CultureGrrl Curriculum: The Deaccession Diva Tarries in Tarrytown

I've been invited to vocalize at two deaccession-related speaking gigs in the next few weeks---a sign, I suppose, of the increased interest and anxiety over this issue, touched off by the current financial crisis and the recent controversies at the National Academy and the Rose Art Museum.

The Deaccession Diva's first engagement, as I've briefly mentioned, is at the annual conference (scroll down) in Tarrytown, NY, of the Museum Association of New York and the Upstate History Alliance, where I'll be a speaker and discussion leader Monday morning on the topic of "Desperation Deaccessions: The Temptation to Monetize Collections in Times of Financial Crisis." Since this is a New York-based group, I'll be drawing upon on my native state's abundant deaccession lore to illustrate my analysis. Think of it as another irreverent CultureGrrl photo essay, translated to PowerPoint.

I'll be particularly interested to hear the reactions of officials at NY institutions to the provisions of the far-reaching Brodsky bill, which its author hopes will become a model for legislation around the country.

In mid-April, you'll find me at a university that had a brush with deaccession disaster (from which it has thankfully emerged, so far, unscathed), where I've been asked to speak on: "When Values Collide: Financial Asset or Cultural Resource?" I'm particularly interested to visit this institution, not only to view its art collection, but also to soak up the atmosphere of the place that sent, not one, but two presidents to my own alma mater, Cornell University. More on this engagement later.

While the Diva clears her throat to rehearse, the blog will go silent. When I return on Tuesday, I hope to discover that my "Donate" button has not been idle. I've already flogged the blog exhaustively (and exhaustedly) this week, so I can only hope that someone has noticed. I'm looking for Donor 25 (and 26, and 27...).

Speaking of speaking, I'm ready to hold forth at your next event (wedding? bachelor party?) on issues that you and I have been following on CultureGrrl, not to mention that perennial favorite, "The Art of Art-Blogging." I was actually invited to talk on bloggerdom this month at a museum down south, which had to cut me when its finances went south.