“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.