Founding the Museum

In 2018, I reapplied to college. Yes, at my age. Massachusetts has a program at its state universities allowing seniors, age-wise, to take courses or entire degree programs at significant discounts. I pay taxes in Massachusetts, so I took advantage. I studied and sat for the GRE, the Graduate Record Exam, and passed with colors. So began a four-year endeavor that culminated in 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with my earning a Master of Science in nonprofit management. 

All along, my objective was to learn what I could about opening a museum. My thesis was entitled “The Future of Museums.” I’ve written in the Armenian Weekly about how my Dad was a machinist and metal artist. My idea has been to establish the Megerdichian Museum to showcase his artistic work and that of other metalworking artists, particularly machinists. On campus at Worcester State University, where I matriculated, I discovered its art gallery and inquired about displaying some of Dad’s pieces there. Since there weren’t appropriate display cases, and Dad’s art is mostly miniatures, we mutually nixed my request. When they asked what my long-term objective was, I answered, “To create a museum.” I was warned about how costly my objective would be. Others told me I was wasting my time with such a pie-in-the-sky endeavor. Maybe. Obviously, there are lots of considerations, cost being only one. There are also issues of subject matter, collection size, my age, space, administration, profit vs. nonprofit, etc. Through my studies, I learned that there are more et ceteras, and even more et ceteras.