Intimate Spaces, Quiet Places 2014 NEMA Conference Wednesday, November 19, 2014 Joanne Flaherty, Exhibitions Coordinator Historic New England

Historic New England About Historic New England Historic New England is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization in the nation. We bring history to life while preserving the past for everyone interested in exploring the authentic New England experience from the seventeenth century to today.

We serve the public by preserving and presenting New England’s heritage Historic New England owns and operates thirty-six house museums and landscapes spanning four centuries of architectural styles and five New England states.

Exhibitions at the Governor John Langdon House

Double Parlor

Another view. Double parlor

Colonial to Modern:100 Years of Collecting at Historic New England October 2012

A view of the double parlor of where we were going to set up.

Governor John Langdon House Dining Room

Lost Gardens of New England

The Way We Worked

White on White: Churches of Rural New England

Drawing Toward Home: Designs for Domestic Architecture

Exhibitions at the Sarah Orne Jewett House Museum and Visitor Center

Here by the Sea: Contemporary Art of the Piscataqua

The Preservation Movement, Then and Now

Engaging with the Public Visitor Surveys

If this is a trial run for three years, what are the quantitative and qualitative factors that will determine if the experiment should continue and at what point will these factors be evaluated? The following should be considered:   Attendance: Review after first two years Environmental conditions: review data after first year; documentation photos should be taken of all features and reviewed annually Review of tour structure through interviews with visitors to determine whether the hybrid approach is working or whether we should make the house tour self-directed. Evaluation to determine whether it is useful to hold two exhibitions in a single season or will one bring in a similar audience and offer adequate marketing opportunities.

Visitors Surveys “and the survey says…” PROS “It was very educational” “Always a learning experience” “Brings culture to the community.” “I love History and Art!” CONS “unfortunately, to accommodate the exhibition, the dining room had to be ‘dismantled’.” “The exhibitions take away from the beauty of the house.”

Where is the dining room?

“It is nice to showcase local artists.”

Coming in 2015… a fourth year!