According to a report Art newspaper. The system was last recognized in 2011 and reportedly will issue a decision on its future status sometime next year.
According to the organization’s website, AAM certification “provides visibility into the operation and influence of the museum, peer-based verification” and contributes to “credit and value to funders, policy makers, insurers, communities and peers.” The decision about status is to take into account two questions: 1) “The ability of a museum to achieve its established mission and goals?” 2) “How does the performance of a museum meet standards and best practices because they are often understood in the museum field as appropriate for their situation?”
The Louisiana State Museum system is supervised by the state’s lieutenant governor and includes the New Orleans Jazz Museum located in the Old Mint, the Capitol Museum, the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum, and other historic sites and institutions.
According to the 2023 audit of the system Art newspaper ((Sepia), “The entity responsible for its oversight and management will continue to have a bad work culture and a continuous integration of political and public interests.” The audit reportedly further cites “depressed morale and higher resignations of employees, poor records, lack of public transparency and failure to maintain strategic plans or detailed budgets”.
Since leaving the National World War II Museum in New Orleans last year, Rebecca Mackie, acting director of the Louisiana State Museum, recently proposed internal ethics, but also “recognized budget errors and ongoing staff loss.” Sepia.
“Politics is political,” McGee told Sepia. “As long as there is a part of the state museum system, politics will always be part of it. The challenge will be as always, focusing on things that are important to collections and ensuring that people can get that history.”
