DC logo - amy versionThere is perhaps no greater pleasure nor privilege for a museum patron than to be able to walk into an exhibition hall – filled with intellectually stimulating concepts, interesting artifacts as well as engaged audiences – and say “I put this here for everyone to enjoy!”  We’ve got the academic and artistic resources – as well as the vision – to put together a truly unique inaugural installation for our innovative museum concept.  If you’re in a position – and have the passion – to turn our vision into reality, let’s work together to make it happen.

Our first physical exhibit is in development. “Dearest Creature: Stories of the Human-Animal Bond” is designed to be the perfect jumping off point for our debut.  The title is a tip of the hat to historical and literary icon Virginia Woolf, who was famously known for penning love letters to her human companion using that salutation.  The subtitle needs no explanation.  Dearest Creature will be an examination of the often-marginalized, but never doubted, fact that humans can and do form deep and meaningful relationships with all manner of (non-human) animals.  We’ll examine this phenomena through literary, scientific, artistic and other perspectives.  Here are some of the experts developing this exhibit:

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bio - beck - 230x219Alan M. Beck, ScD

Professor Alan Beck is one of the most recognized names in human-animal bond research today.  After graduating from The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, he spent decades leading animal programs in both the public and private sector.  In 1990, he became the Director of the “Center for the Human-Animal Bond” at Purdue University.  A few years ago, he was tapped to be the principal investigator for the veterinary program of the newly-formed Human-Animal Bond Research Initiative Foundation (“HABRI”). HABRI “is a non-profit research and education organization that is gathering, funding and sharing the scientific research that demonstrates the positive health impacts of animals on people.”  HABRI’s founding sponsors and steering committee members are a coalition of nonprofit and for-profit organizations working together to advance the study of the human-animal bond.

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bio - weil - 230x219Kari Weil, PhD

Kari Weil is one of the leading animal studies scholars in the U.S..  A University Professor of Letters at Wesleyan University, she earned her Ph.D in Comparative Literature from Princeton University with specializations in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century France and Feminist Theory.  She has published widely on literary representations of gender, feminist theory, and, more recently, on theories and representations of animal otherness.  She recently co-edited a special issue of Hypatia entitled, Animal Others (27.3, Summer 2012) and she is  the author of  Thinking Animals: Why Animal Studies Now (Columbia UP, 2012) and Androgyny and the Denial of Difference (University Press of Virginia, 1992).  Her current project is tentatively titled, ‘The Most Beautiful Conquest of Man’?: Horses and Other Animal Pursuits in Nineteenth-Century France.

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Thurston biographyMary Thurston

Cultural anthropologist and former museum curator Mary Elizabeth Thurston has specialized in the history of companion animal relationships for over 25 years.  Her groundbreaking book, The Lost History of the Canine Race (1996) explored fifteen thousand years of canine-human relations as reflected in art, photos, documents and artifacts created by generations of dog lovers.  Her writings have appeared in both popular magazines such as Good Housekeeping and scholarly publications such as the Journal of the International Society for Companion Animal Studies. and two editions of encyclopedia about animal rights and human-animal interactions edited by the eminent ethologists Drs. Jane Goodall and Marc Bekoff (2007, 2010).  Thurston also was a lead proponent for America’s first federal law stipulating a retirement and adoption alternative to euthanasia for military working dogs, and she was a founding board member of the Texas-based nonprofit organization, Animal Trustees of Austin.

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Dearest Creature will be our inaugural exhibit. You can be an integral part of our team.

Let us help you reach your audience by matching what you do with what we do! Exhibition sponsorships offer your company targeted opportunities to increase public awareness of both your name and charitable nature, as well as generate goodwill:

General

  • Exhibit visitors will see your company’s name and/or logo displayed in the credit listing for the physical exhibit
  • Website visitors will see your company’s name and/or logo displayed in the credit listing for exhibit webpage
  • We’ll provide a link from your company’s name and/or logo on our exhibit webpage back to your website

Silver

All of the above, plus:

  • 1 pairs of VIP tickets to our Grand Opening
  • 1 Facebook post per week and 3 tweets per week for 2 weeks leading up to our Grand Opening

Gold

All of the above, plus:

  • 2 pair of VIP  tickets to our Grand Opening
  • 1 Facebook post per week and 3 tweets per week for 4 weeks leading up to our Grand Opening

Platinum

All of the above, plus:

  • Private director-led tour of physical exhibit for your clients, employees, family or friends, up to 20 people
  • Complimentary “wolfpack” (extended family) membership for a year
  • Opportunity to run 2 guest Facebook posts and 6 guest tweets during the week before the Grand Opening

Diamond

All of the above, plus:

  • Attend a regularly-scheduled board meeting
  • Opportunity to give 2-minute opening remarks at Grand Opening reception
  • Exhibit will include a panel in the credits section profiling your company and its charitable work

Want to participate but don’t see just the right fit? Let us know what you’re thinking.  For pricing and other questions, please contact Amy Breyer at: breyer@animalhistorymuseum.org