Show notes
Summary
Anna Slafer (LinkedIn, Website) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the history of the International Spy Museum. Anna was one of SPY’s first employees when the museum opened in 2002.
What You’ll Learn
Intelligence
- Building the International Spy Museum
- Milton Maltz: the visionary behind SPY
- The role of historians and curators
- Creating exhibits on espionage
Reflections
- Institutional memory and evolution
- The challenges and joys of storytelling
And much, much more …
Quotes of the Week
“We structured the museum so people could understand: How does [spying] work? Who does it? What is my role? And we wanted to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.” – Anna Slafer.
Resources
SURFACE SKIM
*SpyCasts*
- The World’s Preeminent Collection of SPY Artifacts with Laura Hicken and Lauren VonBechmann (2024)
- Secrets Revealed – Curators Alexis and Andrew on SPY’s Pop-Up Exhibit (2023)
- Peter Earnest Memorial: Spook, CIA Spokesman, Spy Museum Director (2022)
*Beginner Resources*
- A look at the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C., FOX 5 Washington DC, YouTube (2023) [5 min. video]
- About the Collection, International Spy Museum (n.d.) [Short article]
- About Museums, American Alliance of Museums (n.d.) [Short Q&A]
DEEPER DIVE
Articles
- Cracking the Spy Museum Code to Revitalize Stale Learning, J. A. Manning, Medium (2023)
- A Reimagined Spy Museum in Washington Doesn’t Flinch From the Darker Side, S. Shane, The New York Times (2019)
- From For-Profit to Nonprofit: Evolution of the International Spy Museum, E. Merritt, American Alliance of Museums (2019)
- Spy Museum salutes '50 years of Bond Villains,' T. Wells, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (2012)
- Role of museums in managing design education: a case study, H. Lee, International Journal of Education Through Art (2009)
- Museum visitors hit the D.C. streets in spy game, B. Zongker, Seattle Times (2009)
*Wildcard Resource*
- Museums have been a critical element of community building and historical memory for centuries.
- One of the world’s first curators was a woman named Ennigaldi-Nanna from modern day Iraq. Dating from 530 B.C., Ennigaldi-Nanna’s museum of Mesopotamian artifacts is thought to be the world’s oldest museum.
