Photo: Martha Rial

Happy birthday to us! For 120 years now, the Carnegie Institute (the name under which Carnegie Museums was founded) has provided enlightening and inspiring experiences for the people of the city, the region, and the world.

We’re celebrating with a kind of spirited party game—the Clash of the Carnegies.Starting in October, an online and social media competition will allow the public to “vote” for beloved objects or exhibitions. What better way to celebrate than to hear from our audiences about what they most love in our galleries? While ultimately there will be a winning object, a fabulous prize package for one lucky voter, and a lot of fun, we look forward to learning more along the way about our audiences and what they enjoy. Look for opportunities to weigh in on behalf of your favorites!

Stories in this issue highlight some of the ways the world of museums has and has not changed since 1895. Archives and books, for example, are still invaluable in both their paper and digital forms. Warhol By the Book, opening in October, uses archival material to explore yet another layer of Andy Warhol as an artist, thinker, and booklover. Interactive and participatory exhibitions and galleries, on the other hand, although hardly imagined at our founding, have become the “new normal” in visitor experience. You’ll read about the first Heinz Architectural Center HACLab, the new make-something-yourself Fab Lab at Carnegie Science Center, and the Museum of Natural History’s new traveling show about Spinosaurus, the world’s largest predatory dinosaur. And then, of course, there is the crossroad of traditional research and digital technology. Also featured within these pages, the Art Tracks: Provenance Visualization Project, developed at Carnegie Museum of Art, uses innovative technology to make one of the core research activities of a traditional art museum—ascertaining the history of ownership for specific works—into a dynamic aspect of the viewer experience, as well as an invaluable tool for curators and scholars.

If museums are about anything, it’s creating a dialogue between past and present. This year we celebrate 120 years of connecting tradition and innovation, connecting past and present to lay the groundwork for the future. And we celebrate the generosity and support of members and donors like you, past and present, who have sustained Carnegie Museums for the benefit of future visitors.

Jo Ellen Parker
President & CEO
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh