Vanda Vitali | |
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Education | University of Toronto |
Occupation | Museum executive |
Vanda Vitali is an international museum executive. She was executive director and the Chief executive of the Canadian Museums Association from 2019 through 2021. She has been director and chief executive at the Auckland Museum in Auckland, New Zealand, from 2007 through 2010, the first and only woman ever appointed to that role. [1] She was vice president, public programs and director, content development at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, in Los Angeles, California, from 2002 to 2007.
Vitali studied both fine arts and physical chemistry as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, before pursuing and receiving her Ph.D. in materials science at that university in 1985. Her research involved the application of physics to archaeological objects and works of art. This was followed by postdoctoral studies in epistemology at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France.
Significant positions during the 1980s and 1990s include policy adviser to the president on heritage preservation and presentation, Arab World Institute, Paris, France; and field director, Transfer of Conservation Technologies and Gallery Development, Museum of Carthage, Carthage, Tunisia and University of Toronto, Canada. Vitali was appointed advisor to the president of the Royal Ontario Museum in 1999 and held that post until her departure in 2002. She also simultaneously served as head of the Institute for Contemporary Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum. She left Canada in 2002 to become vice president of public programs and director of content development at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. She also held the position of executive producer of special exhibitions, programs and publications. [2]
Vitali was appointed executive director and the Chief executive officer of the Canadian Museum Association in 2019. The CMA has undertaken multiple, successful initiatives under Dr. Vitali’s leadership since her arrival including the following:
Recovering and Reimagining Canada's Museums after Covid, iPolitics, 18 May 2021. https://ipolitics.ca/2021/05/18/recovering-and-reimagining-canadas-museums-after-covid/
Column Museums Matters/Les musées, forces vives, 2020 - 2021 Muse - Canadian Museum Publication
CMA 2021, National Conference in Review / Bilan du Congrès national 2021 de l'AMC, p. 4-5. Muse Summer / Été 2021
Moving Forward - Museums and social action / Aller de l'avant - Les musées et l'action social, p 4-6. Muse Spring / Printemps 2021
What is a national museum policy and why this moment to address it? / En quoi consiste une politique nationale des musées? Pourquoi moderniser la nôtre maintenant?, p. 4-6. Muse Winter / Hiver 2021
Facing multiple crises all at once / Contre vents et marées, p. 4-5. Muse Fall / Automne 2021
Beyond now, looking wider and further / Regardons plus loin et élargissons notre perspective, p. 4-7. Muse Summer / Été 2020
Evolving our conferences to face the future / Des congrès en pleine évolution pour se tourner vers l'avenir, p. 4-7. Muse Spring / Printemps 2020
Intelligent museums, intelligent society / Des musées intelligents, une société intelligente, p. 4-8. Muse January/February - Janvier/Février 2020
ICOM Kyoto, 2019, p. 4-7. Muse November/December - Novembre/Décembre 2020
Museum matters. Editorial column, Muse, 2019-2021
Water: East, West - Then Now, Proceedings of the International Water Conference, Sedona Edge Forum, Sias International University, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China, May 2013
Grappling with Limits: Museums and Social Inclusion in Beyond the Turnstile: Making the Case for Museum and Sustainable Values, AltaMira Press, New York, USA, 2009
Mastering a Museum Plan: Strategies for Exhibit Development, D. Houtgraaf, V. Vitali and P. Gale, Naturalis, The National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, The Netherlands, 2008
See|Hear : Museums and Imagination, Los Angeles, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 2006.
On Being a University Museum: Experimentation, Imagination, Interpretation. Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium of University Museums – UMAC/ICOM. Mexico City, September 25 -October 2, 2006.
Conversations Los Angeles Leiden: Museums and Interpretation, Exhibition Catalogue, Leiden, The Netherlands, April 2006 – January 2007, Los Angeles, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 2006.
