Whither Historic Houses?

Seton Hall University and the Institute of Museum Ethics is proud to present Kenneth Turino, Manager of Community Engagement at Historic New England, in conversation with Sally Yerkovich, Director of the University’s Institute of Museum Ethics, on the topic of the fate of historic house museums. Since 2002 when Richard Moe, then head of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, asked, “Are There Too Many House Museums?” the fate of these museums has been the topic of many a discussion and debate. On November 5th, Sally Yerkovich will engage in a conversation with Ken Turino to discuss strategies that historic house museums use to be more sustainable and more relevant to their communities. The conversation will address the current state of historic houses, considering questions such as, “Are historic house museums in decline? Does the public no longer care about history? What roles can historic houses play in the lives of their communities? Do historic houses face ethical issues in adapting to the current environment?” The conversation will be illustrated with examples of museums that have reinvented themselves and have been successful in building strong audiences and will discuss what other historic houses can learn from these examples. Rather than discuss the demise of these local history treasures, we will look at how they can become central to their towns and regions. The event will take place on Wednesday, November 5th, at 7 PM, in the Nursing Amphitheatre at Seton Hall University, located at 400 South Orange Avenue in South Orange, NJ. Co-organized by the University’s MA Program in Museum Professions and Institute for Museum Ethics, it is funded by the Dean’s lectures for Arts & Sciences, and is free and open to the public. Be sure to join us for a reception before the event, starting at 6PM in the Seton Hall Arts Center Lounge (ground floor). Refreshments will be provided! For more information, please contact the Seton Hall MA Program in Museum Professions at (973) 761-7966 or museumgrad@shu.edu