CFP: Small Museum Association 2013 Annual Conference

From the Museum Council of Philadelphia:

The Small Museum Association (SMA) is planning its 29th 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.

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, Jennifer Ruffner, 410-514-7612, jagmuse@gmail.com, no later than September 1, 2012.