Long time reader, first time poster here. I find the good people on the SD message boards to be an intelligent and experienced (in life) people, so I am seeking advice.
I am a college student majoring in multimedia. I have created an interactive computer program on the subject of the Civil War (it is like a scrolling timeline thing with information about Civil War figures and battles, etc. made with Adobe Flash).
A local museum has a large exhibit over the Civil War. I have set up a meeting with this museum in hopes of selling them my project for display. Our meeting is in 4 hours, and I am getting nervous.
I am seeking advice as to how to impress museum types and get them to purchase my project. I know they will be impressed with my work, so I am not worried about that. However, not having graduated college yet (though I’m a senior) puts a major dent in my credibility. After all, the people with whom I have a meeting are educated people (Executive Director and Collections Curator).
And advice? Do you think they will offer me money or do you think they will expect me to donate my countless hours of hard work to their museum?
Thanks for any help I may receive in the next 4 hours!
I’m an exhibition curator for the Smithsonian. The people you are meeting with aren’t going to care about particularly about your formal educational background as long as you display technical competence.
They’re not going to offer you money right off the bat. If your program fits the needs of their exhibitions department, they may ask you to provide a proposal. However, in most museums exhibition development is an extended process. They may not have a place available to show your program immediately. Alternatively, if they are impressed with your technical capability they may suggest that you propose developing some other program in connection with an existing exhibit.
First off, I recommend knowing ahead of time whether you want money or wish to donate the program. Don’t leave that decision up to them. You can be flexible once you arrive, but know what you are asking for to start. Depending on their budget, them maybe be willing to pay for it, or they may not be able to afford it.
Also, is this something that you can edit and change to fit their needs? If it is, be sure to let them know that. This could be an important factor. I can’t tell you how many times people would show up with things that they thought were great, but in reality, they had factual errors or just didn’t quite fit in our scope.
Finally, “museum people” are just people. Know you product and answer their questions honestly. They will be able to tell you if this is something they want. Don’t get too discouraged if they turn you down. There are many things that go into a museum acquisition. Does it fit in their scope? Is it something that they need which isn’t already being fulfilled elsewhere? Do they have the space/budget to create a display for it? Even if you donate the program to them, their are likely costs involved in getting up for public use.
