Viewfinder Issue 1: Letter from the Editors

Sara Egan, Emily Jennings, and Chelsea Emelie Kelly, Viewfinder Editorial Board

For this inaugural edition of Viewfinder, we interrogate the role of leadership within the field of art museum education.

The “Leading the Future of Museum of Education: Challenges and Opportunities” Convening in Denver in spring 2015 served as an initial backdrop for our discussions with the contributing authors. Leadership is rising as a crucial area for growth in our field, chosen as the theme of both the 2015 NAEA Museum Education Division Preconference and the 2016 NAEA National Convention. As you read the three essays included in this issue, you will discover a range of reflections on the theme of leadership: expansive questions that focus our attention inward to investigate our own points of inspiration, as well as outwards, calling for a futurist vision.

We are exceedingly grateful to each of the contributing authors who, through their diverse roles and approaches, challenge us to vigorously question how we each “show-up” as a leader. Captured at a point of transition, Rachel Ropeik reveals that leadership within this digital age is no longer institutionally bound. Her discussion unhinges leadership from tradition, relocating its foundation within the individual. Working as a director of education, Ami Davis demonstrates leading by doing. By actively listening to emerging discourses within the field and making specific choices within her department, Davis reminds us that chartering a new course starts with making intentional choices. Deborah Reeve also ties effective leadership to individual choices, but where Davis looks to her immediate staff and institution, Reeve underscores the importance of developing an informed understanding of what the future will require of us. As an executive director of a national professional organization, it is not surprising that Reeve highlights the importance of developing a well-informed concept of the future, and her transparent discussion about developing expertise as a leader is refreshing.

Collectively, these three essays remind us that leadership is not something you attain but rather a constellation of qualities and skills that you actively forge and continually cultivate.

Informed by the thinking of our three contributors, we hope you, the reader, reflect upon your own role as a leader within your institution, your community or the field at large. Being a leader does not require a title or official status — we can all promote influential ideas and help our colleagues and audiences reach their potentials. These essays inspire us to integrate divergent sources in order to craft our own style of leadership. In the spirit of Viewfinder’s own goal of active reflection, we invite you to join us in taking up the authors’ challenges for museum educators to speak up, make choices, and look forward.

— The Viewfinder Editorial Board