for the ARTS record
SPECIAL BENEFIT SCREENING OF "THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN" Nantucket Midwife, Sybille Andersen, will present a special sneak preview of "The Business of Being Born" a documentary film directed by Abby Epstein and Executive Produced by Ricki Lake.

In 2001, actress Ricki Lake gave birth to her second child with the assistance of a midwife in her home bathtub. She made the choice for a home birth after she experienced unwanted medical interventions while delivering her first child at a hospital birthing center. Ricki succeeded in giving birth on her own terms and the experience was so unexpectedly empowering and life-changing that she felt every woman should know what they could be missing out on.

Ricki approached filmmaker Abby Epstein to collaborate on a film that would examine birth culture in America, and ask questions about the way American women have babies.

Footage of women having babies punctuates "The Business of Being Born." Each experience is unique; all are equally beautiful and equally surprising. Giving birth is clearly the most physically challenging event these women have ever gone through, but it is also the most emotionally rewarding.

Along the way, Epstein conducts interviews with a number of obstetricians, experts and advocates about the history, culture and economics of childbirth. The film's fundamental question: should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potential medical emergency?

As Epstein uncovers some surprising answers, her own pregnancy adds a very personal dimension to "The Business of Being Born."

This film premiered at New York's Tribeca Film Festival and is due to be released in theaters in January 2008. It will then be available on Netflix in February 2008. The filmmakers are allowing these local screenings to help raise awareness on the topic and support birth organizations on a local level. All proceeds from this advance screening will go to benefit The Foundation for the Advancement of Midwifery. For more information go to www.thebusinessofbeingborn. com, or email: sybille@nantucketmidwife. com

- There will be special screening of "The Business of Being Born" - directed by Abby Epstein, Executive Produced by Ricki Lake - Thursday, Jan. 10,4 p.m. at the Nantucket High School Large Group Instruction Room , and Saturday, Jan. 12,3 p.m.at the Starlight Theater. Tickets are $10, $5 for seniors and students. NHA RECEIVES HIGHEST NATIONAL RECOGNITION The Nantucket Historical Association has achieved accreditation from the American Association of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition for a museum. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.

AAM Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 35 years, AAM's museum accreditation program is the field's primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation, and public accountability. It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable in order to provide the best possible service to the public.

"The news of the NHA's receiving national accreditation represents a great milestone in this institution's history," said Geoff Verney, NHA board president. "It gives us a strong base upon which to build a future that ensures the proper care and interpretation of our properties. All credit to the extraordinary staff and to Nancy Soderberg, who served as the board's representative on the massive and exhaustive application effort."

Of the nation's nearly 17,500 museums only about 775 are currently accredited. The Nantucket Historical Association's Whaling Museum is one of only 44 museums accredited in Massachusetts.

"Accredited museums are publicly committed to upholding and sustaining the highest standards and practices in the museum community," said Kim Igoe, AAM's interim president and CEO. "The Nantucket Historical Association is a proven leader in the museum field in providing the best possible museum services and experiences, reminding both their peers and the public exactly how much museums really matter to their communities."

Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum's operations. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM's Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should received accreditation. The time to complete the process varies by museum, but it generally takes as

much as three years. I