# Adam Rozan

> A museum professional building audiences and helping museums connect people with culture, education, and public life.

## Pages
- [My Story](https://adamrozan.com/about/): My Story I’m Adam Reed Rozan , a museum professional, educator, and writer based in Washington, D.C., where I’m continually inspired by the many ways…
- [Contact](https://adamrozan.com/contact/): Connect with Adam Rozan on LinkedIn, or send a message using the contact form.
- [Q&A Series](https://adamrozan.com/qa-series/): Q&A Series Since 2017, I’ve interviewed museum leaders, thinkers, and creatives from around the world, exploring the ideas, issues, and changes shaping…
- [Books & Chapters](https://adamrozan.com/books/): Books & Chapters My writing focuses on museum experiences and the work behind them. I’m interested in how people encounter museums, how those experiences…
- [Talks & Keynotes](https://adamrozan.com/talks/): Talks & Keynotes I’ve been fortunate to give keynote and conference talks across the United States and internationally, exploring how innovation,…
- [Awards & Recognition](https://adamrozan.com/recognition/): Awards & Recognition In recent years, I’ve been recognized as a Blooloop Museum Influencer and received the Smithsonian’s Education Achievement Award for…
- [Organizations](https://adamrozan.com/organizations/): Organizations Below are the organizations I'm currently involved in. International Audience Engagement Network The International Audience Engagement…
- [Projects](https://adamrozan.com/projects/): Projects Projects that ask what’s next for museums and the people they serve—beginning with The Closed Museum Project and Don’t Touch, an ongoing…
- [News](https://adamrozan.com/news/): News This page brings together current updates and a curated archive of favorite past features from my work in museums and civic engagement. How a…
- [Now](https://adamrozan.com/now/): Now This is my now page . It gets updated every so often to reflect what's current. Last updated: February 2026. The Smithsonian I'm at the Smithsonian,…
- [What do a public library and a regional newspaper have in common? A Q&A with Eli Neiburger, Director of Ann Arbor District Library.](https://adamrozan.com/what-do-a-public-library-and-a-regional-newspaper-have-in-common-a-qa-with-eli-n/): What do a public library and a regional newspaper have in common? A Q&A with Eli Neiburger, Director of Ann Arbor District Library. All too often, the…
- [What Does It Mean to Truly Experience an Art Museum? A Q&A with Johan Idema](https://adamrozan.com/what-does-it-mean-to-truly-experience-an-art-museum-a-qa-with-johan-idema/): What Does It Mean to Truly Experience an Art Museum? A Q&A with Johan Idema Back in 2017, at the MuseumNext conference in Rotterdam, I met Johan Idema,…
- [Why Museums Need to Stop Taking Themselves So Seriously: Q&A with Jeff Martin](https://adamrozan.com/why-museums-need-to-stop-taking-themselves-so-seriously-qa-with-jeff-martin/): I’ve known my friend Jeff Martin for several years, mostly from afar, and have always been in awe of his creativity. His approach to museum work—what…
- [José Antonio Gordillo Martorell on Why Every Museum Should Be a Children's Museum](https://adamrozan.com/jose-antonio-gordillo-martorell/): José Antonio Gordillo Martorell on Why Every Museum Should Be a Children's Museum Early in my career, I worked at Boston Children's Museum. It was a…
- [Noel Wiggins of Areaware on Areaware’s 22 Years and its Closing](https://adamrozan.com/noel-wiggins-of-areaware/): Noel Wiggins of Areaware on Areaware’s 22 Years and its Closing In February this year, the beloved museum-store staple Areaware announced that after 22…
- [René de Guzman on museums, artists, and the importance of space](https://adamrozan.com/rene-de-guzman-on-museums-artists-and-the-importance-of-space/): René de Guzman on museums, artists, and the importance of space Several museums ago, and many years back, I had the good fortune to work at the Oakland…
- [From Experiences to Transformations: A Conversation with Joe Pine](https://adamrozan.com/from-experiences-to-transformations-joe-pine/): Adam Rozan interviews Joe Pine, author of The Experience Economy, on experiences, transformations, and what museums can learn from the experience economy.
