Publication: Museum TrendsWatch 2015

The Center for the Future of Museums (CFM) has recently published the 2015 edition of its annual TrendsWatch report. This series of reports summarises emerging trends identified through CFM's research, in order to explore how each trend is playing out in the world, investigate what this means for society and for museums, share examples of how museums are engaging with this trend and suggest how museums might respond. The TrendsWatch 2015 report focuses in particular on the following issues:

•  Open data, in the context of the growing culture of “open”;
• The rise of ethical consumerism, powered by the web & by social media;
• Personalization of products, services, communications and experiences;
• The changing seascape of museum risk due to climate change;
• Wearable technology in all its ingenious (and proliferating) permutations; and
• Slow culture

The report is available for download and will also be published in hard copy in the near future. Publishers invite museums to make us of it by fostering discussion among museum staff and boards, as well as to collect evidence in their own museum which relates to the issues addressed by the report. A wide range of examples from museums in different world regions, including ASEMUS members such as the Powerhouse Museum, are presented throughout the report, which also includes a collection of resources for further reading. The lead author of Trendswatch 2015 is Elizabeth E. Merritt, the founding director of the CFE. For additional information and access to the report, please visit http://futureofmuseums.blogspot.com/2015/02/releasing-trendswatch-2015-into-wild.html and http://aam-us.org/resources/center-for-the-future-of-museums/projects-and-reports/trendswatch