Houston Museum of Culture outreach for founders, advisors, advocates and volunteers
Mark Lacy
We are working toward the founding of a major addition to Houston's
cultural institutions - the Houston Museum of Culture. It will surely
become the most important museum in Houston based on the wealth of
potential and need in the city. It will have major content equivalent
to five national parks, and almost infinite additional subjects for
exhibits and programs. There will be opportunities for universities,
professional and community organizations, and great potential for
collaborations. There will be many new and innovative ways to present
the multitudes of cultural and social topics, based in the past,
present and future. And, of course, there will be enormous benefits
for the city through increased visitation, knowledge, cultural
experience and support, not just for the Houston Museum of Culture,
but for all of Houston's museums and institutions.
As we build this effort, we need founders, advisors, advocates and
volunteers. Founders can be individuals, professional organizations,
university departments, student organizations, arts groups,
businesses, etc. They will all have a significant role in making
important decisions about the museum. Our deadline to involve
individuals is coming up quickest, and we plan to wrap up this phase
within the year.
Please join us and help spread the word about this. A few helpful
topics and links are included:
BE A FOUNDER
Founders will have a vital role in planning and building the most
provident institution for the future of the city and region.
The Houston Museum of Culture will join the family of excellent
Houston museums to raise the level of awareness of the city and
support for its cultural resources, helping Houston achieve an
international reputation as the most visionary U.S. city.
As "a living museum about the ways we live," the Houston Museum of
Culture will interpret the city, its people and experiences in a way
that has never been done before. It will serve to achieve the highest
quality of life for Houstonians through critical education programs,
academic and community collaborations, the highest caliber of cultural
arts, innovative exhibits and programs, and worthy entertainment.
Building on the city's phenomenal, though often under-appreciated
history and diversity, the museum will look at our ways of life -
past, present and future - in relationship to our arts, technologies,
livelihoods, media, environment and other cultural influences.
To learn more about the opportunity to be a founder, please see:
http://www.hmoc.org/fifty
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FIRST ANNUAL FOUNDERS' DINNER
You are invited to attend a Founders' Dinner for the Houston Museum of Culture.
Join us as we present a talk by our honored guest Dr. Roger Wood,
author of "Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues", "Texas Zydeco" and
"House of Hits", on Saturday, February 25, 2012. Founders' Dinner
attendees will receive a complimentary hardcover copy of "Texas
Zydeco", written by Roger Wood and beautifully photographed by James
Fraher (published by University of Texas Press).
REGISTER TODAY! Seating is limited. Contact Antonia McClammy at
832-876-6260, Ext 1, or by email, to...@hmoc.org, to learn more.
The deadline to register is 5pm, Friday, February 10, 2012. You will
receive confirmation and information regarding the tax-deductible
portion of your contribution. You have the option to make the full
Founding Donation or half of the Founding Donation at this time.
To register on line or by mail, please go to: http://www.hmoc.org
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VISION FOR THE HOUSTON MUSEUM OF CULTURE
Based on the story of Houston's past and present, as presented through
the demographic research of Rice University sociologist Dr. Stephen
Klineberg, the city has a phenomenal story to tell, as well as a
volatile future still to be revealed. The Houston Museum of Culture
will serve to tell Houston's story, raising awareness of the city
nationally and internationally, and it will have an integral role in
making the best possible future for all Houstonians.
The Houston Museum of Culture will rank among the top 20 museums in
the nation, based on size and visitation, bringing many significant
benefits to Houston. By being a prominent national museum with content
and subject matter equal to at least five national parks and
monuments, it will develop international attention and provide
increased tourism and economic activity for Houston. The Houston
Museum of Culture will contribute to increased visitation and support
for all Houston cultural resources, including the city's largest
museums and all of its smaller institutions.
By providing knowledge and interpretation of the city, its history and
diversity, the museum will serve to fill a major void in Houston for
residents and visitors. It will play a major role in helping Houston
rank in polls based on quality of life and cultural attractions; where
the city currently rarely appears in the polls, while Dallas, Austin
and San Antonio are almost always present.
Learn more: http://www.hmoc.org/vision
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IS BEING A FOUNDER A GOOD ROLE FOR YOU?
Visionary Houstonians have the rare opportunity to be founders of the
most provident museum in the city's future - the Houston Museum of
Culture. Fifty founders will set the course for an international
attraction that will define Houston people through their dynamic
histories, modern conditions and hopeful futures.
The founders' role is essential to move the museum closer to
completion. The contributions of fifty founding individuals,
organizations and businesses will make the funding and marketing of
the museum possible. Founders' donations will be used to hire
fundraising professionals and produce marketing materials and
advertisements. Once fundraising and marketing professionals are in
place, they will plan and implement a major capital campaign to
commence the museum's design and construction.
Founders will be asked for decisive input on critical issues, such as
the location of the museum and its broad vision and strategy to serve
Houston. Founders' participation is desired, but not required. All
founders will be invited to attend planning activities at critical
stages.
Learn more about the process to establish and manage the Houston
Museum of Culture, as well as benefits for founders:
http://www.hmoc.org/process
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FOUNDING ADVISORS AND SPECIAL ADVOCATES
The three steps to take to establish the Houston Museum of Culture
are: be a founder; plan a presentation; and, spread the word. Planning
presentations and helping with outreach will help identify founders
and supporters in the broader community. Those most actively involved
in this effort, Founding Advisory Board Members, will help develop
strategy and topical content for the museum.
Advisory Board Members - An interested individual may elect to be a
Founding Advisory Board Member. This will involve working autonomously
to plan and conduct outreach to encourage individuals and
organizations to become founders. Through the museum's development and
outreach, advisors may establish committees and key relationships as
the museum enters the larger fundraising stage. Advisory Board Members
may be involved in developing plans for the museum and presenting
ideas and possibilities to founders during the decision process. Each
Advisory Board Member may have different pursuits due to their varied
interests, which is a necessary element of the broad outreach and
inclusiveness of the museum.
Special Advocacy Roles - It is important that we look ahead to the
content and many needs of the museum. There will be a need for
individuals with special interests to facilitate the exploration and
inclusion of unique subjects in the museum. This may include food
traditions, health impacts of specific ways of life, arts traditions,
new communications, and youth and adult themes, such as peer issues in
schools or the changing role of women in the workplace. The work of
advocates in these areas will be to identify and facilitate groups to
work on their area of interest, with the goal to ensure its inclusion
in the museum, possibly by developing a prospectus and potential
funding, or establishing a friends committee to guide the presentation
of the subject.
Learn more: http://www.hmoc.org/benefits
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TEN THINGS THE MUSEUM WILL DO FOR HOUSTON
It's really no mystery why Houston struggles for national recognition
- people don't understand the city. Even within the city, there is
little knowledge about its history or the role of its industries. The
national and international imagination, where Houston is concerned, is
guided by images of freeways, sprawl, pollution, oil derricks and
refineries, and even cowboys. Convention visitors know us for men's
clubs. Tourists come to Houston to go to Galveston. The Galleria mall
is one of few alternate choices for visitors to the city. Strangely
enough, Houston is still known by the 1980 film "Urban Cowboy"
(prominently set in Pasadena's Gilley's night club) more than any
media since.
Houston has few resources to spread knowledge about the city. No
institution since the Astrodome has made Houston a destination for
people from other states and countries.
Houston doesn't get presidential libraries, space shuttles, national
parks, Olympic Games, World Cup matches, or World's Fair Expositions.
It misses opportunities for many major exhibits and festivals that
have a profound impact on much smaller communities. The city rarely
emerges to support the kinds of visionary ideas that have put
neighboring cities on the map, such as the New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Festival, or Austin's South by Southwest and Austin City
Limits Festival. Most of its cultural resources are under-supported
and even marginalized in policy and funding for their inability to
create viable cultural tourism.
Read about "Ten Things the Houston Museum of Culture will do for Houston":
http://www.hmoc.org/news/index.html
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ANNUAL FOUNDERS' DINNERS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
There will be key note addresses and performances at the annual
Founders' Dinner and other special events for founders. The topics
will cover many interesting aspects of Houston and will range from
Houston history to music and cultural arts to health to how modern
technology influences our ways of life. There will be numerous other
benefits for founders, including:
-Recognition for establishing a prominent, international cultural institution
-Prominent role in making decisions about the museum
-Participation in museum milestone events
-Business and career networking
-Discounts by supporting businesses
-Invitations to attend many special citywide events
-Travel opportunities planned exclusively for museum founders
Please contact Mark Lacy with any questions at 713-667-6650, or by
email: ma...@houstonculture.org