Schedule |
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Wednesday October 12 | Registration and Reference – In-person event 9 am – 12 pm | Grant County Conference Center Mimbres Pottery: From Excavation to Repatriation and Everything In Between – In-person event Pre-conference Workshops | 10 am – 3 pm | Western New Mexico University Museum Mimbres pottery is known for incredible images that captivate the public, however, on the academic and museum side, there are various considerations that are ever-present. The workshop, presented by WNMU Museum Director Danielle Romero, a leading Mimbres scholar, will cover a number of topics including identifying and typing Mimbres pottery, spotting fakes and restoration, best practices for conservation and display, and handling NAGPRA. This workshop will be held at the WNMU Museum, home to the NAN Ranch Collection, the largest and most complete collection of Mimbres materials in existence from a single prehistoric Mimbres site, and the largest and most comprehensive permanent interpretative exhibition of Mimbres pottery and artifacts in the world. Digital Community Archives – Hybrid event Pre-conference Workshops | 10 am – 3 pm | Training Room 135 This convening organized by Ellen Dornan, New Mexico Humanities Council CIO and Digital Humanities Program Officer, is designed for people engaged in building digital community archives or contemplating starting one. It will begin with an overview of regional digital archives from Ellen Dornan and presentation by Kevin Comerford, Dean of the NMSU Library, who will share his experience and goals for supporting regional archiving efforts, continue with a panel discussion on getting community archive projects off the ground with perspective from around New Mexico with Cassandra Smith, Archivist, Isleta Pueblo, Dr. Patricia Perea from the Manitos Community Memory Project, and Maria Sanchez-Tucker, Community Services Director City of Santa Fe, and culminate in a workshop on ethical story gathering led by director Chris Jonas from Little Globe, a nonprofit organization in Santa Fe committed to interdisciplinary, collaborative art projects that foster life-affirming connections across the boundaries that divide us. Opening Reception – In-person event 5 pm – 7 pm | Western New Mexico University Museum |
Thursday October 13 | Coffee and Refreshments – In-person event 7 am – 8:15 am | Grant County Conference Center You Can Do Hard Things! How to Fundraise in Challenging Times – In-person event Session Block 01 | 8:30 am – 9:45 am | Training Room 116 Seasoned fundraiser and Children’s Museum industry professional Hannah Hausman, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Children’s Museum, will present this session about how to fundraise and plan special events successfully despite living in challenging and changing times. The session will explore Hausman’s experience as a fundraiser and event planner in South Florida, where events like the Madoff investment scandal or a hurricane could turn your goals and fundraising plans upside down at a moment’s notice. She will share some of the ways that museums she’s worked with not only came back from challenges but came out on top and how the Santa Fe Children’s Museum not only sustained the organization during COVID but increased its marketing, fundraising and outreach. In Our Own Words: Community Research and Inclusivity – Hybrid event Session Block 01 | 8:30 am – 9:45 am | Training Room 135 This panel discussion, moderated by Javier Marrufo, Curator of the Silver City Museum, will present the Silver City Museum’s Chihuahua Hill History Project. The session will explore the need for more community-based historical research, representation of marginalized groups, and inclusivity in museums through a general overview of this oral history project and a discussion of the importance to museums of such projects, including the benefits of community research and activation of community-driven collecting to the creation of collections and historical resources. 2020: The Summer We Took Heads – In-person event Session Block 01 | 8:30 am – 9:45 am | Training Room 117 Scott Williams, a UNM Museum Studies student, was shot and seriously wounded protesting the Oñate monument in Albuquerque. He will moderate a roundtable discussion to imagine the decolonization of museums and other public art institutions and entities. Looking back at the historic removal of hundreds of statues as a result of protests across the nation in 2020, we can spark conversations, hopefully leading to a future in which cultural institutions can be on the forefront of critical thought and action, changing and developing radically on their own without the undue resource drain and pressures on community activists and organizations. How can museums and communities work together to create spaces of learning and safety for all? Keynote Address – Hybrid event 10:00 am – 11:15 am | Grant County Conference Center Ballroom Jacquetta “Jackie” Swift (Comanche/Ft. Sill Apache) Lunch – In-person event 11:30 am – 1 pm | Grant County Conference Center Ballroom Reimagining Student Employment at the University of New Mexico Art Museum – In-person event Session Block 02 | 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm | Training Room 116 The University of New Mexico Art Museum (UNMAM) is a regular employer of students from all areas of campus through the visitor services role of Museum Assistant. When the museum closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, UNMAM needed to find new ways to engage their student employees, inspiring a change in how students are integrated into the museum structure through roles that expand past traditional museum experiences. UNMAM reopened