BCMA Top 10 Part 2

I guess I better, before this year's BCMA becomes part of my (dis)remembered past.

Top 10 continues.....

5) I'm a libertarian.  Yup, I admit it.  I don't like government control, I don't like being forced into a collective, I want my own freedom to choose and screw up on my own.  That said, there is something to be said about  being part of a collective, a commune, a kibbutz ... a common way of thinking.  To me, it's  not balance that is key (that just doesn't seem possible to me) but more like tilting the axis back and forth, instead of weighing heavily either way.  This BCMA contained elements of that.  Where we want community, we also need to have individuals making informed decisions.  Participation in community spaces, where the local museum firmly sits, cannot be achieved without the actions of members taking responsibility for themselves while working collectively in groups.  Happily, I often saw and felt this at the BCMA.  I would like to see more.  A place to start: join the Young Museum Workers Coalition on Facebook.
4) Social Media.  Tweets, blogs, messages, youtube, etc. are all the rage right now.  Let's get on the bandwagon folks.  Remember, there is a tipping point, a place where everyone who invested on the upwards curve have varying degrees of success while those that join when the trend is on a downward path are way behind the pack.   A word of advice: if you are going to begin engaging in social media, you need to 1) Share with others, 2) Refer others 3) look for new sites, advances, changes, etc.  Pretty much a fulltime job.  So, museum, art gallery, archives and general cultural geeks, here's a link, passed on to me by my esteemed colleague, Liz Czerwinski, for you to begin further exploration: http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/.  Join up!  I just did.
3) Alcohol.  "Alcohol, alcohol stop me.  Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before ...".  What's a blog without a musical reference?  Well, what's a conference without a few? Enjoyed drinks at a number of local pubs/clubs/drinking establishments.  One evening Paul, Julie and I walked past another with the inviting sign "$6 for a beer and whiskey shot".  Tempting?  Yes, but soon found out that it was kareoke night when we overheard someone drunkenly belting out Bohemian Rhapsody.  Although impressed, I suddenly felt it really was time for bed and Jon Stewart.
2) Speaking of Jon Stewart, the following evening I found myself listening to Obama speak.  This resulted in a "we love Obama" conversation (over drinks) the next day.  Well, martinis really.  Every time I hear/see Obama speak, I place both feet in his camp.  However, as the ringing of his voice slowly fades, I move back to sitting on the fence.  Remember, I'm a libertarian and although numbingly slow, the American veto system seems to be just the right mix for a divided country.
1) And now, the drum roll .... Should it be funny?  Smart?  Philosophical?   Slightly cheesy and lovie-dovie?  I'll go with the latter.  Conversation at the AGM centred on being inclusive.  The BCMA seems to be stuffed with heritage/history museums, especially of the small variety.  And I'm happy for that because God knows that the small local museum is where the heart is and is also where the communities live.  However, I could write a whole essay, a diatribe if you will, on the lack of inclusivity, the parochial nature of museums, the false elitism and the snobbery of museum professionals.  But, thank the good Lord, I won't.  Instead, I'll just leave at this: don't forget the natural museums (thank you Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC for representing), the science museums, the art galleries (again, thank you Paul Crawford from the Penticton Art Gallery), and more.  We need you all.  You all represent the people, so people, stand up and say 'I'.

And that, my friends is enough of museums for a little while.  Stay tuned for a post-colonial interpretation of The Smith's "Vicar in Tutu".  Ha!