- [Museum-Based Artwork & Projects](https://adamrozan.com/art/): A selection of Adam Rozan's museum-based artworks and projects, exploring participation, authority, and the museum experience: MEOW, Security, Nude Drawing in the Galleries, and more.
- [Reflecting on the 6th Civic Season: Q&A with Made By Us director Caroline Klibanoff](https://adamrozan.com/caroline-klibanoff-civic-season/): Adam Rozan talks with Made By Us director Caroline Klibanoff about the sixth Civic Season, Wish Walls, and putting Gen Z at the center of American civic life.
- [Q&A with Michigan State University’s Broad Art Museum Director Philip Bahar](https://adamrozan.com/philip-bahar-broad-art-museum/): Adam Rozan talks with MSU Broad Art Museum director Philip Bahar about leading with an audience mindset, student curators, and museums built for community.

## Articles
- [Playgrounds, Papers, and Missed Opportunities](https://adamrozan.com/playgrounds-papers-and-missed-opportunities/) — 2025-09-19: In "Playgrounds, Papers, and Missed Opportunities ," I examine what playgrounds can teach museums about creativity, openness, and public space. The piece…
- [School Groups, GDP, and Our Community Interdependence](https://adamrozan.com/school-groups-gdp-and-our-community-interdependence/) — 2024-10-04: In this piece, I explore how museum field trips and school-group visits reflect wider economic and community connections — demonstrating how museums…
- [First, Last, or Most: Let’s Celebrate Being Last](https://adamrozan.com/first-last-or-most-lets-celebrate-being-last/) — 2025-09-08: In "First, Last, or Most: Let's Celebrate Being Last", I challenge museums to reconsider their focus on being the first or the biggest, and instead…
- [Father of 'Third Place,'​ Ray Oldenburg, Passed Away.](https://adamrozan.com/father-of-third-place-ray-oldenburg-passed-away/) — 2023-01-31: In "Father of 'Third Place,' Ray Oldenburg, Passed Away," I reflect on the legacy of sociologist Ray Oldenburg and how his ideas about informal gathering…
- [Museums At 2040: Hello, and Welcome to The Future](https://adamrozan.com/museums-at-2040-hello-and-welcome-to-the-future/) — 2017-11-01: Adam's Note: In “Museums at 2040: Hello, and Welcome to the Future,” written for the American Alliance of Museums’ 2017 Annual Trends Report, I forecast…
- [What’s your wish for U.S.? turns history museums into future-imagining incubators](https://adamrozan.com/whats-your-wish-for-u-s-turns-history-museums-into-future-imagining-incubators/) — 2025-06-19: In 2021, history museums across the nation, working in collaboration with one another and with Gen Z-ers through Made By Us, generated an idea to link…
- [Six Ideas to Celebrate Civic Season from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History](https://adamrozan.com/six-ideas-to-celebrate-civic-season-from-the-smithsonians-national-museum-of-ame/) — 2024-07-02: Originally published on Medium.com Civic Season is a new tradition that connects our newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, and our oldest, July 4th. Since…
- [What Can Pokémon Go Mean for Museums](https://adamrozan.com/what-can-pokemon-go-mean-for-museums/) — 2024-08-05: Originally published on the Museum Next website. This article explores how organizations can leverage games like Pokémon Go to engage new audiences amid…
- [How Museums are Helping Communities Beat the Heat](https://adamrozan.com/how-museums-are-helping-communities-beat-the-heat/) — 2024-07-11: Originally published on my LinkedIn. A July 7 NPR.com article headline reads, "Temperature records are shattered as extreme heat grips the West and East…
- [Top 5 Reasons Why Museums Close: Highlights from a conversation between Susana Bautista and Adam Rozan](https://adamrozan.com/top-5-reasons-why-museums-close-highlights-from-a-conversation-between-susana-ba/) — 2022-01-18: Originally published on the American Association for State and Local History website. Last year I caught up with Susana Bautista over Zoom to chat with…
- [Crowdsourcing a Database of Permanent Museum Closings](https://adamrozan.com/crowdsourcing-a-database-of-permanent-museum-closings/) — 2021-01-08: Originally published on the American Alliance of Museums website . Due to the independent nature of the nonprofit sector in the US, there no…
