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Museums: The Big Issues

Carol A. Scott

A new podcast exploring the biggest questions facing museums today—and the ideas shaping their future.

Each week, I speak with one of the world's leading museum thinkers, directors and innovators. Together, we tackle one big issue.

Not with easy answers.

But with honest conversations. Fresh thinking. And practical ideas.

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8 episodes
weekly
Avg 26 min
English

Episodes 8

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S1 · E7
Tuesday · 43 min
Museums, digitalisation and AI
Digital transformation is reshaping every aspect of museum practice—but are museums ready for what comes next? In this episode, I talk to Seb Chan and ask how digitalisation is laying the foundation for artificial intelligence, the opportunities and risks these technologies present, and how museums can innovate while protecting their collections, values, and public trust. Show notes https://www.acmi.net.au/ https://buttondown.com/sebchan https://www.freshandnew.org/ https://www.freshandnew.org/upcoming-public-talks/ https://www.freshandnew.org/couple-interviews/ I'm Carol Scott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-ann-scott-33a6061a/) and thank you for listening to this episode of Museums, The Big Issues. Join me next Wednesday as we continue to explore the big issues and the big ideas with the people helping to shape the future of museums.
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S1 · E6
October 13 · 20 min
Brand, image, value: museums’ intangible economic assets
A museum's greatest financial asset may be what it stands for. In this episode, I ask Cecile Anger to explain why brand licensing is emerging as a powerful strategy for generating income, expanding audiences, and extending impact, while asking how museums can protect their values, integrity, and public trust in an increasingly commercial world. Show notes: In English https://boutique.gestiondesarts.hec.ca/en/product/the-intangible-in-art-brand-name-and-image-as-financial-assets-for-arts-institutions/ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13500775.2024.2473200 In French (and open access) https://icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Anger_La-licence-de-marque_FR.pdf https://theconversation.com/les-marques-et-savoir-faire-culturels-francais-des-atouts-convoites-a-letranger-266295 https://theconversation.com/publicite-et-monuments-historiques-pourquoi-cest-un-casse-tete-juridique-190925 https://shs.cairn.info/revue-les-enjeux-de-l-information-et-de-la-communication-2021-S1-page-13?lang=fr https://irjs.pantheonsorbonne.fr/sites/default/files/inline-files/RJS10_0.pdf I'm Carol Scott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-ann-scott-33a6061a/) and thank you for listening to this episode of Museums, The Big Issues. Join me next Wednesday as we continue to explore the big issues and the big ideas with the people helping to shape the future of museums.
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S1 · E5
October 6 · 32 min
Building resilience: new business models for museums
As public funding declines, museums are rethinking how they generate income—and how far they should go in doing so. In this episode, I ask Marek Prokupek to explore the opportunities and risks of diversified funding, from philanthropy and crowdfunding to NFTs and commercial partnerships, asking how museums can innovate financially while protecting their mission, reputation, and public trust. Show notes: Ethical Fundraising in Museums https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003000082-20/ethical-fundraising-museums-marek-prok%C5%AFpek Emergency or emerging financing strategies of art museums in the context of a pandemic? https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09647775.2022.2111327 Legal and Ethical Considerations https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003308003-14/legal-ethical-considerations-marek-prok%C5%AFpek?context=ubx&refId=4e5cccb4-9c36-446f-96f0-cc14683424ad Alternative Financing and Funding Structures and Strategies https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003308003-18/alternative-financing-funding-structures-strategies-marek-prok%C5%AFpek?context=ubx&refId=14c8d546-515a-4cab-b046-1bb02c7c1fbc I'm Carol Scott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-ann-scott-33a6061a/) and thank you for listening to this episode of Museums, The Big Issues. Join me next Wednesday as we continue to explore the big issues and the big ideas with the people helping to shape the future of museums.
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S1 · E4
September 29 · 22 min
Museums at risk: the decline in public funding
Why are museums being asked to deliver more public value with fewer public resources? In this episode, I talk to Michele Rivet as she discusses the long-term decline in museum funding, what it means for the future of the sector, and why a bold new approach to advocacy is essential if museums are to secure the investment their social, cultural, and economic contributions deserve. Show notes: Decrease in Public Funding? A worldwide answer from museums https://icom.museum/en/news/addressing-the-crisis-final-report-on-public-funding-for-museums/ I'm Carol Scott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-ann-scott-33a6061a/) and thank you for listening to this episode of Museums, The Big Issues. Join me next Wednesday as we continue to explore the big issues and the big ideas with the people helping to shape the future of museums.
