9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions

Beyond Board Orientation: Inspiring and Sustaining Trustees
One way to inspire and sustain trustees and help them do their best is through education. How do you continue the board’s education after orientation? They need information to make informed decisions, but too much can be overwhelming. How do you get busy trustees to participate? How does staff make the time to engage them? Hear the panelists’ experiences and share your own of what has and hasn’t worked. This session is ideal for all directors and trustees.
Chair: Diane Kopec, Museum Consultant, ME

The Evolution of a Museum Within Its Community
This is a case study that looks at a museum and its community at the museum’s 10th anniversary. The Museum of Work and Culture, a division of the Rhode Island Historical Society, is a unique success story of community involvement. Creative programming has developed unusually strong bonds between some aspects of the community and the museum. The focus of this session is the evolution of the museum as a result of its outreach to and acceptance by its public.
Chair: Serena Furman, Principal, A Space, MA

Still Flies in the Buttermilk? The Struggle for Diversity in Museums
Search for literature on diversity and museums and you’ll inevitably get a reference to “Flies in the Buttermilk,” the essay by Lonnie Bunch (now director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture) on the struggle for diversity in the museum profession. Since that article’s publication in 2000, are museum staff members of color still flies in the buttermilk? With the creation of the Committee for Diversity in Museums in 2004, the American Association of Museum’s first new standing professional committee in 20 years, now is a good time to reflect on where we are, as New England museums, on how our staffing practices mirror the push to appeal to diverse audiences, and how we are developing a new generation of leaders to reflect the balance that we seek.
Chair: Simone Monique Barnes, EdM, Visiting Administrative Fellow, Assistant Curator, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, MA

Theme Conversation
Museums in Motion: A Look at Current Museum Practices Around the World
In 2007 Mary Alexander completed a revision of Edward P. Alexander’s Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, which has become a textbook for many museum studies programs. Mary will share her recent experiences investigating current museum practices around the world. She will reflect on how museums have changed and remain the same, focusing on education (or public programs), collecting and collections management, and discussing the impact of technology on both museums and museum visitors.
Chair: Mary Alexander, Author and Administrator, Maryland Historical Trust Museum Advancement Program

Users Versus Visitors: How Digital Technologies Have Activated the Museum
How can visitor-authored experiences and content serve the educational goals of your institution? Web 2.0 technology has allowed our public the ability not only to access and respond in new ways to our exhibitions and programs, but also to “remix” and place our “expert authored” content within new contexts as defined by the museum visitor. This session will explore several museum applications of Web 2.0 technologies, such as on-line forums and tagging, to examine their impact on visitors and interpretation and to discuss implications for the future.
Chair: Dawn E. Salerno, Director of Education, Mystic Arts Center, CT

10:45 a.m – 11:45 p.m.
Opening Session

Welcome from Kent dur Russell, President, New England Museum Association

Keynote Speaker
Curt Columbus, Artistic Director, Trinity Repertory Company

Cultural Institutions as Democratic Forums
Curt will speak on the importance of the theater, museums, symphonies and other cultural institutions as democratic forums. Through engaging with people and ideas we don’t know or necessarily like, these artistic experiences encourage us to renegotiate social contracts in a time when television and technology allow increasing isolation.

Located in the historic Majestic Theatre in the heart of Providence, Trinity is one of Rhode Island’s most esteemed cultural institutions. We are delighted to introduce its critically acclaimed artistic director, the always energetic, funny and provocative Curt Columbus. 

Curt joined Trinity Rep as artistic director in January 2006. He has directed his own translation of Cherry Orchard for Trinity, as well as productions of A Christmas Carol, Memory House and Blithe Spirit. Upcoming directing projects include The Receptionist and The Secret Rapture. Last season saw the premiere of Curt’s play with music, Paris by Night, and Trinity’s 2008-09 season will open with his re-imagining of Sophocles’ Antigone, entitled The Dreams of Antigone. Curt was the associate artistic director of Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf Theater Company from 2000-2005, where the world premieres of his translations of Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya were presented. Curt lives in Pawtucket with his partner, Nathan Watson.

National Update from AAM
Carl R. Nold, President and CEO, Historic New England, and Chair of the Board, American Association of Museums, will discuss initiatives that AAM is developing in response to the issues facing America’s museums.

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Warwick Conference Opening Luncheon
Join colleagues for this terrific networking opportunity. Enjoy a delicious lunch including seared chicken breast in Champagne sauce in the company of friends old and new. Chat with colleagues about current issues and future plans.

12:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Directors and Trustees Lunch Program
A Conversation with William U. Eiland, Director of the Georgia Museum of Art
Enjoy lunch with colleagues; then, over coffee and dessert take this opportunity to engage one of the field’s leaders in a lively and wide-ranging discussion. Bill will share his observations about how the concept of “museum” changes across disciplines and how groups such as ethnically specific museums are shaping the meaning of the term by their example. Hear Bill’s observations about the unique contribution that grassroots museums make to their communities. Finally, Bill issues a bold call to action for museum directors that focuses on sweeping away the drivel that too often passes for dialogue with our communities and engaging in a meaningful exchange of ideas and education.

A Woodrow Wilson Fellow, Bill has been the recipient of the Danforth Teaching Fellowship at the University of Virginia and a Museum Professionals Grant from the NEA. He has contributed to more than 50 publications, including Art Papers, US Art and Southern Antiques. He serves on the board of the Southeastern Museums Conference and is a trustee of the Association of Art Museum Directors. He served as the vice chairman of the American Association of Museums in 2004-2005. Bill earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries in 2007 and was named 1999 Outstanding Museum Professional by the Southeast College Art Conference.

Chair: Laurie Norton Moffatt, Director, Norman Rockwell Museum, MA

Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited.


1:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Afternoon Off-Site Session - Slater Mill
Sustainable Tourism: 22 Years of Building Community in the Blackstone Valley
The Blackstone Valley was the second National Heritage Corridor to be incorporated, uniting 24 communities from Worcester, MA, to Providence, RI. Participants will explore the tools and strategies needed to work cooperatively across town and state lines with a variety of partners, each with varied audiences, capacities, budget sizes and goals. The panel will include representatives of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, Slater Mill, the Rhode Island State Division of Tourism, the Worcester Historical Museum and the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.
Chair: Janice Kissinger, Chief Executive Officer, Slater Mill, RI
Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited. Fee of $10 includes transportation.

1:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions
Get to Know Your Independent Museum Colleagues Through “Speed Dating”
A fun way for independent museum professionals (IMPs) to get to know others through the technique of “speed dating.” You will be given a “dance card” with ten five-minute “dates” with other IMPs, new and old, from many disciplines in the region. A moderator will help rotate you between “dates.” For the final wrap up explore how these introductions can become new partners, collaborators and help the field.
Co-chairs: Donna Ann Harris, Author and Museum Consultant, PA; Karyl Evans, Principal, Karyl Evans Productions, CT
Pre-registration is required. Limited to 40 IMPs.

Junior Curators: A Museum School Collaboration
Learn about an innovative collaboration between museum and school to fully engage students in a community-based organization. This nuts and bolts session will focus on how a class of eighth-grade students acted as Junior Curators and designed an exhibition featuring approximately 40 photographs from the Bruce Museum’s permanent collection. How can your museum aim to include teachers and students in the powerful instructional medium of the curatorial process? Roundtable discussions will allow participants to explore the possibilities of a similar program at their own institutions.
Chair: Jennifer Beradino, Curator of Education, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, AL, and former Manager of School and Tour Services, Bruce Museum, CT

Navigating Through the Newly Revised AAM “General Facility Report”
As if the AAM’s Standard Facility Report weren’t daunting enough it has NOW been revised with more specific questions and supplemental questionnaires. Framers of the revised General Facility Report will speak about the report’s importance, how to read and prepare the report, what lenders should look for and what borrowers can expect. The report will also be reviewed from an insurer’s perspective to advise on the new geographical hazard and off-site storage supplements to the questionnaire. Finally, the panel will offer practical, realistic, and budget-friendly facility, environmental, lighting and disaster preparedness recommendations for your institution.
Co-chairs: Mary Herbert-Busick, Associate Registrar, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, CT; Meredith Vasta, Registrar/Collections Manager, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, CT

On Your Toes! Exploring New Partnership Opportunities
Two case studies examine unique collaborations between museums and performing arts groups to enhance their educational offerings. Project leaders from the Yale Center for British Art, Elm Shakespeare Company, and New Haven’s High School in the Community English department will demonstrate some results. The second case study will be the Connecticut Landmarks award-winning collaboration with the Judy Dworin Performance Project for the presentation of a dance/theater performance entitled The Witching Hour that explored the 17th-century witch craze in Connecticut. Ample time will be allowed for questions and a discussion of other collaborative models.
Co-chairs: Linda Friedlaender, Curator of Education, Yale Center for British Art, CT; Rebecca Taber-Conover, Director of Education, Connecticut Landmarks

