The Fund

“The most useful information I received during the seminar was on the different ways to link many activities to one museum exhibit (concerts, interactive educational programs, television show, full-length film, web presentation, etc.).  I also appreciated the emphasis placed on learning as much as possible about the personalities of potential funders.   I would like to start coordinating and integrating projects with other libraries, institutions, and businesses in the region.”  

Director of the Public Library of Miklus Kovacs, Slovakia

---

  “In 2007, in cooperation with The Fund, Russian museums organized three seminars, “Integrating New Educational Programs”, in three different regions of Russia.”  

“At this very moment Russian museums are going through a difficult period of survival in new economic conditions, so holding seminars with the participation of American experts is crucial and very much appreciated. These seminars help museums gain recognition and create a much better image among members of local governments. The borders of cooperation with various organizations are also expanding. Museum workers that have already participated in these seminars point out that various techniques they learned from American experts are helping them work on a higher level every day.”  

“...Thank you…for your unselfish work, and we do hope to have even more successful collaborations in the future.”  

Tatyana Kolpakova Head of the Department of Art Museums of Russia, State Russian Museum

---

  “Professionally I have profited a lot from the lecturers at this conference who were quite prepared.  The lectures attracted me so much because we do not have yet an education department in our museum.”  

Bucharest conference participant from Albania

---

  “We were inspired by several new and practical ideas that were raised at the conference.  The most important issues to us were those related to marketing.”  

Bucharest conference participants from Hungary

---

  “The conference…was a very professional and useful meeting for me. I have used some of the ideas given by the lecturers…for an exhibition that we opened at the end of this year.”    

Bucharest conference participant from Albania

---

  “I have already implemented some of the ideas and recommendations for new projects, thus enriching the museum experience. A big learning point for me was, as I say in my conclusion, “A museologist is the curator with mind of visitor”.”  

Bucharest conference participants from Macedonia

---

“The most interesting topic was broadening access, because museums today have a vital social role, the role of educators, and they are becoming the centres of communications and interaction.  These types of conferences are occasions which strenghten co-operation and foster the spirit of creativity throught dialogue, which is a force of further cultural development and policy.”

Bucharest conference participant from Croatia

---

  “We especially enjoyed the lectures on marketing/promotion and communications. Because of issues raised at the conference, we are going to diversify our museum’s Education Programme. ”  

Bucharest conference participant from Moldova

---

  “The very useful seminar of Dr. Ralph Appelbaum in St. Petersburg in 2001 took place just as the decision to renovate the Communications Museum had been made by the Ministry and the Russian government….We were able to use his advice and add modern, high-tech exhibits to a historical 18th century building, and these exhibits have received much attention since the museum re-opened to the public four years ago.”  

Director of The A. S. Popov Central Museum of Communications in St. Petersburg  

---

“The meeting with Barbara Charles produced an in-depth discussion of the seminar theme and core issues to be considered, which was, indeed, our most relevant need.  As a result of our two fruitful days together, we have arrived at a thought-through and rich in content seminar program....”

Director of the Political History Museum in St. Petersburg 

---

“It is an amazing group of participants that you have attracted and maintained. The work is rewarding and stimulating for the presenters....”

Sonnet Takahisa, Director of Education, National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center

---

“I write to you primarily wishing to thank you for granting me the possibility of taking part in the conference in Bucharest. It is always interesting meeting people who are working with the same kind of work and have similar goals and ambitions. This programme will serve as a resource throughout my career.”

“Showing once again appreciation for the engagement of colleagues from Bucharest and certainly your support, I hope for a continued cooperation.”

Simonida Miljkovic, National Museum of Macedonia

---

“My colleagues changed in a few days, and it was the most important result for all of our organizers....”

Zuzanna Drugova, Stredo Slovenska Museum, Slovakia

---

“I want to first THANK YOU both for giving me this privilege. It really was an honor to meet with our Russian colleagues and present ideas for them to internalize and make into their own solutions to their own challenges. I found the group in our seminar to be insightful, passionate, and exceedingly motivated toward making their museums as accessible to the public as possible.”

Honee Hess, writing of her experience in Murom, Russia in October 2007

---

“Thanks for including us in The Fund’s activities. It is an invaluable reminder of how our field makes a difference, and a wonderful experience representing The Fund with a dedicated group of people in a different part of the world.”

Deborah Edward, writing of her experience in Murom, Russia in October 2007

---

“I wish to express my sincere appreciation for your help in realisation of the seminar in Budapest. The Fund's experts, Linda Vadasz and Amy Módly, prepares a great  programme. We visited the biggest and the most interesting museums in Budapest. The participants saw the permanent museum exhibitions, learned of different programmes for visitors, how to work with mass media, etc. They noticed that a small staff in Hungarian museums can successfully achieve their goals because of volunteers. Unfortunately, in Russian museums volunteers' activities haven't been used efficiently. In every museum we were met by friendly specialists who answered Russian participants' questions very professionally.”

“I wish to express my special thanks to Linda and Amy for lunch and their prompt solutions via professional Hungarian-Russian translation. Everything went over big. The Russian Museum greatly appreciated the seminar. Thank you again and I hope the other seminars we plan this year will be very successful, too.”

