CRAFTING A NEW MUSEUM FOR OUR HEMISPHERE.

• Author: Cancel, Luis R.

Sharing the dream of a museum devoted to all aspects of the history and culture of the Western Hemisphere, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Smithsonian Institution have collaborated with the private sector in the creation of the Museum of the Americas Foundation. This separate, nonprofit organization, formed in 1998, has a mandate to reach across national boundaries and form partnerships with individuals, corporations, foundations, and other institutions that hold this vision in common. The Museum of the Americas Foundation is now engaged in a Herculean effort to design and build a facility in Washington, D.C., which will share the site with and be connected to the historic Pan American Union Building.

"Our commitment," explains Christopher C. Addison, president of the Museum of the Americas Foundation, "is to shine a bright light on the cultural heritage of the peoples of the Americas, to disseminate the knowledge of their shared achievements broadly and effectively and to interpret collections drawn from the wealth of cultural centers throughout the Hemisphere, beginning here in Washington with the Smithsonian Institution and including institutions from Canada through the Caribbean to Chile."

To fulfill its mission, the Museum of the Americas Foundation has embraced a digital strategy designed to disseminate the cultural information it will collect. The immediate goal of the foundation is to use cutting-edge information technology to establish a leadership role in creating a shared collection database capable of offering interactive, distance education, an exciting public experience, and a professional, collaborative work environment.

The foundation will work closely with the Smithsonian Institution and other museums throughout North America, the Caribbean, and South and Central America to bring public attention to the existing, rich collections that chronicle the cultural achievements of the Americas. The vast majority of Americas-based collections in the Smithsonian's museums, for instance, are presently in storage and not often on public display. Seeing this as a challenge and an opportunity, the Museum of the Americas Foundation is developing exhibition strategies for these objects. In a digitally connected world, the foundation plans to prepare exhibitions for traditional spaces as well as for its rapidly forming Virtual Museum. Initially, the foundation will use technology to identify...