Jackson Free Press

Along with only two other museums in the nation, the Mississippi Museum of Art is getting a grant from the American Association of Museum's Center for the Future of Museums and EmcArt to participate in its prestigious Innovation Lab for Museums. The Madison Children's Museum in Wisconsin and the National Trust for Historic Preservation is Washington, D.C., are also receiving the grant.

The Innovation Lab is a four-phase program that the museum will go through to restructure its model for member participation.

MMA Director of Marketing Jenny Tate hopes the benefits of this program will extend outside the museum. "Hopefully, the result of all of this would be a new model for participation in museums, and something that could have impact for other types of nonprofits," she told the Jackson Free Press yesterday.

First, an outside facilitator will help the museum choose its innovation team. The team will then participate in a retreat where it and the two other museums chosen for the program will collaborate on specific projects. Afterward, the MMA team will create a prototype of its new strategy and implement it in a small, limited measure. Finally, the team will evaluate and revise the program as needed.

Upon completion of these steps, the museum will be awarded a $40,000 grant to essentially implement their new program.

"MetLife Foundation is pleased to continue its longstanding commitment to ensuring the vitality of the museum field. We are glad to foster innovation and experimentation in the museums through the Innovations Lab program and support projects that will engage community members in the rich landscape of American museums," Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife, the financial backer for Innovation Lab for Museums, said in a statement.