Tatiana Kolpakova, Head of Department, Department of Art Museums of Russia, State Russian Museum

---

“[Jonathan Hess' visuals] for the Museum's architectural reconstruction for the refurbishment of the central permanent exposition is in full logical agreement with the results of the preliminary conceptual work accomplished by Barbara Charles and Robert Staples in April 2005.... J. Hess shared the results of his four day work at the public presentation in the Museum, and the administration and staff found them highly satisfying.”

“Thus, the Museum has obtained highly professional computer visuals and sketches for its future building that will satisfy its needs for the nearest decade. Alongside with the published in 2004 Scholarly Conception for the Central Permanent Exposition, J. Hess's visuals will become powerful tools in the Museum's fundraising efforts....”

“The State Museum of the Political History of Russia is expressing its sincerest gratitude to you for supporting this project and hopes for further continuation of this fruitful cooperation in the future.”

Eugene Artyomov, General Director of the State Museum of the Political History of Russia

---

“The seminar held by J. D. Kappel showed again the high professional level of The Fund experts. The participants of the seminar filled out a questionnaire where they gave a high evaluation to the seminar. Each topic has reached its attentive listener. But the participants particularly mentioned the practical training of a case statement creating.”

“We hope that the long and productive collaboration between the Department of Art Museums of Russia (the State Russian Museum) and the Fund for Arts and Culture in Central and Eastern Europe will continue in the future.”

Tatiana Kolpakova, Head of the Department of Art Museums of Russia

---

“Thank you your help in finding partner and sources for the signage project. I do believe it will be excellent realized by such young and experienced person as Anton.” (Referring to the presently on-going work of Anton Ginzburg and his firm of Studio Radia in designing signage for the Peter and Paul Fortress.)

Boris Arakcheev, Director of the State Museum of History of St Petersburg, Russia

---

“Thank you for your encouraging letter and a very important strategic guide for our successful fundraising campaign. It is the most precise and resourceful outline I have ever read. It will guide me through many steps needed for the success of our exhibition. Thank you for your very kind offer to continue to work with me and my director on this important project to both our nations.”

Dr. Monika Krol, curator of the Royal Castle, Warsaw, Poland

---

“Thank you so much for your book. … I'm a stage director from Romania. … Me and my team, we are interested in creating a new image for THE NATIONAL THEATRE I.L.CARAGIALE, which is the biggest in Buchearst, at this moment. So your book was very helpful for us ("Management for money" - published here in 2004). We found it so interesting and profound. ”

Alexa Visarion, Romania

---

“Thank you for the support you provided the Agency for Cultural Development of the Government of Serbia in the realization of the program of education of the employees in cultural institutions and, especially, for sharing your invaluable experience with us.”

Dragana Petrovic Radenovic, Secretary General of the Agency, Republic of Serbia

---

“You and the Fund have provided essential vision and opportunity for the museum and arts professionals who attended. You cannot be thanked enough for all the Fund has already accomplished. The participants were wonderful, the interpreters did a great job and our hosts were thoughtful and gracious.”

Christine Miles, director, Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY

---

“The last seminar held by Jerold Kappel was quite successful and it gave a good stimulus to the confederation as well as the concrete suggestions [which] have brought good results.”

Zviad Mchedlishavilla, Ministry of Culture

---

“Well, the chemistry [at the Murmansk Seminar] was just unbelievable. One participant said she was planning to take off each day, but she kept coming back because she was learning so much. One guy wrote a poem to us about how valuable the experience was.”

Karen Franklin,  director, The Judaica Museum, Riverdale, NY

---

“I am so grateful for everything you have done for my country [Georgia]. Please do not take this as an exaggeration. During the last 10 years we–each Georgian manager–were working by intuition not by professional experience. It will sound very strange to you, but it is true.”

Rusudan Matsaberdize, seminar organizer

---

“Bob [Jones] is undoubtedly a great tutor–both owing to his deep and precious experience and his coach[ing]; flexibility and his ability to understand people. As we planned, the general managers of the biggest philharmonic societies of Russian took part in [the] workshop. They all were inspired by working with Bob. We are looking forward to the continuation of our partnership and would like to thank you once again.”

Alexander Kolotursky, general manager, Sverdlovsk State Philharmonic

---

“In my 35 years in the arts, nothing has had as profound an effect on me as my experience in the field overseas for The Fund. Sharing best practices; with managers and performers halfway around the world forced me to assemble, organize, rethink and supplement most of what I have ever done.”

Robert [Bob] Jones, President and Executive Director of Opera Pacific, Santa Ana, California

---

“It is always a pleasure for me to recall the 90s when you and your colleagues to enthusiastically aided the development of Hungarian museums after the change of regime. Many people involved with museums, and thus I, myself, have very positive personal recollections of this. I am delighted that, in my new post as director general of the Museum of Fine Arts we shall have the opportunity of working together once more.”

Dr. Lazslo Baan, Hungary

---

“First, let me thank you once again for your continuing efforts on educating Russian specialists and your devotion to mutual cooperation. Such visits, that are non-official but rather professional, and really demanded, are most fruitful and worth it. All of the participants found it both useful and interesting and left the seminar full of new ideas and motivation to start implementing their [new] knowledge at their museums.”

Yulia Grigoryeva, assistant for education and culture, U.S. Consulate General, Yekaterinburg, Russia