“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 …

Episode Notes

Anna Slafer was the International Spy Museum’s first content-focused employee when the museum was in its earliest phases of inception in 2002. 22 years later, she retired from SPY with over two decades of experience and knowledge of the complex world of international espionage and the similarly complex field of spy history public education. 

This week on SpyCast, Anna and Andrew sat down to discuss the history of the International Spy Museum, from its ambitious beginnings to its modern-day location in L’Enfant Plaza and all the fantastic stories in between. Anna’s lived SPY experience is an invaluable resource of reflections on museum studies and the unique challenges of building a museum around content the public was never meant to know. Tune in to learn more! 

And… 

Anna also serves on the governing board for the Allied Museum in Berlin, Germany. To watch a recent program we held with this amazing museum and more just like it, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel here! 

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

Books

• The Value of Museums: Enhancing Societal Well-Being, J. H. Falk (Rowman & Littlefield, 2021)
• A Passion for Broadcasting: Stories of My Life, M. S. Maltz (Malrite Company, 2020) 
• Creating Exhibitions: Collaboration in the Planning, Development, and Design of Innovative Experiences, P. McKenna-Cress & J. Kamien (Wiley, 2013)
• Ultimate Spy, H. K. Melton (DK, 2002)

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)

Video

• Secrecy vs. Democracy: Revealing a Hidden World at the International Spy Museum, JHU Advanced Academic Programs, YouTube (2024)

*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.