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principals
| name: Allyson Lazar base: Los Angeles education: BA in Anthropology, Reed College MA in Museum Studies, John F. Kennedy University contact: allyson@orindagroup.com |
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What’s one of your strongest memories of a museum or exhibition from your childhood?
I have always liked the evocative nature of museums and the way immersive environments make me feel as if I am experiencing another culture or time; like I am in the story I am learning about. As a child I enjoyed visiting the “tombs” in the Egyptian wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to view the hieroglyphics and step back into Ancient Egypt. Even as an adult, going into those tombs feels magical to me. I also fondly recall a school trip to Historic Richmond Town in Staten Island, where I had my first taste of what life might have been like for some of my own ancestors. I loved experiencing a taste of their daily life and was intrigued by the complexities of a “simpler” life: churning butter, weaving cloth, and shoeing horses.
What first attracted you to a career in the museum field?The power of art and artifacts to tell stories. I continue to be fascinated by what can be conveyed through the use of objects in exhibitions and educational programs.
What roles have you served within cultural organizations?
I have served museums and cultural organizations in a number of areas: museum education, development, and arts administration. However, my primary interests and strengths lie in collections management, registration and preventive conservation. My varied experience translates into an understanding and appreciation for all types of institutions and positions.
What sorts of projects have you been involved with within the museum community?
- » Preventive conservation surveys
- » Collections inventories
- » Exhibition registration
- » Collections database management
- » Collections move planning
- » Space planning
- » Disaster preparedness
- » Volunteer management and training
- » Collections-based public programming
What’s a personal goal you have with regard to museum consulting?
To advance the storytelling power of museums through helping museums:
- » To connect with constituent communities;
- » To utilize collections more effectively;
- » To improve internal communication and collaboration;
- » To fuse traditional goals with new technologies and media;
- » To develop and implement engaging exhibition techniques and strategies;
- » To further public programming efforts.
Name an exhibition that you have seen that stands out in your mind.
Developed by the Field Museum of Natural History, Chocolate – the Exhibition takes visitors on a journey that tells the story of chocolate, exploring its origins in tropical rainforests to reach modern-day practices in chocolate candy production and distribution. By approaching the subject matter from a number of different angles – historical, social, economic, and technical – and using a variety of exhibition techniques, including collections, audio visual components, hands-on interactives, and dioramas, Chocolate is a well-rounded, engaging, and informative exhibition that reaches a wide audience.