Welcome to Bevara!
Bevara is a Swedish word which means "to protect, keep
hold as sacred" and at the heart of our company lies the
firm belief that museums and the like are the safe houses
of our heritage and culture, providing a vehicle for expression
and the thoughtful exchange of ideas and knowledge.
Bevara's services compliment the work of these organizations.
We assist in the protection of their collections and aid in the
planning and design of vehicles to showcase their stories.
To contact us, please call +1 978 380 6123.
"Having created my first museum when I was five years old (using the family antiques), I have spent much of my life immersed in history, arts and culture. This passion, coupled with my formal training and years of working in the trenches at museums across the country, led me to create Bevara."
-- Stefanie Joy Muscat
Owner | Principal
Bevara was founded in 1998 by Stefanie Joy Muscat. Prior to entering the consulting arena full-time, Stefanie served in numerous roles within museums including Public Relations Director (Michigan State University Museum), Marketing Director (National Folk Festival), Traveling Exhibits Manager (New England Aquarium) and Director (Ipswich Historical Society). She also continues to serve as Board Member to a handful of non-profit and cultural organizations. Stefanie has been honored with numerous awards, including being named to the Detroit Free Press list of "100 People to Watch This Century".
Over the past twelve years, Bevara has grown in both size and stature. Our firm currently serves museums, organizations, companies, governments
and individuals across four continents, whose missions are as varied as their budgets.
Jeremy Slavitz was named Principal in late 2009 and brings over twenty years of experience to the Bevara team.
Prior to joining the firm, he worked in roles such as Director of Programs and Interpretation at the Nantucket Historical Association and Curator and Director of Education at the Nantucket Life-Saving Museum, where he came to know as Bevara as a client.
According to Jeremy, "The reason I chose to join the Bevara team was because they truly believe in working with the client to help them acheive their goals. I experienced this first hand as a client. They listen carefully to the client to find out what their needs are and develop a partnership to help them get there."
Jeremy has also taught history at the high school level. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and also completed the Seminar for Historical Administration at Colonial Williamsburg. In addition to his consulting work, Jeremy is also an accomplished commercial fisherman.
Stefanie and Jeremy head up a team which includes talented, knowledgeable and creative individuals who share a passion for history, art and culture with our clients. Our staff of ten brings a wide variety of education and experience to each project.
You can learn about recent staff activities and projects by visiting Bevara Blog | News.
To receive a capabilities packet, outlining our team's credentials and experience, please contact us at
+1 978.380.6123 or via e-mail.
Image On This Page: Jeremy Slavitz at the Council of
American Maritime Museums Annual Conference.
Museum Planning
We utilize an inclusive planning process to ensure success throughout the duration of project. Our team can assess and interpret an institution's assets and collections as well as local, regional, and national resources - delivering a clear, concise, and sustainable long-term vision. From feasibility studies, focus groups and strategic planning to site and building design, we have the experience to bring your concept to fruition.
Finally, should your plans require green design and building, Bevara is a member of The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which connects people, knowledge, and the tools necessary to create sustainable green solutions.
Interpretive Planning & Education
How does the local history museum in one small town differentiate itself from a nearly identical museum in the small town down the road? The answer is interpretation. Buildings and objects alone do not ignite a visitor’s imagination or evoke emotion. For that you need people - and the stories they tell.
Effective interpretation and outreach bring a museum's unique stories to life, engaging its audience on multiple levels, creating a lasting impression of the organization. Whether it is a full scale interpretive plan, a single guided tour, or a hands-on activity for children, Bevara can help your organization engage the hearts and minds of the people who visit it, through well researched and rigorously planned strategies and solutions.
Exhibitions
Our staff has earned praise on its ability to develop engaging, educational and thought-provoking stories which meet the needs of a wide array of audiences. The firm'’s work has reached communities worldwide, with many projects being re-produced in multiple languages.
Unlike other firms that focus solely on design services, Bevara provides the full integration of planning, design and production, ensuring that the exhibition is developed within the right institutional context, on time and on budget. Services include concept development; visitor research and design evaluation; interpretive planning; curatorial research; image research and acquisition; scripting; design; project management and quality control.
Bevara offers the service of carrying an organization's mission to the global stage through traveling and virtual exhibits. These allow for the dissemination of collections and knowledge to a plethora of new audiences. Our traveling exhibit expertise includes planning the tour itinerary; writing and negotiating contracts; coordinating the logistics of packaging, installation and de-installation; arranging shipping schedules; providing condition reports; coordinating artifact conservation and art handling services; developing exhibition press kits.
Finally, Bevara maintains a small staff of seasoned exhibit fabricators and installers to assist in the execution and production of exhibitions. For projects which are larger in scale, Bevara has forged a strong partnership, over nearly ten years, with a handful of fabricators and scenic craftsmen.
Communications & Development
Effective communications converts strangers to guests, visitors to recommenders, members to donors, and everyone to loyal supporters. Bevara can maximize your support through carefully developed strategies specifically orchestrated to showcase your organization's unique mission and collections to multiple audiences.
To learn more about our services please contact us at
Collection Services
An organization’s strength is tied to the unique stories it holds. Without proper care, however, these stories will be lost. Bevara provides a full menu of collections services to ensure that an organization's collections, and stories, remain for future generations.
