2016 Conference

 


98th Annual NEMA Conference
Mystic, Connecticut
November 9 – 11, 2016

How can museums be more socially responsible? Should they be? As museums try to better engage with their audiences and communities, these questions take on great importance.

On one hand, if we are to be institutions of empathy and transformative experiences, we have an obligation to our audiences to care about their lives and the social conditions that affect them, not just while they are in our facilities. If we are to be relevant to diverse, multicultural audiences, we must engage in social action that improves the community fabric of their whole lives.

On the other hand, social action is fraught with risk. What if we alienate some audiences while engaging others? What will donors and funders think? What if the causes we champion are not popular? The museum’s reputation is at stake.

Museums can make an impact, using their community standing and clout as a means to facilitate change. Is this the ticket to the holy grail of sustainability? The issue of social action has grown into a widespread discussion in our field. NEMA’s 2014 conference Think Tank session on how museums can become more socially responsible got us started. This past year’s session on “Museums Respond to Ferguson” amped up the conversation. Now it’s time to devote some collective intellectual energy and see how the NEMA community weighs in on this hugely important topic.

Help us provide thought leadership at the 98thAnnual NEMA Conference as we explore the idea of museums influencing social action. We invite you to contribute to the conversation with a conference session proposal. Here is some food for thought as you develop your ideas:

  • Do you have a pertinent case study on how you or your museum engaged in social action?
  • Has there been a time when you didn’t engage in social action and wish you did?
  • What sort of process needs to be in place for your museum to engage? Board action? Stakeholder input? What if there is no time for process – you just have to act?
  • How can individual museum professionals be socially active without repercussions from their museum?
  • What are acceptable forms of social action for museums? Letters of support? Political leverage? Bully pulpit? Mass demonstration?
  • How can the museum’s collections and programs contribute to their social action strategy?
  • Can social action benefit museums with greater audience engagement? How do you measure that?
  • Are there any best practices in other fields that museums can borrow for successful social action?

In addition to theme-related sessions, we also welcome sessions exploring issues of technology, future leadership, and public accountability in museums. Sessions on professional development topics for individuals such as networking, personal growth, and public speaking are also welcome. NEMA strives to offer sessions on topics including museum governance, administration, visitor services, volunteer management, human resources, education, exhibitions, curatorial and conservation, registration, 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 5, 2016. Click here for the Call for Proposals.