Power in Numbers—Driving Tourism Traffic and Building Community
Museums10 is an ambitious partnership among seven college museums and three independent museums in the western Massachusetts Five College area. Aimed at positioning the region as a premier cultural destination, Museums10 has emerged as a model for pooling resources for greater impact, expanding partners’ opportunities for exposure, and increasing tourism traffic. Find out how they did it, how their efforts have encouraged other partnerships, and what challenges they face as the collaboration evolves.
Co-chairs: Tony Maroulis, Project Coordinator, Museums10, MA; Nora Maroulis, Co-founder, wündergroup consulting, MA

What A Mess! Scrapbook Conservation
From aardvark soup recipes to Zorro photographs, scrapbooks are the resting places for this nation’s treasures. These paper-based vaults of time are composed of many types of materials that are fraught with unstable stuff that just wants to deteriorate. Deborah Wender, NEDCC book and paper conservator, will discuss and illustrate methods that you can use to help identify and preserve the varied components in your scrapbooks.
Chair: David Colglazier, Independent Conservator, NH

3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Coffee Break in Exhibit Hall

3:45 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions

IMLS Grant Opportunities for Your Museum
Join IMLS Program Officers as they share information about funding opportunities for museums: grants that strengthen the ability of museums to serve the public more effectively, grants for conservation of collections, grants to provide professional development opportunities to staff, and programs for a variety of other museum activities. Information on the grant programs, how to write a competitive grant, and a road map to IMLS resources will be presented. Also, the findings of a 2007-2008 study of the mechanisms of public support for museums, conducted by IMLS and the Urban Institute, will be shared. 
Chair: Mary Estelle Kennelly, Associate Deputy Director for Museums, Institute for Museum and Library Services, DC

Making History: Reconsidering the Role of Museums in Current Events and Affairs
A panel of seasoned museum professionals will present approaches to developing exhibitions and educational programming related to contemporary events and issues of concern to our communities. Panelists will share the risks, rewards and lessons learned in undertaking such work. The session will provide attendees with a practical framework for: obtaining institutional buy-in, staking out a position (Is neutrality possible? Desirable?), selecting/collecting materials, working with the community, building dialogue and gauging visitor response.
Chair: Clarissa J. Ceglio, Department of American Civilization and the John Nicholas Brown Center, Brown University, RI

Making Museum Collections Accessible: An Important Goal of Museums in Reaching Out
Many museums, small or large, don’t have enough room for exhibiting their valuable artifacts. Many of these collections have been “locked away” in storage for decades or even longer. In spite of spatial restrictions, there are methods, programs and strategies that allow museums to share their collections with their visitors. Some of these will be presented and discussed by a panel of curators and museum professionals.
Chair: Dr. William J. Tramposch, Executive Director, Nantucket Historical Association, MA

One More and Then...Drinking in Museums
“Eat, drink and be merry!” Explore the complex nature of alcohol in museums—the good, the creative and the ugly. Most museums use alcohol in conjunction with events and programs, but serving alcohol is both costly and legally complex. Session panelists will explore the use of alcohol in museums through an interdisciplinary approach that includes: sponsorship and donations, public programming, marketing, gift shop sales, and liability and legal concerns. While the panel cannot offer legal advice, gain a valuable understanding of issues to explore in your own jurisdiction. Hear what has worked, where problems have occurred, and share your own stories and experiences.
Chair: Scott Wands, Heritage Resource Center & Field Services Coordinator, Connecticut Humanities Council

Placing a Museum at the Center of a Community When It Doesn’t Seem Possible
Few would disagree with the premise that museums can both benefit and gain strength from communities. But what if tourists—hardly a “community”—constitute your major constituency? If your museum’s time period or topic appeals to a special interest group, can you create a non-geographic sustaining community and find a way to develop mission-based local interactions with a more general audience? Discuss ideas and possible solutions at this thought-provoking session.
Chair: Cynthia Robinson, Director, Tufts Museum Studies Program, Tufts University, MA

Seeing What I Feel: Opening Museums to People Who are Blind or Have Low Vision
Using the long-time collaboration between the MFA, Boston, and the Perkins School for the Blind as a case study, this workshop will cover the key points of museum accessibility for people who are blind. A short panel presentation will be followed by simultaneous hands-on workshops that session participants can choose from. Tools and materials will be shared that can be put into practice immediately. This session will include information and adaptations for all types of museums and for visitors of all ages.
Chair: Hannah Goodwin, Manager of Accessibility, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Stepping onto a New Path
It has become a common refrain at historic house museums, “once you’ve seen the period rooms, there’s no reason to go back.” Changing from period room exhibits to something else is one path house museums can take to meet the needs of a changing market. Designed as a companion to “Choosing the Right Path for Historic Sites” (Friday, 8:45 a.m.), this session discusses strategies taken by long-established house museums when changing from traditional period room exhibits to something different.
Chair: Elaine Clements, Executive Director, Andover Historical Society, MA

