VAM Annual Conference 2027

How to keep your museum relevant, mission-minded, and invest in your internal community- staff?

VAM 2027 plans to continue the revolutionary spirit while focusing on practical relevance for museum staff and visitors. Museums need to keep guests engaged, encourage repeat visits, and need to provide support for staff retention and promote career growth. In the spirit of Revolution, VAM 2027 is seeking presentation proposals about how your institution has gotten back to basics to support visitors and staff.

This is also an opportunity to share how institutions have shifted to make their space more accessible and relevant. How has your institution increased visitation, collaborated with local groups or government, and in general expanded the museum or site’s local presence?

Some museums have added programming, collaborations, and local connections in a way that expand relevance and access to their world. Other museums have added gathering places onsite, creating a third space for guests to enjoy. This continued investment in your institution increases visitation opportunities despite economic shifts. It also shows more justification for staff support as roles adapt and expand to fit institutional goals.

VAM27 provides a venue to discuss strategies that make museums relevant spaces and how museums have aligned community engagement and mission. It will also give space for participants to share local practice, discuss problem solving strategies, how staff support has increased, and showcase collaborations both in and out of the field.