Dear PEM Community,
Where would we be without creativity? Whether expressed through art, culture or the sciences, creativity helps us navigate a complex, ever-changing world. Sparking and sustaining creativity is at the heart of PEM FORWARD, the museum’s new strategic plan.
Designed as a road map to help PEM excel and increase our impact, the strategic plan articulates the MISSION, VISION, VALUES, COMMITMENTS and GOALS that will define our path ahead.
PEM FORWARD was generated through active listening and careful consideration of the museum’s past, present and future. We have taken advice and feedback from almost 400 regional, national and international leaders partners and supporters; our Trustees and Board of Advisors; PEM staff members; and visitors to PEM and Salem – all to more deeply understand the opportunities and needs that will help us address how PEM can and will make a difference in people’s lives.
The result is PEM FORWARD, designed to be aspirational, adaptive and agile in focusing our purpose on honoring creativity as the expression and experience of our shared humanity. PEM FORWARD underscores the importance of being a human-centric museum that fosters understanding, connection and belonging by celebrating the creative achievements and potential of people across, time, place and cultures.
Today, I invite you to join us in moving PEM forward into its great next chapter.
Onward,
Lynda Roscoe Hartigan
The Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Executive Director and CEO
PEM will lead change as a human-centered museum of art and culture that challenges assumptions, encourages dialogue and gives voice to many different perspectives.
PEM is the product of multiple cultural and civic organizations that have evolved and recombined in Salem, Massachusetts since 1799. Generosity of spirit and civic mindedness are central to PEM’s origin story, from the moment that Salem’s global traders created a society of wonder and discovery for the Salem community. Then, now and going forward, we are committed to elevating our community’s quality of life and to providing an environment in which ideas, perspectives and life experiences come together across time, place and cultures.
Today, PEM is one of this country’s leading museums of art and culture, recognized for our daring interpretive approach and our dedication to providing stimulating, life-enhancing experiences of creativity. We have a fascinating past and a record of achievement to build on, and our future lies in continuously asking how can we make a difference in people’s lives.
To do this, we will build on our identity as an adventuresome, multidisciplinary museum and draw inspiration from our DNA.
- PEM delights in and respects creativity as a way of communicating meaning and addressing challenges. Celebrating the many facets of creativity — from art to science — reflects our belief in the potential of the imagination and the multidisciplinary.
- PEM strives to understand the world around us and to motivate people to take that journey toward understanding. Curiosity and the spirit of learning and sharing fuel our drive to encourage people to question and understand who we are and who we can become, individually and together.
- PEM dares to range broadly and deeply across cultures, time and ideas. Experimentation and the embrace of the unconsidered and unexpected are the hallmarks of our willingness to prioritize questioning rather than the certainty of tradition and categories.
- PEM’s adaptive resilience encourages us to make the most of inventiveness and change in order to excel.
PEM boldly honors creativity as a nourishing force in people’s lives.
We offer thought-provoking experiences of the arts, humanities and sciences to activate understanding of our shared humanity and to empower imagination and learning through experimentation. We steward, build and make our collections accessible to encourage appreciation of the interconnected histories and creativity of people in our complex, always changing world.
We will be a magnetic, human-centered gathering place — locally, globally, and virtually — where people are inspired to learn and connect as they experience wonder, joy and comfort.
Being a human-centered museum means focusing on people as the source of creativity as well as encouraging people to embrace this powerful agent for change and connection. The local and global crosscurrents of creativity are central to PEM’s story. Our collection and exhibitions are a treasure trove of stories about the distinctiveness and universality of human achievements and struggles across time and place. We will lift up and share these stories through multiple entry points to engage broad audiences with each other and in the life of the museum.
We will achieve this vision through expanded innovation and openness in our exhibitions, programming, collections, publishing and relationships with communities and partners near and far.
PEM will continue to grow as a leader in our community and among museums.
Creativity is a tie that binds and unifies us.
