Devon Akmon's presentation delivered at the Registrars Committee of the American Association of Museums' (RC-AAM) fourth International Registrars Symposium (IRS 2011) in Houston, Texas. November 4-6, 2011

1. Cultural Sensitivity in
Museum Stewardship
Devon M. Akmon
Deputy Director | Arab American National Museum

2. Mission: The Arab American National Museumdocuments, preserves
and presents the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans.
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
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3. • To further our educational and
public programs
• To dispel stereotypes and
misconceptions
• To meet rapid growth and
increased demands
• To document, preserve and
celebrate Arab American
history and culture
Building a Museum
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
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4. http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
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…In a Post-9/11 Environment

5. Initial Challenges
• What kind of museum and who would it be for?
• Fear of reinforcing stereotypes or “outsider image”
• How to best reflect the diversity of the community
• The question of representation
• Constructing an Arab American identity
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
rg

6. “A Democratic Grassroots Approach”
• Assess the (national) community’s support for a
museum
• Create a Museum Task Force for guidance and fund
raising
• Build upon established relationships
• Work with regional committees throughout the
county
• Build a consensus and respond to the community
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
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7. Collections & Interpretation
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
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Example: Coming to America gallery

12. • Utilize personal stories that
reflect the diversity of the Arab
American community
• Stress the similarities of the
immigrant story common to all
ethnic communities
• Employ empathy and
personal connections to
bridge cultural gaps
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
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Interpretation

18. Current Collections Initiatives
• Continue to collect three-dimensional objects
• Building major archival collections
• Collecting oral histories of Arab Americans
• Collecting born-digital materials
• Blogs, social media, websites, photos and videos
• Themes including immigration, 9/11 and
“Islamaphobia”
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
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19. • StoryCorps event over 9/11
anniversary weekend
• Well-known Arab American
individuals
• Patriots & Peacemakers
• Ten Years Later community
project
Available for free listening and download
Oral History Initiative
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.o
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20. Archiving the Internet

21. Archive-it | Internet Archive

24. Devon Akmon
Deputy Director | Arab American National Museum
☎ 313.624.0208
dakmon@accesscommunity.org
http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org
http://www.devonakmon.com
http://www.twitter.com/DevonAkmon
http://www.linkedin.com/in/devonakmon
http://www.slideshare.net/akmon
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