Congratulations to everyone who made this year's Annual Conference such a success!

The 2013 Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries Annual Conference will be held January 23–25, 2013 in Athens, GA. The Host Museum will be the Georgia Museum of Art. More details will be posted as they become available.

The Museum Services Exchange (MUSE) is a program of consulting services provided by and for members of the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries. Experienced museum professionals provide information and feedback to museums, large and small. The goal of MUSE is to improve Georgia's museums.

Museums, both new and emerging, as well as established, can apply for a MUSE consultation in relation to an area of need. These needs can range from developing organizational structure to collection management, from exhibit design to labeling to educational outreach, from membership concerns to financial resources development.

Deadlines for MUSE grant applications are February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. Applicants for MUSE awards must be members of GAMG for at least a year before applying. The number of consultations depends upon funding provided by the MUSE auction held at each annual meeting of GAMG. Hosts must agree to provide travel expenses, food and lodging for consultants. GAMG will only provide honoraria for consultants to not-for-profit museums and galleries. For-profit organizations may ask MUSE to provide services for a fee.

Interested museums should obtain an application form and questionnaire from MUSE Committee Chair, Dr. Catherine Lewis, and submit the completed forms back to her postmarked by the deadlines. Dr. Lewis can be reached at
Museum of History and Holocaust Education
Kennesaw State University
1000 Chastain Road
Mail Stop #3308
Kennesaw, GA 30144
or clewis1@kennesaw.edu.

After approving a request for a MUSE consultation, the MUSE committee will submit a list of appropriate consultants to grantee for selection. The consultant will arrange a site visit with the host museum within three months of the date of the assignment. The consultant will review MUSE application materials and may request more information prior to the site visit.

Within 30 days after the site visit, the consultant will submit a report summarizing findings and recommendations to the host museum and to the MUSE program. The consultant is provided an honorarium when the assignment is completed. One year later, the host museum will complete a questionnaire about the degree to which the consultant's recommendations have been implemented. Museums should also submit a short article for possible inclusion in the GAMG newsletter, reporting to the membership about the project.

Individuals interested in becoming a MUSE consultant should complete a Consultant Application (see below), and must be a GAMG member.

GAMG has a discussion group on Yahoo.

Click to join gamglist

GAMG has prepared a brochure promoting Museums and Galleries in Georgia. The brochure is distributed in all 11 Georgia Visitor Centers. Each GAMG Member Museum is included in all Brochure printings.

The State of Georgia Visitor Centers were visited by almost 18 million visitors in FY06.

Brochures can now be ordered from:
Tourism Division - VIC Shipments
Bobby Dodd Institute
2120 Marietta Blvd. NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
678-365-0071

The Robert C. Williams Paper Museum at Georgia Tech offers several travelling exhibits, most notably "The World of Paper". For more information call Teri Williams at 404-894-7840 or send an email. The exhibit web site is ipst.gatech.edu/amp/.

The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, announces its traveling exhibition "Portraits in Gray: A Civil War Photography Exhibition featuring the collection of David Wynn Vaughan." Please contact Ava R. Wilkey at awilkey@kennesaw-ga.gov or 770-427-2117 extension 3058.

The Ty Cobb Museum in Royston, GA offers "Ty Cobb: The Georgia Peach" a traveling exhibit available for loan to Georgia museums. For details, contact Candy Ross at 706-245-1825 or by email at candy.ross@tycobbhealthcare.com.