International Partnerships Among Museums

International Partnerships Among Museums (IPAM) is an institutional linkage program through the American Association of Museums that gives museums in the United States and other countries an opportunity to become acquainted, develop a project together, and carry out that project during consecutive one-month visits of a staff member from each institution.

Nancy Odegaard, Arizona State Museum Conservator, and Orna Goren, Curator of the Museum of Bedouin Culture at the Joe Alon Center in Negev, Isreal, have formed a partnership under the IPAM program. Both Nancy and Orna are representing institutions that are devoted to the study and preservation of indigenous cultures and to the promotion of their understanding amongst a diverse audience.

The partnership is focused on exploring issues related to the preservation of indigenous heritage and cultural material by investigating similarities in the ethnographic collections of both museums, the relationships their institutions have with the minority communities they represent, and the relevant elements of education. The partners hope to produce resource materials that will promote an understanding of the education and preservation issues faced by various museums and cultural centers today.

Orna completed her visit to Arizona State Museum in mid-December 2002. She said of her experience, "My AAM tour is the beginning of a joint project to enhance the relationship between the museum and the community, through physical object conservation and evaluation. In Israel, we have started promoting the idea with Bedouin pupils who are learning to conserve their heritage in their schools. We hope that in spite of the unrest in the Middle East we can continue expand the project together." Nancy's trip to Israel has been postponed due to the situation in the Middle East.

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