VAM Annual Conference 2021

Museums Facing a Changing World

No one would have expected that the year 2020 would bring such strife and change to our lives, our organizations, and our nation. Whatever we thought the “future” meant a few years ago may not be what we think it means now. And a phrase like the “new normal" is constantly evolving, and what might seem “normal” in the summer or fall, might not be so “normal” in March 2021 when our annual conference is due to occur. A “new normal” brings a need for more than necessary adjustments caused by a pandemic. It means heightened emphasis on race relations, dealing with political and social polarization, transitioning to digital content delivery, and so much more.   

What will the future hold for Virginia’s museums, and what will we provide and what will become our unique value? The people that power Virginia’s museums are creative, giving, and resilient, and will no doubt work together to harness recent events as well as emerging trends and technologies to meet tomorrow's challenges, whatever they may be.  

In our ongoing mission to support our museum community, we are encouraged by the support of our conference committees and board in presenting our premier professional development and networking event next year.

VAM 2021 Annual Conference: Online
March 15-19, 2021

Registration will open in January 2021.

We are excited about the program we have put together for you--while we can't be together in person, we hope you will enjoy the content and the opportunities to engage with your fellow museum professionals we have included in our first ever virtual conference!  We hope you will plan to join us.

Download our Schedule at a Glance to See what the Conference Has in Store!!

Some notes:

• Each day, we will launch a set of pre-recorded sessions; these can be viewed at any time.
• We will have a virtual exhibit hall, as well as a celebration of the museums in our Commonwealth--you will notice that each day focuses on one region in our great state; since we aren't in one place, in one hotel, we can virtually visit museums in every part of Virginia.
• Each day will include two live sessions--a general session that will have a featured speaker on a topic of importance to all of us, and a session that was chosen by our conference committee to be presented live, to allow for conversation and questions.
• We will be using our Socio platform for the online conference--if you downloaded the conference mobile app in the past, this will look familiar to you, and will be easy to use. 
• All sessions, live and pre-recorded, will be available to registered conference attendees for the remainder of 2021--you can watch sessions whenever is convenient for you!!

Registration Rates for our 2021 Online Conference:

Member Rate                   $80

Nonmember Rate           $130

Special Rate                     $60
(Benefactors, Committee Members, Students)

Museum Rate                 $300
(allows museums to purchase the link and share with their staff)