“Two Decades at the International Spy Museum” – with Anna Slafer
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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 Malz: 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). 

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