The art history department at Case Western Reserve University has asked Slover Linett to lead part of a planning study for a unique new research center. The project is a collaboration between Case Western, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and other educational and cultural organizations in northeast Ohio.

The proposed center, provisionally dubbed the Center for Art Museum Studies, will explore links among objects, audiences, and professional practices in the art museum context. That three-fold focus will allow the center and its collaborators to create new knowledge, experiment with alternative approaches, and contribute to the training of a new generation of practitioners.

This summer, Slover Linett will facilitate a series of exploratory sessions about the center with potential partners and stakeholders, from scholars and art professionals to community leaders and government representatives. We will also conduct in-depth interviews with a range of potential audiences for the center’s programming.

Funding for the feasibility study has been provided by the provost’s office at Case Western. The report from this work will become part of a final funding proposal this Fall.

Slover Linett’s work will be led by Sarah Lee, the firm’s senior associate for museums and a PhD candidate at the University of Chicago, in collaboration with Tom Shapiro, principal of Cultural Strategy Partners, a Chicago-based museum planning and marketing consultancy.

“The vision for this center is totally fresh and exciting,” Lee says. “It’s going to be a real pleasure to help the working group develop it further with input from around the field.”

We welcome questions and suggestions about this important project from our colleagues in education, the arts, and museums. If you would like more information or can shed light on an aspect of the planning process, please contact Sarah Lee by email or by phone at (773) 348-9214.
 

Category: Museums