Menu
Log in


Login/Logout
My Profile

The Sing Sing Prison Museum: Unlocking Conscience

Friday, July 12, 2024

12 - 1:30 PM EST

To start a museum in the post-pandemic, post-George Floyd, post-museum “awakening” is a remarkable challenge in innovation, one embraced by the Sing Sing Prison Museum. The SSPM is charged with telling the stories of crime, punishment, and rehabilitation at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. To elevate the conversation about the 200-year history of this still operating facility, as well as address a web of social, cultural, and economic factors as they impact individuals, all while telling dark and hard histories, we went searching for best practice. We also landed on the central theme of designing to promote empathy and raise consciousness about injustice and justice. Hufnagel and Hamilton will present examples of consciousness building at SSPM and share worksheet tools (from across the globe) to illustrate how change gets built. The four examples will illustrate how we: 1) create opportunities to support democracy, 2) share the relevance and importance of collections, 3) nurture human resources to build equity and inclusion, and 4) adapt programming to meet audience needs. We will then pose two essential questions with attendees: How do memory, truth, and justice interlink? How do you communicate memory, truth, and justice to the public?

Click here to register


Speakers

Amy Hufnagel

Assistant Director

Sing Sing Prison Museum

Amy Hufnagel is the Assistant Director of the Sing Sing Prison Museum. Previously she served as the Director of Programs & Visitor Experience at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford, CT and the Vice President of Interpretation & Engagement at OLANA in Hudson, NY. She was the Executive Director of The Alice Austen House Museum within the New York City Parks Department and the NYC Historic House Trust, and the Director of Programs and Education for the New York State Alliance for Arts Education and headed up the Education Department at the New York Foundation for the Arts. Her work for the last two decades has centered on expanding historic narratives to share authority with audiences rooted in primary sources and artifacts.

Nicole Hamilton

Collections & Program Manager

Sing Sing Prison Museum

Nicole Hamilton is the Collections and Program Manager for the Sing Sing Prison Museum. Nicole thinks deeply about how collections work can better serve communities, including developing more inclusive policies that account for the unique needs of marginalized groups. She has presented on prison museums and collections concerns at AASLH, MAAM, and MANY conferences. She currently serves on the leadership team for the Association of Carceral Sites and Museums. Nicole holds an undergraduate degree in history from Carleton College and a masters in Museum Studies from the George Washington University.

MANY is committed to making our virtual programs as accessible as possible. All virtual programs will have Closed Captioning and ASL Interpretation provided by InterpretekFor more information, please email info@nysmuseums.org or call 518-273-3400.


All virtual programs are recorded and available for MANY members via the Member Resource page within 7 days of the live program. 

Click here to learn more about joining MANY or email info@nysmuseums.org to see if you membership is active.

Live out of state? Join MANY Online! With our growing national and international audience in mind, we are pleased to announce a new virtual membership category for individuals who live outside of New York State.

Virtual members can access the library of over 70 programs and receive discounted registration for MANY’s annual conference. Click here to learn more.

Virtual programs are made possible by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.

The Museum Association of New York helps shape a better future for museums and museum professionals by uplifting best practices and building organizational capacity through advocacy, training, and networking opportunities.

Museum Association of New York is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. 

265 River Street
Troy, NY 12180 USA
518-273-3400

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software