November 2010
John Maeda mentions Amy's RISD Economics course in Forbes
Catherine Casalino, Museum Legs' own brilliant cover designer, sees copies of her book in the President's house as RISD. . . .
September 2010
Museum Legs Keynote Address at Rhode Island School of Design - watch the video!
Museum Legs was the assigned summer reading book to the incoming class, and Amy gave a talk to new students before taking them all to the RISD Museum to do a drawing project. Read more--and see pictures--here. Tweeted by John Maeda as "an hour of economics and integrity."
August 2010
The AAMD (Association of Art Museum Directors) selects Museum Legs as a summer reading book
They write: "In thought provoking, irreverent essays, she explores everything from class politics to economic forces while pondering the essential nature of art museums."
July 2010
Someone relists Museum Legs on a cheap internet shopping site, with this: ""Will change your relationship with Museums for the better. I just finished reading Museum Legs last night and I really feel better for the experience, stretched in the really appropriate way. I like that it made me really think about relationships: with museums, art, music, friends. . . ." Hey, thanks!
Museum Legs becomes a Yale Alumni "Salon Series" event
March 2010
Amy's authors@google talk from October 2009 is posted on their YouTube channel!
February 2010
Amy's Business School for Artists class at Trade School is featured in the New York Times City Room blog!
And the Trade School blog! (skip halfway down the page)
"I love Amy Whitaker because she wants artists to understand banking as much as she wants bankers to understand art."
N. Elizabeth Schlatter adds Museum Legs to her "Books for Curators" site:
"Museum Legs is a refreshing, smart, and creative collection of essays. . ." See the longer essay for an engaged assessment of both strengths and weaknesses of the book.
January 2010
Read about Business School for Artists on the Trade School blog!
"Last night, in Trade School’s second class, Amy Whitaker shed light on the current economic crisis and what terms like “Externalities” and “Derivatives” mean. Starting with the classic Supply versus Demand graph from high school, Amy moved to Game Theory, hedging bets, and the funding system employed by major non-profit art institutions around the world.
Amy Whitaker is an enthusiastic speaker with both an MBA and and MFA, ready to tackle both pragmatic explanations and business ethics at any moment. . . . ."
Advance Praise
Whitaker is the perfect docent—wise, wry, and engaging. Her essays are as captivating as the artworks they describe.
Daniel Gilbert
Professor of Psychology, Harvard University
Author of Stumbling on Happiness
Whitaker writes with such wit and style—I was completely absorbed and laughed and nodded in equal measure. Really, I loved it.
Sophie Howarth
Director
The School of Life
Whitaker's thoughtful and intriguing essays are a reminder of the gifts of moments of reflection, insight, and pleasure that museums can offer to society, and the missed opportunities if we aren't ever mindful of what museums can accomplish.
Gail C. Andrews
Director, Birmingham Museum of Art
Amy Whitaker's sparkling meditations on the museum are both delightful and pressing. She explains how we might reattain our sense of wonder, and how museums might rediscover their essence: relating to patrons without being patronizing, and sustaining themselves without selling out.
Jonathan Zittrain
Professor of Law, Harvard University
Author of The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It
It is so extraordinary to ask these simple questions and to have the courage to look for answers. Museums would be a better place to visit if they questioned themselves as Whitaker does.
Alfredo Jaar
Artist
If you care about art museums, this thought-provoking book is for you.
Judith H. Dobrzynski
Arts writer and blogger at Arts Journal – Real Clear Arts