Meghann Ray

Art museums actually account for less than 5% of all American museums. More than half of our museums fall into the history category. And while science and technology museums barely make up 1% of the overall industry, they host millions of annual visitors. On this episode of MC, we travel to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas to look at the why and how of these museums.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Christine Coulson worked at The Met for a quarter of a century in a variety of roles. She left a couple of years ago to write full time, and the result is her acclaimed debut novel, “Metropolitan Stories.” On this episode of MC, we chat with Coulson about the real stories behind her fictional world. 

    The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, giving American women the right to vote. Last fall, the Baltimore Museum of Art announced a bold initiative, which was inspired by the fact that only 4% of the museum's 95,000 artworks have been created by women. Throughout this year, every artwork the museum purchases will have been created by a woman artist. On this episode, we travel to Baltimore for a chat with BMA Director, Christopher Bedford.

There’s a bit of a trend happening in the museum world. Museums are unionizing. And while this trend is somewhat isolated to New York and California, it’s a development that can’t be ignored. One of the museums to recently organize is the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan. On this episode we chat with Andres Puerta, Director of Special Projects for IUOE Local 30. 

In a special report, we speak with New York Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Zachary Small about their bombshell investigation into 31-year-old (now former) Erie Art Museum Director, Joshua Helmer, and his related sexual harassment scandals at that institution and at his previous job: the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Hosted by Jeff Martin with Philbrook Museum of Art and produced by Scott Gregory with Public Radio Tulsa.    

One name keeps popping up as one of the most important younger voices on the future of museums. That name is Colleen Dilenschneider. Through short videos, presentations, and data driven articles at her website, Colleen consistently boils down industry studies and presents them in a digestible, reliably optimistic way. Think of a museum-focused Malcolm Gladwell...who's a giddy millennial. On this episode of MC, we chat with Colleen about that future she’s always talking about.

2019 marks the 60th anniversary (October 1959) of New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim was the final and perhaps crowning achievement of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This year is also the 60th anniversary of Wright’s death (April 1959). All these decades later, the legendary architect remains a complicated figure.

Museums acquire. They keep. They care for their objects. And it always causes a bit of a stir when a museum decides to sell something from its collection. In May of 2018, at Christie’s in Hong Kong, an 18th-century Chinese vase owned by Philbrook Museum of Art sold for $14.5 million. On this episode, we chat with Philbrook Director Scott Stulen to learn the full story behind this potentially controversial decision. 

Just over ten years ago, KWGS hit the jackpot.*

Due to budget cuts during the 1990s, the station had eliminated its local news service. When I became General Manager in 2000, one of my first goals was to restore a local news operation to the station. In 2008, we were finally able to revive a local news service. I knew it would be a long road to make KWGS a respected and trusted local news presence again. 

The name "Edward Hopper" is almost synonymous with loneliness. Hotels and motels play a central role in Hopper’s art. EDWARD HOPPER AND THE AMERICAN HOTEL recently opened at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. It's the first in-depth look at this side of Hopper’s work and features a recreated room based on Hopper’s “Western Motel.” The space serves as a fully functional hotel room. On this episode of MC, we chat with the show’s curator, Dr. Leo Mazow.

The name "Edward Hopper" is almost synonymous with loneliness. Hotels and motels play a central role in Hopper’s art. EDWARD HOPPER AND THE AMERICAN HOTEL recently opened at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. It's the first in-depth look at this side of Hopper’s work and features a recreated room based on Hopper’s “Western Motel.” The space serves as a fully functional hotel room. On this episode of MC, we chat with the show’s curator, Dr. Leo Mazow.

Sometimes a place becomes a museum by accident. This takes a combination of history, people, luck, notoriety, and (of course) art. One of the best examples of this rare occurrence is the legendary Chelsea Hotel in New York City. Acclaimed author Fiona Davis writes novels about famous New York buildings. She recently wrote one about the Chelsea Hotel, so we checked in with her to talk about it. 

Bruce Springsteen just turned 70. But The Boss shows no signs of slowing down. In his hometown of Freehold, New Jersey, there’s a new exhibition at the Monmouth County Historical Association. It’s called, quite simply, SPRINGSTEEN: HIS HOMETOWN. On this episode, we're talking all things Bruce with Eileen Chapman, Director of The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University.

In 2013, while looking through a forgotten box of materials, Dr. Seuss’ widow, Audrey Geisel, discovered a folder containing a collection of sketches for a project called “The Horse Museum.” It was only about 80% finished and contained no completed artwork. Editors at Random House set out to complete the book and hired Australian illustrator Andrew Joyner to provide the art. A true love letter to museums and a wonderful primer on art history, “Dr. Seuss’ Horse Museum” was released just a few weeks ago.