Thinking of Creating a Museum from Scratch?
This session will share two very different case studies to illustrate the issues concerning creating a museum from nothing with limited resources. The pros and cons, how to avoid certain pitfalls or traps, and the types of staff and boards needed to accomplish this goal will be explored. Topics include: inception, feasibility studies, board recruitment, staff recruitment, community impact issues, fundraising, programmatic agendas and, most importantly, issues of sustainability.
Co-chairs: Kent dur Russell, Executive Director, Museum of Russian Icons, MA; Mark Wilkins, Director/Curator, The Cape Cod Maritime Museum, MA

Evening Events

5:15 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
Newcomers Reception
Meet NEMA staff, board members, and your local hosts over refreshments in a casual reception designed just for you. This is your chance to become acquainted with NEMA and to hear the inside story of this year's conference. Whether you're new to the profession, the region, or just new to NEMA, please plan to join us. We'll be expecting you!
Hosted by Tufts University Museum Studies Program

Wednesday Evening in Providence
6:15 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Join your colleagues for the best that the Renaissance City has to offer in art, historic houses, college and university galleries, and community organizations. Your Evening in Providence includes a choice of three thematic progressive events, or a chance to explore the newly expanded spaces at the Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Refreshments will be provided at host locations, and the evening concludes with a sumptuous dinner hosted by the RISD Museum of Art.
Pre-registration is required. Registration fee of $47 includes dinner, complimentary wine and transportation for any one of the following options.

Tour One: University Museums and Galleries
Explore two of Brown University’s campus galleries. The David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown’s museum of contemporary art, is located on the crest of College Hill in the List Art Center, designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson. Your visit includes a chance to view the Bell Gallery’s fall exhibition, Elizabeth King: The Sizes of Things in the Mind’s Eye. A short walk to Brown’s College Green brings you to the satellite gallery of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, housed in the Greek revival Manning Hall, one of Brown’s oldest buildings. There you will tour the student-curated exhibition, Believing Africa. Your evening concludes with a short walk through Providence’s historic East Side for dinner at the RISD Museum of Art.

Tour Two: AS220 and the Providence Children’s Museum
Begin your evening at AS220, a non-profit community arts space located in downtown Providence that includes galleries, performance spaces, studios, a print shop and a dark room. AS220’s mission is to provide an unjuried and uncensored forum for the arts. Unfettered fun is a short bus ride away in the lively hands-on learning environment of Providence Children’s Museum. Revel in the power of play in the Museum’s newest exhibit, Play Power, where you’ll construct crazy contraptions that send balls rolling down ramps and through tunnels, experiment with sound, magnets, air and light, and rediscover that play is the root of learning and creativity. The evening concludes with a bus ride to dinner at the RISD Museum of Art.

Tour Three: Historic House Museums
The East Side of Providence is your destination for visits to three historic house museums. First is the Governor Henry Lippitt House, an 1865 Renaissance-style mansion featuring hand-carved woodwork, intricate stenciling, elaborate chandeliers and stained glass windows. Then a bus takes you to open houses at two of Providence’s grand eighteenth-century mansions. The John Brown House, a three-story brick building completed in 1788, was described by John Quincy Adams as “the most magnificent and elegant private mansion that I have ever seen on this continent.” Across the street is the Nightingale-Brown House, home to five successive generations of the Brown family, including John Nicholas Brown, who oversaw a Colonial Revival remodeling of his ancestral home. Your evening concludes with a short walk on historic Benefit Street for dinner at the RISD Museum of Art.

Tour Four: An Evening at the Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design
Join colleagues at the RISD Museum of Art for an evening of fine food, gracious atmosphere and an encyclopedic collection of over 80,000 works of art, ranging from ancient Greek and Roman sculpture to French Impressionist paintings, from Chinese stone and terracotta sculpture to contemporary art in every medium, including textiles, ceramics, glass and furniture.

During the conference, the RISD Museum of Art will be celebrating the recent grand opening of the new Chace Center, a five-story multi-use building designed by architect José Rafael Moneo, featuring a site-specific installation by renowned glass artist and RISD alumnus Dale Chihuly.

At the conclusion of the evening, attendees from other Evening in Providence events will join you for an elegant dinner.