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S1 · E3
September 22 · 31 min
Bold, activist, non-neutral: leading the national LGBTQ+ museum
What happens when a national museum rejects neutrality, embraces activism, and reimagines leadership by flattening hierarchies and sharing authority? In this conversation with Ben Garcia, we explore how the LGBTQ+ Museum in New York is challenging traditional museum practice while reshaping the national narrative, advancing social change, and redefining what it means to serve the public. Show Notes: The American LGBTQ+ Museum https://americanlgbtqmuseum.org/ Podcast https://wethemuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/American-LGBTQ-Museum-Transcript-1.pdf I'm Carol Scott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-ann-scott-33a6061a/) and thank you for listening to this episode of Museums, The Big Issues. Join me next Wednesday as we continue to explore the big issues and the big ideas with the people helping to shape the future of museums.
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S1 · E2
September 16 · 30 min
The Future of Museum Leadership
The future won't simply demand better museum leaders—it will demand a fundamentally different kind of leadership. Join me in conversation with Sofia Widmann as she examines the future megatrends which will reshape museums and asks how leaders can embrace innovation, share authority, and uphold public trust in an increasingly complex and contested world. Show notes: Museum Booster website https://www.museumbooster.com/ Museum Leadership House 2025 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63c419e0a9a756714449b72b/t/691e15e52e8947203871f938/1763579365887/MLH_Dubai_2025_Report+Final+%281%29.pdf The Future Transformation of Museums White Paper Phase III https://static1.squarespace.com/static/68ebbe305d102f494a465da4/t/6a43dc6731e0ad3138ee102e/1782832231666/Future+Museum+%E2%80%94+Phase+III+White+Paper.pdf I'm Carol Scott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-ann-scott-33a6061a/) and thank you for listening to this episode of Museums, The Big Issues. Join me next Wednesday as we continue to explore the big issues and the big ideas with the people helping to shape the future of museums.
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S1 · E1
September 9 · 25 min
Museum leadership in an age of disruption
What does it mean to lead a museum when uncertainty is no longer a crisis to navigate but the condition in which we work? In this conversation with Lonnie Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C , we explore how museum leadership is evolving—from authority to partnership, from certainty to courage, and from institutional control to shared stewardship—asking what today's leaders must do to earn public trust and shape the legacy future generations will inherit. Show notes: Bunch, Lonnie G., III. 2021. "Foreword." In Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Cultural Heritage through Climate Change. Rushfield, Rebecca A., editor. v–vi. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. In A Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge, 54. (https://doi.org/10.5479/si.14750727.v1) 2021 Bunch, Lonnie G. III. 2019. Bunch, L. (n.d.). A Fool’s Errand: creating the National Museum of African History and Culture in the era of Bush, Obama and Trump. Smithsonian Books, Washington, D.C. Bunch, Lonnie G., III. 2017. "The National Museum of African American History and Culture: The Vision." Journal of Museum Education, 42, (1) 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2016.1265850. 2017 Bunch, Lonnie. 2007. "Embracing Ambiguity: The Challenge of Interpreting African American History in Museums." Museums & Social Issues, 2, (1) 45–56. https://doi.org/10.1179/msi.2007.2.1.45. 2007 I'm Carol Scott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-ann-scott-33a6061a/) and thank you for listening to this episode of Museums, The Big Issues. Join me next Wednesday as we continue to explore the big issues and the big ideas with the people helping to shape the future of museums.
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August 29 · 2 min
1. TRAILER- Museums: The Big Issues
Why am I making a podcast about the future of museums? I've worked in museums around the world for more than 35 years. I've seen museums change, adapt and reinvent themselves. And I've also seen the extraordinary challenges they face. That's why I'm bringing together some of the most interesting thinkers and practitioners in the field to ask: Where do museums go from here? I'm Carol Scott, and this is MUSEUMS: THE BIG ISSUES 13 weeks. 13 conversations. One big question. What future will we make? I'm Carol Scott (https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-ann-scott-33a6061a/) and thank you for listening to this episode of Museums, The Big Issues. Join me next Wednesday as we continue to explore the big issues and the big ideas with the people helping to shape the future of museums.
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