Call for Proposals: Annual Conference

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Small Museum Association
2011 Annual Conference Call for Proposals

The Small Museum Association (SMA) is planning its 27th Annual Conference, which will be held in Ocean City, Maryland, February 20 – 22, 2011. The most important part of that planning is assembling speakers for the 40+ concurrent program sessions that will be presented during the conference. Through this Call for Proposals we invite you to share your knowledge, experience and lessons learned with hundreds of colleagues who – like you – are committed to small museums everywhere. The deadline for submitting all proposals is September 1, 2010.

As the only conference in the country dedicated specifically to small museums, the Annual Conference draws museum professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region and from across the country as our membership and attendee base continues to expand. The conference goal is to support and nurture the small museum community through a mix of invited speakers, contributed proposals, workshops and engaging discussion. The conference provides a unique and comfortable learning environment for individuals and institutions with diverse experiences to meet and learn from each other, to share their expertise, build capacity and increase professionalism. Conference sessions typically provide practical, relevant discussions and examples for small museums and institutions limited budgets and staff.

This year, the Small Museum Conference would like to offer sessions that address the conference theme, Night at the Small Museum: Bringing Museums To Life. We invite proposals based on institutional experience or original research. Proposal topics should explore how organizations can find new and exciting ways to make small museums relevant, lively and sustainable. This should be a central theme to any presentation, whether it addresses fundraising, education, curatorial issues, museum boards or volunteers. Sessions should also indicate the level of information that will be provided, and whether it is most appropriate for a beginner who is new to museums, someone with intermediate experience, or an expert in the field. Possible session topics include:

Diversifying the Museum Board
Creative Fundraising
Successful education programs that engage new audiences
Volunteers - Mining new sources and sustaining engagement
Professional Development and Staff Unity
Marketing and PR – Changing the image of small museums
Collections Care for the 21st Century

Contact SMA Speaker Coordinators Helen Wirka, helenwirka@gmail.com, or Jennifer Ruffner, jagmuseweb@gmail.com with questions and to receive the CFP form. Forms must be submitted no later than September 1, 2010.