By James G. Leventhal

One of the author's favorite records.

Many years ago Stephanie Weaver of Experienceology encouraged the Western Museums Association to start exploring the use of Ted-like talks to enliven the Annual Meeting and to provide better year-round content on the then recently launched blog site westmuse and other outlets. Well, Stephanie, your wait is over!...soon.

At the fall meeting of the Western Museum’s Association, WMA will launch for the first time: westmusings. Based on TED Talks success and their model of “Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world,” these talks will provide an important platform for tomorrow’s leaders to speak today at WMA 2013 in Salt Lake City, with their short, rehearsed, engaging presentations available for distribution on the web through westmuse.org and other WMA portals, perhaps streaming live as well.

Who are our heros? Well, there's Mike Edson, and our good friends at Museum Computer Network who launched their ignite series of talks this past fall in Seattle:

See the vid above, and read the text here.

WMA is looking to amplify the mindset and philosophy of young leaders in the field, as well as to mirror the practice we preach in our institutions and creating on-line access to professional development.

Who will be westmusing?! Amazing people like:

Whitney Ford Terry in Seattle

Whitney Ford Terry, Public Programs Coordinator, Henry Art Gallery
A graduate of the University of Washington’s Museology program, Whitney Ford-Terry organizes lectures, screenings, workshops, and events as the Public Programs Coordinator at the Henry Art Gallery. She has had the opportunity to work in a variety of non-profits and museums like MoMA PS1, KEET-TV/PBS, and The Experience Music Project (and Science Fiction Museum). As co-curator of The Hedreen Gallery, Ford-Terry developed a series of experimental exhibitions, ad-hoc collaborations, and opportunities for free choice learning and interdisciplinary study at Seattle University. She is also a contributor to ARCADE magazine, a blogger for Art21, and an active community volunteer.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/11720394 w=640&h=360]
Scott Stulen, Project Director for mnartists.org, amongst other responsibilities at Walker Art Center, including playing a leadership role in their essential public-facing offering Open Field. As lead organizer of the Cat Video Festival, and Project Director for mnartists.org and Manager of the Walker Art Center’s OpenField, Stulen’s artist’s statement reads: “I am interested in how popular culture bonds with fragments of memory to create unexpected connections and points of entry, which linger decades later. I am fascinated in how familiar, yet isolated references can be combined to create a new experience, which is both personal, but strangely out of context. I view my role much like a DJ, sampling fragments of pop culture, personal and collective histories and false memories and combining them into a singular work. The key is in selecting, remixing and dropping of the appropriate sequence of samples, thus leading the audience to find meaning in unexpected places.”

And MORE!! Stay tuned for: sponsorship updates, more profiles, roller derby, knowing your own bone and Alaska's great non-white North.