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This October, the Texas Historical Commission Museum Services program will host a series of two webinars on creating exhibitions for institutions of all sizes. On October 1, Margaret Koch, Director of the Bullock Texas State History Museum, will present on developing exhibitions in response to current events. A session on October 6 with Melissa Huber, Director of Programs and Communication at Humanities Texas, will focus on creating and circulating compact traveling exhibitions. These webinars are free and open to the public. Additional program and registration details are provided below. 

Creating Exhibits in Response to Current Events

Thursday, October 1, 2:00 p.m. CT
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More and more, museums are looking for practical ways to quickly respond to current events in their communities. This session will lay the groundwork for taking a concept from development to implementation while looking at internal policies that allow and encourage an institution to be flexible and responsive to current events; approaching stakeholders with the expertise and resources to assist; helping staff prioritize on-going responsibilities in order to take on a quick project; and open discussion about mission and response in order to contribute in a meaningful way to community needs.

Margaret Koch will share how the Bullock Texas State History Museum created an impactful exhibition in response to Hurricane Harvey on a minimal budget in just eight weeks. The resulting project helped the museum's team understand that they had the resources and motivation to respond to significant events in a thoughtful and relevant way for visitors, while preparing the exhibition in a way that made it easy to travel.

Affordable and Transportable: Creating and Circulating Compact Traveling Exhibitions

Tuesday, October 6, 10:00 a.m. CT
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Many museums and cultural institutions are interested in developing high-quality, compact, and affordable traveling exhibitions from their own collections and archives. Exhibitions of this scale allow an organization to reach a broader audience while raising awareness of the organization itself and its unique resources. In this session, Melissa Huber will offer practical guidance for developing highly-accessible traveling exhibitions, including tips on interpretation, design, fabrication, promotion, scheduling, crating, shipping, insurance, maintenance, and repair.

Huber will also discuss the benefits of developing exhibitions that accommodate non-traditional venues, such as libraries and schools, and how venues can utilize these exhibitions to enhance their existing programs.