bollywood movie moves on whilst on the steps of the Opera House and various locations around Darling Harbour. So if you come along to #drinkingaboutmuseums on Tuesday, it might be possible to convince me to relive such ‘glory’ days, and shimmy my way around the museum. And if not, it’s just a great opportunity to connect with other museum folk.

Meanwhile, this is just to get you in the mood…

#drinkingaboutmuseums – DC + Sydney

If discussion on my previous post is anything to go by, one of the most pervasive themes that surfaced at MCN2012 was this idea of aggregations of communities, kicking off with Koven’s Ignite talk on the Adjacent Possible and scenius, and developing from there. So I think if you’re in DC or Sydney (and maybe also New Zealand) in the next couple of weeks, you really should come to #drinkingaboutmuseums!

There are two great opportunities locked in before the month is out. One is here in Washington DC this Friday night, and one is in Sydney during the last week of November (perfectly timed to coincide with INTERCOM2012). We are also trying to get an event going during NDF2012 in Wellington next week, but the full details aren’t finalised. I will post back here when we have a time and venue.

#drinkingaboutmuseums DC
Friday 16 November
6.30pm
Quarry House Tavern
Silver Spring

#drinkingaboutmuseums Sydney
Thurs 29th Nov
5.30pm
Courthouse, Newtown
(Thanks to PennyEdwell for putting this one together)

If you haven’t been to a #drinkingaboutmuseums, you should absolutely come along. They are great opportunities to meet other people, talk about museums and the future, and just connect to other people in the sector. Plus, they’re fun.

You can follow the #drinkingaboutmuseums hashtag on Twitter, or check in here if you have any questions, or you just want to come and want a familiar face. Looking forward to it!

#drinkingaboutmuseums – Sydney – Wednesday 19 September

What better way to spend Ask A Curator day than by drinking about museums? Not only can those on Twitter join in the worldwide Q&A with curators by following the #askacurator hashtag, those in Sydney can hold their own discussions about all things museums. This will give us ample opportunity to dissect the curatorial chatter, and add a little of our own. And this #drinkingaboutmuseums is also nicely timed to whet the appetites of those going to Museums Australia 2012 the following week.

We are changing things up a little for this edition of the event, and going to our first bar. What makes this extra cool is that Mojo Records Bar came into existence in response to digital downloading, when the owner of Mojo Music decided to face the music (oh, terrible pun) and look for a new revenue source. So now Sydney has its first record bar. Is there a better location for a discussion about museums adapting to the digital age than in a bar that has done exactly that?!

#drinkingaboutmuseums – Sydney
When: 5.30pm Wednesday 19 September 2012
Where: Mojo Records Bar (73 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000)
Who: You! And me too.

One other thing makes this edition of #drinkingaboutmuseums Sydney a little unique, in that it’s the first time it’s been initiated by someone other than me. Thanks to Penny Edwell for organising this event! It’s great to see it taking on a life of its own, both here and overseas. Indianapolis is about to have their first #drinkingaboutculture, and Barcelona had their first #drinkingaboutmuseums night recently too. It is unstoppable!

If you haven’t been before, and want to get in touch, comment here or follow the #drinkingaboutmuseums hashtag on Twitter. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

#drinkingaboutmuseums – Sydney – 3 July

Hey meeps (museumpeeps).The #drinkingaboutmuseums movement is spreading! It was held in New York last week, and there is now talk of a London event too. Exciting!

But the next date and place for #drinkingaboutmuseums Sydney has been decided, so come along and drink about museums, technology and the future. We will be getting together on Tuesday 3 July 2012 at the Courthouse Hotel, Newtown. I’m going to aim to be there from about 5.30pm, so rock up anytime in the hour or two following and come and talk museums.

If you’ve got any questions, leave a comment or find me on Twitter or follow the #drinkingaboutmuseums tag. When you rock up, if you don’t know anyone, there is a good chance I am going to be wearing a bright yellow jacket with similarly bright red hair, so I should be fairly easy to spot. Looking forward to it!