The staff of Jewish Museum Milwaukee use ingenuity to engage and widen their audience during the pandemic
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee (JMM) celebrated its 12th anniversary of operation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The small staff at JMM demonstrated tremendous dedication and heroic resolve to keep moving the museum forward despite the unexpected closure of the physical building in mid-March. In this COVID-19 MKE exhibit, Executive Director Patti Sherman-Cisler discusses her staff's education and public outreach strategies which resulted in their reaching over 10,000 people in a month's time via online programs and virtual exhibits. That number is equal to the total in-person visitors seen in a typical year at JMM. How did they do it? The exhibit includes examples of the staff's engaging "Museum Moment" episodes, seen several times each week on Facebook and hosted by Ellie Gettinger, Director of Education and Molly Dubin, Curator. Ellie and Molly also hosted "Conversation Starters" each week on Facebook and YouTube. Their programs, about 10 to 15 minutes in length featuring stories about famous and not-so-famous Jewish personalities, exhibits, current events, behind the scenes looks and many other topics, were wildly popular and highly anticipated each week. To get the word out about these programs, and the staff's quickly-developed "in-house turned virtual exhibits" ("Fired Up, the Pottery of Abe Cohen" which was set to open at the museum the first week of May 2020, and the travelling exhibit "The Girl in the Diary" which opened in January and experienced an inauspicious closing in mid-March along with all of JMM) Patti Sherman-Cisler developed an impressive newsletter available by email subscription that also served as a regular fundraising vehicle. And the friends of JMM came through on “Giving Tuesday” which netted over $8,000 for the museum.
Oral history with Patti Sherman-Cisler, Executive Director of JMM
An email from Joe Kasale, Chair of the Jewish Community Center and Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Community Center announcing the closure of the JCC, which owns the Jewish Museum Milwaukee (JMM) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The JMM was closed at the same time due to the two organization's affiliations and the proximity of the two buildings on the same eastside Milwaukee campus.
Email to members and subscribers for April 29, 2020 from Patti Sherman-Cisler, Executive Director, JMM
Email to members and subscribers for May 5, 2020 from Patti Sherman-Cisler, Executive Director, JMM
Email to members and subscribers for May 13, 2020 from Patti Sherman-Cisler, Executive Director, JMM
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee brings its collection and stories to the Milwaukee community three times weekly during the pandemic with "Museum Moments" on Facebook. The April 28, 2020 program topic was "Golda Meir in Millwaukee," Part 1 of 3, with Ellie Gettinger, Director of Education for JMM.
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee brings its collection and stories to the Milwaukee community three times weekly during the pandemic with "Museum Moments" on Facebook. The May 8, 2020 program topic was "The Chagall Tapestry," owned by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation on exhibit at JMM, with Ellie Gettinger, Director of Education for JMM.
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee brings its collection and stories to the Milwaukee community three times weekly during the pandemic with "Museum Moments" on Facebook. The May 8, 2020 program topic was Milwaukee artist "Joseph Friebert," with Molly Dubin, Curator at JMM.
Due to the closure of Jewish Museum Milwaukee during the COVID-19 pandemic, JMM staff produced a virtual exhibit for members and visitors entitled "Fired Up, The Pottery of Abe Cohn", a Wisconsin artist. The online exhibit was created in place of the planned exhibit at the museum which was slated to open in early May 2020.
Article from the "Milwaukee Independent", an online publication, about JMM's efforts to continue reaching its audience despite being closed during the pandemic.
Article from the WUWM Wisconsin Public Radio website concerning JMM and its virtual outreach efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.