What is your museum giving up for Lent?

Yesterday began the Christian season of Lent, the six weeks leading up to Easter. For Christians, Lent is a time of introspection, resolution, and moderation-- a time for positive change. Traditionally, it has also been a time when believers give up some comfortable indulgence, at least until the Easter Bunny arrives.

Here's an idea, what if instead of giving up your morning Starbucks, or late-night sweets, you pledged to help your museum give up some of its comfortably self-indulgent practices over the next six weeks?

My list of five habits your museum could lose for Lent:

1. Starting new initiatives or designing programs without first checking in with the museum's strategic plan. Instead, be sure that your efforts will not only support your mission, but also make progress toward meeting specific objectives.
2. Ignoring popular cultural trends/events that could otherwise build valuable connections for your visitors. For example, with two weeks of Olympic competition taking place, geography, science, math, weather, history, and cultures could easily be highlighted and give your content a contemporary spin.
3. Not recycling in your cafe. I continue to be amazed by the number of museums where recycling receptacles are not provided for guests in the cafe. Let us be leaders in doing the right thing for our planet.
4. Giving today's students the same tour you have given for the last 15 to 20 years. Most of us are only too happy to point out the differences between the youth of today and the childhood we knew ourselves. If kids are so different today, why are many museums still dragging students through the same tired school tour that was already old when I took it twenty-some years ago?
5. Forgetting the little things families need for a successful museum visit. As we move toward spring break and the increase in family visitors it always brings, take a spin through your museum and make sure that the galleries, cafe, and restrooms are prepared to make families welcome and comfortable during their stay. See my post "Is your museum family-friendly? Really??" for details on how to maximize your impact with minimum effort.

With just a few changes over the next 6 weeks your museum can head into spring with a fresh sense of commitment to serving your audience with authentic experiences and attention to detail. So, what are you giving up for Lent?

Image: No Cupcakes magnet from Zazzle.com

CMA Chalk Festival photos

Indeed it was a beautiful day on Sunday and the weather was perfect for the Chalk Festival. Unfortunately, I could not get my mobile blog posting software to upload the photos from my phone live that afternoon, but here they are.

20th Annual Chalk Festival this weekend at the Cleveland Museum of Art

I just checked the local 5-day forecast and am delighted to report that our resident meteorologists are predicting a beautiful weekend here in Cleveland. This is particularly great news since the Cleveland Museum of Art will be hosting its 20th Annual Chalk Festival on Saturday and Sunday, and I am heading down to the Circle with my family for all of the fun.

The Museum's chalk festival draws on a centuries-old European tradition first practiced outside of Cathedrals in Italy, where poor beggars would decorate the sidewalks with chalk and charcoal drawings of famous paintings. This weekend, you are invited to come down to the Museum and try your hand at reproducing the Old Masters, or to produce your own original masterpiece. Sidewalk squares are $8, or $16, depending on the size and come with all of the chalk needed to begin your piece de resistance.

Don't want to get your hands dirty? That's fine, you can admire the chalk drawings created by renowned artists, groove to live music, and stroll the beautiful gardens around the Wade Lagoon all for free. That's right, there is no admission fee, and the weather looks sunny, so plan to come down and join the festivities. The event runs from 11:00 to 5:00 on Saturday the 12th, and from 12:00 to 5:00 on Sunday the 13th.

I am planning to be there with my husband and our two little girls on Sunday to color a square. We plan to create an original abstract work, incorporating the prominent toddler and preschool influences that affect our creative vision during this predominantly pink period we find ourselves in right now. But, knowing how things go with small fry, it may end up as one of those unfinished classics that the artists, once distracted, never return to finish. Photos to follow next week.

For more information on the music performances, the history of the Chalk Festival, or to reserve a sidewalk square, check out the Museum of Art's Newsroom blog, or visit the Museum's website.