- Audit of Existing / Creation of Policies, Procedures,
Resources & Plans
- Basic Conservation Work & Mount Construction
- Cataloguing
- Collections / Archives Management
- Collections Support for Traveling Exhibitions
- Collections Surveys
- Digitization
- Disaster Planning
- Conservation Planning & Management
- Consultation on Handling & Storage of Collections Design of Storage Spaces
- Consultation on Provenance Issues (i.e., Left Property,
Object Research & Documentation)
- Training Workshops
In addition, we can create digital storage solutions designed specifically for your organization's needs and capacity.
Furthermore, Bevara maintains a large climate controlled space in North Andover, Massachusetts, which is available to clients with collections either in transit or undergoing conservation work, and in need of a temporary home.
Bevara News
Want to know more about the Bevara team, current projects, news or recent travels? Would you like to view our past work?
Please click here: The Bevara Blog
Recent Bevara Headlines
February 5, 2010
Encuentro de Tejedores de las Américas
January 28, 2010
Muscat to Lead Event Planning
Program This Spring
January 16, 2010
Muscat Appears On “"Woman Mean
Business"” Radio Program
Image On This Page: Young Visitors at '09 Sheep is Life Celebration. Presented by Diné be' iiná Inc., in the Navajo Nation.
Our company's name and logo are rooted in the stories of many cultures from across the globe.
Bevara is a Swedish word which means to "preserve, keep, hold as sacred." Each of our clients share this mission in some fashion.
Why the ravens? Throughout history, ravens have had an association with knowledge and the protection of it.
In Norse mythology, Óðinn's two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, Thought and Memory, flew around the world every day to learn of the day's news and then returned to Óðinn to report to him. In Tibetan legend, the raven is the messenger of the Supreme Being, and the Irish felt the bird to be omniscient, using phrases like raven's knowledge to mean seeing all and knowing all. There are examples from Germany, India, Siberia and elsewhere where people are advantaged by speaking with these birds or eavesdropping over the conversation of ravens. In Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, a raven attempts to help little Gerda look for her lost playmate Kay.
Ravens are also significant to Iceland's settlement. According to the story told in the saga, Landnámabók, Flóki Vilgerðarson took three ravens to help him find his way. Thus, he was nicknamed Raven-Floki (Icelandic: Hrafna-Flóki). Flóki set his ravens free near the Faroe Islands. The first raven flew back on board. The second flew up in the air and then returned to the ship. However, the third flew in front of the ship and they followed its direction to Iceland. He landed in Vatnsfjörður in the Westfjords after passing what is now Reykjavík. One of his men, Faxi, remarked that they seemed to have found great land -- the bay facing Reykjavík is therefore known as Faxaflói. A harsh winter caused all of Flóki's cattle to die -- he cursed this cold country, and when he spotted a drift ice in the fjord he decided to name it "Ísland" (Iceland).
Further, the raven has significance in Native American mythology. For example, the Raven Father is the principal creator figure of the Alaskan Inuit. At the beginning of the world he is said to have come down from the sky and created dry land. He then created a man, numerous types of animals and plants, and then a woman as a companion for the man. The Raven Father taught the man and the woman skills, such as how to raise children, make fire, and keep animals.
If you have any information, folk-tales or myths about ravens you would like to share, let us know! You can contact us by clicking here.
Image On This Page:
Óðinn and his ravens are shown in this 18th century manuscript.
No.14 Rosewood DriveIpswich, Massachusetts 01938Tel: + 1 978 380 6123Toll Free (North America): 1 888 207 9724To contact Bevara via e-mail, please click here.
No.14 Rosewood Drive
Ipswich, Massachusetts 01938
Tel: + 1 978 380 6123
Toll Free (North America): 1 888 207 9724
To contact Bevara via e-mail, please click here.
Bevara is a Certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE).
Clients: To enter your secure area, please
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Affiliations
Bevara maintains numerous professional affiliations including the American Association of Museums (AAM), the American Association for State & Local History (AASLH), Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Council of American Maritime Museums (CAMM), the International Committee of Museums (ICOM), as well as numerous regional associations. Staff regularly contribute to these organizations via publications and chairing conference sessions on numerous topics related to the museum profession.
Employment Opportunities
Our company is made up of professional historians, archivists, curators, researchers, writers, museum specialists, project managers, and administrators with a passion for business, history and the arts.
Ideal candidates possess excellent analytical and communication skills, knowledge of business culture and organization, good judgement, intellectual curiosity and strong interpretive skills. Location is not a requirement, as many of our team members live, work and travel from locations across the globe!
Internships are available on a regular basis for those in complimentary fields of study.
Bevara is committed to providing equal employment opportunities, and views this as a key business objective. All employees are expected to share in our commitment to treat our fellow employees and applicants without discrimination as to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap or disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or citizenship in all employment decisions.
For information on current openings, or to submit your credentials, please contact our office.
Website
© 2010 Bevara LLC.
All rights reserved.
The images contained within are the property of the artist and/or home organization and/or Bevara and may not be reproduced without permission. We are grateful to our clients for allowing their use within our website. The logos and text contained in the site are the property of Bevara and may not be reproduced without permission.
Bevara is not responsible for the content or activities of any linked sites. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.
Our web server collects information that details the traffic on our site. We may analyze this information and use aggregate statistics to improve the content and navigation on our site. Statistics are not personally identifiable and we make no attempt to link these statistics to the individuals who browse our site. We do not share server statistics with third parties.
Questions and comments about our website should be directed to the Webmaster.
Image On This Page: Museum Sign Outside Mdina, in Malta.