Of Bait and Fishes: Museums and Cultures In Cultures of Economy – Economy of Cultures. Proceedings of the Symposium, Bayerische Amerika Akademie Munich, Germany, 2002
From Museums to Menus (and Back?): Museology and the Processes of Social and Economic Change, In Museology, Social and Economic Development. Proceedings of the Symposium, ICOM 20th General Assembly, Barcelona, Spain, 2001
Conservation of the Punic Collection at the Museum of Carthage. Part III – Transfer of Museological Technologies: Establishment of a Conservation-centred Didactic Gallery, V. Vitali, Peter Gale and Ursula M. Franklin, Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation, 2001
Innovation Despite Constraints: Christopher Ondaatje South Asian Gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum, V. Vitali and E. Secord, Muse v.19, #1, 2001
Conservation of the Punic Collection at the Museum of Carthage. Part II – Transfer of Conservation Technology: Establishment of a Salvage Conservation Laboratory, V. Vitali and U.M. Franklin, Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation, 2000
Data Analysis of Trace-Element Patterns of North American Native Copper Sources, G. Rapp Jr., J.D. Allert, V. Vitali and Z. Jing, In Determining Geological Sources of Artifact Copper: Source Characterization Using Trace Element Patterns, University Press of America, 2000
Culture Then, Culture Now: The real business of managing heritage, In Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium of World Heritage Cities. Santiago de Compostela, 1999.
Conservation of the Punic Collection at the Museum of Carthage. Part I – Mapping the Collection: Methodology, Classification and Assessment, V. Vitali and U.M. Franklin, Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation, 1999
A post scriptum: Museology and Globalization What is it? Peut-on conclure? In Museology and Globalization, Proceedings of the Symposium, ICOM 19th General Assembly, Melbourne, Australia, 1998
Conservation of Cultural Heritage: An Approach to Sustainable International Development In La Conservación como factor de desarrollo en el siglo XXI, Valladolid: Fondatión del partimonio historico de Castilla y Leon, 1998
Remembering the People: Unity and Diversity within the Global Community, V. Vitali and P. A. Gale, In Museology and Globalization, ICOFOM Study Series ISS 29, 1998
Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education.
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to museums, maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1946, ICOM also partners with entities such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, Interpol, and the World Customs Organization in order to carry out its international public service missions, which include fighting illicit traffic in cultural goods and promoting risk management and emergency preparedness to protect world cultural heritage in the event of natural or man-made disasters. Members of the ICOM get the ICOM membership card, which provides free entry, or entry at a reduced rate, to many museums all over the world.
An ecomuseum is a museum focused on the identity of a place, largely based on local participation and aiming to enhance the welfare and development of local communities. Ecomuseums originated in France, the concept being developed by Georges Henri Rivière and Hugues de Varine, who coined the term ‘ecomusée’ in 1971. The term "éco" is a shortened form for "écologie", but it refers especially to a new idea of holistic interpretation of cultural heritage, in opposition to the focus on specific items and objects, performed by traditional museums.
The Canadian Museums Association (CMA) is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internationally. As with most trade associations, it aims to improve the recognition, growth and stability of its constituency. Its staff supports their nearly 2,000 members with conferences, publications, and networking opportunities.
International Museum Day (IMD) is an international day held annually on or around 18 May, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The event highlights a specific theme which changes every year reflecting a relevant theme or issue facing museums internationally. IMD provides the opportunity for museum professionals to meet the public and alert them as to the challenges that museums face, and raise public awareness on the role museums play in the development of society. It also promotes dialogue between museum professionals.
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Honor Frost was a pioneer in the field of underwater archaeology, who led many Mediterranean archaeological investigations, especially in Lebanon, and was noted for her typology of stone anchors and skills in archaeological illustration.
Conservation and restoration of metals is the activity devoted to the protection and preservation of historical and archaeological objects made partly or entirely of metal. In it are included all activities aimed at preventing or slowing deterioration of items, as well as improving accessibility and readability of the objects of cultural heritage. Despite the fact that metals are generally considered as relatively permanent and stable materials, in contact with the environment they deteriorate gradually, some faster and some much slower. This applies especially to archaeological finds.
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Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett is a scholar of Performance and Jewish Studies and a museum professional. Professor Emerita of Performance Studies at New York University, she is best known for her interdisciplinary contributions to Jewish studies and to the theory and history of museums, tourism, and heritage. She is currently Chief Curator of the Core Exhibition and Advisor to the Director at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw.
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Dr. Zhao Feng is a Chinese textile specialist with a special interest in Silk Road textiles. Dr. ZHAO has been devoted to working in China National Silk Museum for more than 30 years, and become the Director of China National Silk Museum (NSM) since 2009. His research interests mainly focus on interdisciplinary research on textiles and cultural exchange along the Silk Roads. In his tenure, he has transformed the NSM into a leading center for the preservation, study, and appreciation of silk as a significant art medium, and has developed the museum as a “research-oriented, conservation-cycled, international-targeted and fashion-conscious ” institution.