Making a Memorial Museum, with Alice Greenwald

Making the Museum

How do you make an institution that's both a museum and a memorial — at the same time?

How are exhibitions like theater? Is a museum a group experience, or a personal one — or is that a trick question? When is it time to trust your gut? Why is collaboration so important? When is a single milk can the most important object in a museum? How can one single, simple philosophy inform everyone’s work, from the curators to the team making mounts for the artifacts? How are the principles of making a memorial museum different from other types of museums — or are they so different after all?

Alice Greenwald (Principal of Memory Matters, LLC, and past President and Chief Executive Officer of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum) joins host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) to discuss “Making a Memorial Museum.”

Along the way: spackling, reverence, and what happens when a museum director leaves their office door open.

Talking Points:

0. What is a Memorial Museum?
1. Start With Authenticity
2. It’s About Storytelling
3. Museums Are Not Books
4. Practice Conscientious Listening
5. Trust Your Gut
6. Collaboration is Required

How to Listen:

Making the Museum: https://www.makingthemuseum.com/podcast

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-the-museum/id1674901311

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6oP4QJR7yxv7Rs7VqIpI1G

Everywhere: https://makingthemuseum.transistor.fm/

Guest Bio:

Alice M. Greenwald is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of museum practice, with expertise in history, ethnic heritage, and memorial museums. Currently the principal of Memory Matters, LLC, providing strategic advice to museums, memorial projects, senior executives, and boards, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum from 2017-2022 and from 2006 to 2016, as the organization’s Founding Museum Director and Executive Vice President for Exhibitions, Collections and Education. Previously, she was Associate Museum Director, Museum Programs, at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. Alice serves on the boards of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and the United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Foundation and is a Trustee Emerita at Central Synagogue in New York City. She is First Vice President of The Lotos Club, and in January 2024, concluded her service as a board member of the International Council of Museums-US. She holds an M.A. in the History of Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School, and a B.A with concentrations in English Literature and Anthropology from Sarah Lawrence College, where she delivered the commencement address to the class of 2007.

About MtM:

Making the Museum is hosted (podcast) and written (newsletter) by Jonathan Alger. This podcast is a project of C&G Partners | Design for Culture. Learn about the firm's creative work at: https://www.cgpartnersllc.com

Links for This Episode:

Alice by Email:
[e-mail]

Alice at Memory Matters:
https://www.memorymattersllc.com

National September 11th Memorial & Museum:
https://www.911memorial.org

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:
https://www.ushmm.org

Links for MtM, the Podcast:

https://www.makingthemuseum.com/contact
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalger
[e-mail]
https://www.cgpartnersllc.com

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