country
activities

Yerevan
May 29–June 1, 2007

L-R: Dr. Sally Yerkovich and
Dr. Lyndel King

Dr. Sally Yerkovich, President of The Fund, and Dr. Lyndel King, Director and Chief Curator of the Weisman Arts Museum, led the four-day seminar “Vision + Visitors = Success”. Directors and curators from thirty-four museums and cultural institutions took part. The majority were from small and medium sized institutions (eleven were from house museums created to honor composers, sculptors, painters, poets, filmmaker, and writers), and two NGOs also participated, the Association of Museum Professionals and Friends and Future is Open, an educational organization. The seminar was generously supported by the Cafesjian Family Foundation and the Cafesjian Museum Foundation.

During the first day of the seminar, Dr. Yerkovich and Dr. King discussed the importance of having clear and concise mission statements that communicate the purpose of a museum to all of its audiences. An afternoon interactive team exercise created the beginning of mission statements and slogans for five new institutions.

Meeting visitor expectations and developing new audiences were the subjects of the second day of the seminar. Programming was discussed as a way to diversify and expand audiences and even make museums with very focused missions appeal to broader audiences. There was an interest in how museums attract ‘marginal’ audiences. Breakout groups designed programs to attract new audiences to their museums.

The third and fourth days then linked all of these topics to success in obtaining financial support and the mechanics of grant writing. Working in their ‘institutional’ groups, the participants prepared grant proposals for the projects they developed to expand their audiences. They then exchanged proposals and evaluated another group’s work.

In response to many questions about public relations, Madlene Minassian, Public Relations Director for the Cafesjian Museum Foundation, kindly offered free consultancies on public relations to the seminar participants. She will advise each participant who requests assistance over the coming summer months.

Mr. Davtyan offered to host a theatre seminar at his theatre and gave us a tour of the impressive facility the next day at the conclusion of the seminar. The Cafesjian Museum Foundation also expressed an interest in continuing support for both a theatre and a second museum seminar.

On the last night of the seminar, the Fund and the Cafesjian Museum Foundation hosted a small reception for theatre directors and other leaders in Yerevan’s arts world. The Public Affairs Officer from the US Embassy, Thomas Mittnacht, and Cultural Affairs Assistant, Anahit Khachatryan, were very pleased to learn about The Fund’s seminar and about The Fund’s interest in conducting additional training programs in Armenia in the future. Others at the reception were similarly enthusiastic. Stepan Davtyan, Director of the National Academic Theatre and the senior theatre professional in the country, spoke passionately about the need for a greater understanding of the use of technology in Armenian theatres as well as a more systematic understanding of fund raising.

The Fund will work with both theatre professionals and museum professionals in Armenia to explore the possibilities for additional seminars in the future.