London. New York. Boston. And now: Southeastern Connecticut.
Inspired by the successful collaborations among cultural organizations in three major cities, eight area museums will join forces on Wednesday, April 26, for a museum ‘InstaSwap’ event, in which teams of museum employees will use the social media platform Instagram to promote each other’s collections and resources.
“Southeastern Connecticut is an area rich in cultural heritage and tourism,” said organizer Erika Neenan, who is Mystic Museum of Art’s Curatorial Assistant to the Director. “This event allows the diverse regional museums to reach a broader audience while strengthening connections between the museums themselves.”
In addition to MMoA, institutions participating in the event are: Connecticut River Museum, Essex; Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme; Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London; Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, Mashantucket; and Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport, and Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, all of Mystic.
The first-ever museum InstaSwap took place in London in 2015. New York and Boston followed in 2016. The goal with Southeastern Connecticut’s InstaSwap is not only to highlight current exhibitions, but to provide all-access privileges so that participants may offer rare glimpses into archives and behind-the-scene spaces. Museums have been paired at random and will use their own Instagram accounts to showcase their partner organization.
“In addition to being able to promote all that we offer, it’s fun to be able to spend time at another facility as a ‘tourist’,” said Dan McFadden, Director of Communications for Mystic Seaport. “We look forward to more social media collaborations in the future.”
Mystic Seaport is partnered with the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. You can follow Mystic Seaport on Instagram @mysticseaportmuseum. Follow the Mashantucket Museum on Instagram @pequotmuseum
Search #SECTInstaSwap and #MuseumInstaSwap on Instagram to explore all eight museums on Wednesday!
