Letter to The New York Times

Dear Mr. Cotter http://tinyurl.com/8a76lk you GOTSA give @brooklynmuseum props http://tinyurl.com/5kf48s

Dear Holland Cotter,

Above is the twitter message I sent to Shelley Bernstein and all the myriad intertwined museum professionals dedicated to delivering meaningful engagement and educational content on-line.

The Brooklyn Museum has taken the lead in this effort. The initiative is in-line with all that you put forward so eloquently in the article I read in my morning's New York Times.

It's just a little too bad that you did not call out all the work that Brooklyn has cultivated to this end on-line -- one of the first all on-line membership groups "1stfans," a show curated through flickr and member driven YouTube content/advertising competitions.

This is museum new; and it speaks to Brooklyn's environs on so many levels and reaches a greater audience than could have ever been dreamt of at the Museum's creation.

With Newark, you invoke the spirit of John Cotton Dana, one of the seminal masters of museum practice who continues to lead museum professionals today.

Frankly, I think he would be thrilled to see what's happening on-line and happening in direct response to all the issues you bring up.

Thanks for giving time in The Times to museums as a professional calling, as you do at times.

And thanks, too, for continuing to plug the arts of Africa, etc. You are a national treasure.

much respect,
james



James G. Leventhal
jleventhal@magnes.org
Director of Development and Marketing
Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley, CA
www.magnes.org