Call for Proposals - SMA 2013 Conference

Small Museum Association

2013 Annual Conference Call for Proposals

The Small Museum Association (SMA) is planning its 29^th Annual Conference, which will be held in Ocean City, Maryland, February 17 - 19, 2013.  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, 2012.

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 presentations, 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 with limited budgets and staff.

This year, the Small Museum Conference would like to offer sessions that address the conference theme, Superheros: The Extraordinary Power of Small Museums.  Small museums, like superheros, serve their communities and provide inspiration.  This year’s conference will explore the myriad ways by which small museums accomplish their goals; particularly during these challenging years.  We invite proposals based on institutional experience or original research.  Proposal topics should help attendees learn from your institutions’ successes (or failures), and provide low or non-cost ideas for replicating success.  The power of small museums 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 the 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:

●        From Mild-Mannered to Man of Steel - Transforming Your Museum into a Community Leader

●        League of Superheros - Pooling Your Resources to Accomplish Great Things

●        Defeating Evil Villains - Small Museums Overcoming Challenges

●        Side-Kicks, not Minions - Developing staff and volunteers as partners to the mission

●        Revealing the Backstory - How a Museum’s Origin Story Impacts Operations Today

●        “With Great Power...” - Responsibilities of Museum Boards

Proposals should be submitted using the form below, and sent to the SMA Speaker Coordinator no later than September 1, 2012.

SMA's mission is to develop and maintain a peer network among people who work for small museums, giving them opportunities to learn, share knowledge and support one another, so that they, in turn, can better serve their institutions, communities and profession.

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Small Museum Association

2013 Annual Conference Session Proposal Form

Your Name:

__________________________________________

Institution/Organization/Company:

__________________________________________

Your Address:

__________________________________________

Your Phone Number:

__________________________________________

Your Cell Number (needed for emergency purposes only during the conference):

__________________________________________

Your Email Address:

__________________________________________

Preferred Session Date:                

Mon (Feb. 20) _____  Tues. (Feb. 21)_____  Either_____

Preferred Session Length:             

60 min._____  90 min._____  Either_____

Audience Level:                            

Beginner____  Intermediate_____  Expert_____

Title of Proposed Session:

___________________________________________

Description of Proposed Session (use additional space as needed):

Contact SMA Speaker Coordinator Jennifer Ruffner, 410-514-7612, jagmuse@gmail.com with questions or completed forms. Forms must be submitted no later than September 1, 2012.