“Two Decades at the International Spy Museum” – with Anna Slafer

Summary Anna Slafer (LinkedIn, Website) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the history of the International Spy Museum. Anna was one of SPY’s first employees when the museum opened in 2002. What You’ll Learn Intelligence Building the International Spy Museum Milton Maltz: the visionary behind SPY The role of historians and curators Creating exhibits on espionage Reflections Institutional memory and evolution The challenges and joys of storytelling And much, much more … Quotes of the Week “We structured the museum so people could understand: How does [spying] work? Who does it? What is my role? And we wanted to look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.” – Anna Slafer. Resources SURFACE SKIM *SpyCasts* The World’s Preeminent Collection of SPY Artifacts with Laura Hicken and Lauren VonBechmann (2024) Secrets Revealed – Curators Alexis and Andrew on SPY’s Pop-Up Exhibit (2023) Peter Earnest Memorial: Spook, CIA Spokesman, Spy Museum Director (2022) *Beginner Resources* A look at the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C., FOX 5 Washington DC, YouTube (2023) [5 min. video] About the Collection, International Spy Museum (n.d.) [Short article] About Museums, American Alliance of Museums (n.d.) [Short Q&A] DEEPER DIVE Articles Cracking the Spy Museum Code to Revitalize Stale Learning, J. A. Manning, Medium (2023) A Reimagined Spy Museum in Washington Doesn’t Flinch From the Darker Side, S. Shane, The New York Times (2019) From For-Profit to Nonprofit: Evolution of the International Spy Museum, E. Merritt, American Alliance of Museums (2019) Spy Museum salutes '50 years of Bond Villains,' T. Wells, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (2012) Role of museums in managing design education: a case study, H. Lee, International Journal of Education Through Art (2009) Museum visitors hit the D.C. streets in spy game, B. Zongker, Seattle Times (2009) *Wildcard Resource* Museums have been a critical element of community building and historical memory for centuries. One of the world’s first curators was a woman named Ennigaldi-Nanna from modern day Iraq. Dating from 530 B.C., Ennigaldi-Nanna’s museum of Mesopotamian artifacts is thought to be the world’s oldest museum.