Whether creativity expresses itself as art, culture or the sciences, it embodies our drive to find ways to navigate the world, past, present or future. People develop culture together through their commonalities and differences. People are story builders and storytellers. Taking inspiration from this:
We value:
- openness in recognizing the spectrum of human achievement that art, culture and the sciences make possible
- collaboration as a means to build connection and empathy
- the unexpected in inquiry and experimentation.
We are committed to:
- respect for humanity and the environment
- the well-being of our staff and communities
- inclusive, equitable engagement that builds bridges and fosters a sense of belonging and excellence in providing authentic, meaningful experiences and credible knowledge.
PEM is committed to being an inclusive, equitable cultural organization.
Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) are distinct, interlinked and critical values that support individuals and communities as they experience the arts, humanities and sciences at PEM.
As a museum that celebrates creativity to advance our shared humanity, we aspire to be an inclusive, equitable cultural organization that motivates, connects and empowers people through inquiry, empathy and dialogue. We strive to create and sustain a sense of belonging and to nurture our ability to build bridges.
We acknowledge that the role of global trade in PEM’s predecessor organizations warrants careful consideration. We commit to being aware and appreciative of differences in order to prevent overlooking, hurting or excluding anyone. We will continue to work purposefully to remove barriers, whether physical, emotional or social, so that PEM offers everyone welcoming spaces and experiences where they feel seen, heard and treated with dignity and respect.
To achieve our goals and fulfill our vision, our work over the next five years will be guided by four mutually reinforcing goals:
EXPERIENCE
Infuse all PEM experiences with unexpected, inclusive perspectives and approaches that emphasize storytelling and the power of human creativity between cultures and across time periods.
LEARNING
Create innovative and accessible gateways to learning that empower audiences, community and staff.
COLLECTIONS
Maximize the collections, including the Phillips Library and the historic properties and grounds, to tell compelling, unexpected and human-centered stories.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Advance a sustainable infrastructure and secure resources to support our strategic goals, mission and vision.
EXPERIENCE
Infuse all PEM experiences with unexpected, inclusive perspectives and approaches that emphasize storytelling and the power of human creativity between cultures and across time periods.
KEY STRATEGIES
Strategy 1:
Determine and focus on priority audiences.
Strategy 2:
Define and implement experience criteria and visitor engagement models to advance PEM as a magnetic meeting place that inspires a sense of belonging.
Strategy 3:
Develop and implement a comprehensive communications plan encompassing branding, marketing, publishing and digital outlets to encourage and empower the visitor experience.
LEARNING
Create innovative and accessible gateways to learning that empower audiences, community and staff.
KEY STRATEGIES
Strategy 1:
Develop cohesive models of learning, interpretation and evaluation.
Strategy 2:
Set partnership criteria and forge a sustainable portfolio of collaborations to develop cultural and civic competency for audiences and staff.
Strategy 3:
Implement a Staff Leadership Development Initiative.
Strategy 4:
Establish a Research and Innovation Center that supports developing, exchanging and disseminating fresh approaches to multidisciplinary research.
COLLECTIONS
Maximize the collections, including the Phillips Library and the historic properties and grounds, to tell compelling, unexpected and human-centered stories.
KEY STRATEGIES
Strategy 1:
Integrate the James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes Collection Center into the PEM experience and work culture.
Strategy 2:
Implement a phased approach to increase physical and digital access to the object and library collections for staff and external parties.
Strategy 3:
Define the overall philosophy for collection growth and refinement over the next 5 years.
Strategy 4:
Integrate the historic properties and grounds into the PEM experience and work culture.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Advance a sustainable infrastructure and secure resources to support our strategic goals, mission and vision.
KEY STRATEGIES
Strategy 1:
Refine PEM’s financial model.
Strategy 2:
Secure talent to support the strategic plan’s implementation.
Strategy 3:
Develop a campus Master Plan to articulate needs and define clear roles for historic and non-historic properties and grounds.
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