2019 Conference

 

What’s In It for Me?
101st Annual NEMA Conference
Burlington, Vermont
November 6 – 8, 2019

“What’s in it for me?” It’s a phrase that museums hear more and more. Visitors demand customized experiences and crowd-sourced programming. Museums respond by becoming more visitor-centered than ever. Members expect greater benefits and amenities. Museums respond by developing more innovative and effective programs. Sponsors want more opportunities for visibility instead of “giving back” to the community. Museums respond by focusing on metrics and outcomes.

For better or worse, we live in a time of unprecedented individualism, when virtually every museum audience – visitors, members, donors, and employees – expect something in return for their engagement with the museum. Our 2019 conference theme is What’s In It for Me?, investigating how museums are responding to a society that is becoming increasingly individualistic and savvy in their cultural choices. Here is some food for thought as you develop your session ideas:

  • How has the crowd-sourcing trend affected your museum? Has it had an impact on your collections management? Exhibition design? Your sense of curatorial authority?
  • Have relationships with your audiences become more transactional over time? If so, what have you done to address this trend? Do you feel as though your museum is being commodified?
  • Or is it the opposite: are you finding a greater sense of community in your museum? If so, how is that happening?
  • Are outcomes and metrics more important to your educational programs? What evaluation tools do you employ to justify school visits to your museum? Are field trips still field trips?
  • Are your members, sponsors, and donors demanding more in return for their contributions? If so, what are you offering them and how do you measure it? Is this creating greater costs of money and time for your museum?
  • What have you done to become more visitor-centric?
  • How are you welcoming your community into your museum? What’s in it for them? Are you telling their stories and designing multiple points of access?
  • Are museum workers becoming more outspoken about improving their workplace culture? How has this impacted power structures, pay equity, and long-term sustainability?

Do you have a great idea for a session unrelated to the conference theme? We want to hear those too! NEMA strives to offer sessions on topics including museum governance, leadership and career growth, administration, visitor services, volunteer management, human resources, education, exhibitions, curatorial and conservation, registration, technology, membership, development, and marketing. In content and in format, all sessions should stimulate discussion, raise new ideas, debate solutions, and spark imagination. Join us and share your experience!

Submit your session proposals by February 28, 2019. Click here for details.