- [Being Social: What Museums Need to Understand for the Future](https://adamrozan.com/being-social-what-museums-need-to-understand-for-the-future/) — 2024-05-21: Note: Originally published in 2014 with Museum-ID and was later turned into a slide deck by Museum Hack I’m resharing my 2014 Museum-ID article on…
- [John Martin: Visionary of the Everyday](https://adamrozan.com/john-martin-visionary-of-the-everyday/) — 2013-01-02: Originally published January 2, 2013, on Huffington Post . A large ochre insect, possibly a praying mantis, hovers on a man’s forehead, perched like a…
- [On Jason Polan](https://adamrozan.com/on-jason-polan/) — 2012-08-02: Originally published August 2, 2012 on Huffington Post . Several years ago, I stumbled upon a rectangular version of Superman’s crystal palace at Powell…
- [Super Museums: Being mindful of every opportunity to delight audiences](https://adamrozan.com/super-museums-being-mindful-of-every-opportunity-to-delight-audiences/) — 2017-11-06: Originally published on the Museum iD website . Adam Rozan, Allison Agsten, Hanna Cho and Aimee Chang on why museums should be mindful of every…
- [The Mythological Museum Visitor – The Young Cosmopolitan](https://adamrozan.com/the-mythological-museum-visitor-the-young-cosmopolitan/) — 2009-10-10: Originally published October 2009 on the Western Museum Association’s blog . The Targeting Young Cosmopolitans in Museums study was born out of a 2009…
- [Success, the Museum of Failures, and Basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo](https://adamrozan.com/success-the-museum-of-failures-and-basketball-player-giannis-antetokounmpo/) — 2025-11-01: From Giannis Antetokounmpo's post-game interview to the Museum of Failure, we're reminded that progress isn't linear. A reflection on work, learning, and…
- [Museum AI Pledge: Keeping Human Expertise at the Center](https://adamrozan.com/museum-ai-pledge-keeping-human-expertise-at-the-center/) — 2025-11-19: Written by Marion Carré and Adam Rozan. Originally published on my Linkedin on November 19, 2025 . We live in an AI-infused world, where AI is knowingly…

## Categories
- [Civic Engagement](https://adamrozan.com/category/civic-engagement/): Writing about civic engagement, museums, and public life. I believe museums have a real role to play in how communities participate in democracy. "What's your wish for U.S.?" is about Civic Season, an annual ritual catalyzed by hundreds of museums nationwide that host events and share resources to help people learn and grow as citizens. That piece explores how history museums can become spaces for imagining the future.
- [General](https://adamrozan.com/category/general/): Posts that span my different interests, from museum thinking to failure to the economics of public institutions. If it does not fit in another category, it lands here. "Success, the Museum of Failures, and Basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo" connects a post-game interview with the Museum of Failure to make a point about how progress is not linear. Sometimes the best lessons come from unexpected places.
- [Museum Audiences](https://adamrozan.com/category/museum-audiences/): Writing about who visits museums, who does not, and what that tells us about how these institutions connect with the public. "Super Museums: Being mindful of every opportunity to delight audiences" was originally published on the Museum iD website. It is about paying attention to every touchpoint, not just the exhibitions.
- [Museum Closings](https://adamrozan.com/category/museum-closings/): Why museums close and what we can learn from it. This is a topic most people in the museum world do not want to discuss, which is exactly why I write about it. "Top 5 Reasons Why Museums Close" is based on a conversation between Susana Bautista and me, originally published on the American Association for State and Local History website. We identified the patterns that keep repeating.
- [Museum Trends](https://adamrozan.com/category/museum-trends/): Where museums are headed. AI, social media, technology, and the forces reshaping how these institutions operate and stay relevant. "Museum AI Pledge: Keeping Human Expertise at the Center" was co-written with Marion Carru00e9. We argued that as museums adopt AI, human knowledge and judgment need to stay at the core.
- [Best Posts](https://adamrozan.com/category/best-posts/): Start here to get to know Adam Rozan. These few pieces show his work in museum audience and civic engagement, the Closed Museum Project he founded, and how he connects museums to everyday life.