in Fall 2021 with a new student employment model and three new student jobs: Communications Coordinator, Programs Assistant, and Social Media Assistant. Devin E. Geraci, UNMAM’s Manager of Communications & Audience Engagement, will lead a discussion with Director Arif Khan and current student employee/Communications Coordinator Colin Rankine to address the inspiration, logistics, and benefits of this new model, along with plans for continued growth of the program. Collections Management Continuity: Preserving Knowledge for a Sustainable Future – In-person event Session Block 02 | 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm | Training Room 117 During periods of high job turnover, especially from the COVID-19 pandemic, museums can struggle with preserving institutional and community knowledge, especially in the area of museum collections management, where continuity of knowledge, procedures, and records is crucial. In this open roundtable session, presenters will discuss the challenges of maintaining continuity in collections management when taking on new roles and supervising short-term student and contract employees. Presenters will discuss several projects and approaches, such as a cataloging guide for Maya huipils to train student catalogers, to help bring consistency to collection management and provide a reference base for continued care of the collection when new staff come on board. The session will then open as a forum for the panel and audience to share and discuss their own obstacles and approaches to preserving institutional knowledge and brainstorm ways to be more inclusive with community expertise and with fellow museums. Presenters: Petra Brown, Collections Manager, New Mexico Museum of Art, and Lauren Fuka, Registrar and Collections Manager of Ethnology, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. The Lifespan of Museum Objects, or An Observation of Museum Angst About the Future – Hybrid event Session Block 02 | 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm | Training Room 135 This talk by Dr. Devorah Romanek, Curator of Exhibitions at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, will observe the current moment in relation to anxieties of museum futures, specifically, the identity crisis many museums face in relation to social shifts that impact collecting, collections, and exhibiting. Some of the larger issues include the global COVID pandemic, climate change, and growing global authoritarianism. It will also take into account many recent changes in relation to cultural heritage, including issues such as repatriation, proactive repatriation, ‘the profusion struggle’ in relation to collecting, and ongoing acts of iconoclasm, among other concerns. The hope is to inspire conversation and excitement about a challenging moment for museums that may also offer great opportunity for creative change. The Creative Economy and Museums – Hybrid event Session Block 03 | 2:45 pm – 4 pm | Training Room 135 New Mexico’s arts and cultural industries can help power the State’s recovery from the pandemic and economic downturn, and museums play vital roles, oftentimes serving as cultural hubs for their communities and contributing to our national and global reputation as an arts and culture destination. Cynthia Graves, owner of the traveling exhibitions company GuestCurator, will moderate a panel discussion with New Mexico Senator Jeff Steinborn, Las Cruces, Howard Taylor, CEO and President, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and Laurie Rufe, former director of the Roswell Museum and vice-chair of Creative New Mexico, on current initiatives to increase investment in leveraging New Mexico’s cultural assets and creative activities in growing local economies across the State. Facing the Challenges: Culturally Responsive Curation and Community Engagement – In-person event Session Block 03 | 2:45 pm – 4 pm | Training Room 116 As museums across the nation are called to engage with a range of social justice efforts, National Hispanic Cultural Center Visual Arts Program Manager Jadira Gurulé and co-curator Rebecca Gomez, who have more than 20 years combined experience working with culturally responsive topics and BIPOC artists in museums, will share their experience with engaging audiences for a forthcoming exhibition of a significant collection acquired by NHCC of paños, handkerchief art created by incarcerated individuals. The exhibition will feature works collected by the late Rudy Padilla, a formerly incarcerated community activist. In a climate of racialized criminalization and mass incarceration, the session will explore how exhibiting this collection provides an opportunity to examine the intersections of art and incarceration, its impact on Hispanic/Latinx communities, and how curators approach an exhibit to establish equity and sensitivity when presenting content related to traumatic experiences. Two Historic Transformations – In-person event Session Block 03 | 2:45 pm – 4 pm | Training Room 117 Join Karen Hymer, Owner and Director of Light Art Space, Zoe Wolfe, Artist, and Stephen Shelendich, Architect, on a tour of two downtown Silver City historic buildings located within 3 blocks of the Silver City Museum, a 1905 hardware store and a 1930s freezer plant. These buildings have undergone a series of renovations that maintain prominent historic elements including recent modifications and adaptations to get them through the pandemic. Today, each building includes artist studio spaces, offices, and workshop facilities, and interface with the community through events such as Open Studio Tours and First Friday Art Walks that feature contemporary art. Tech Showcase @Future Forge – In-person event Evening Event | 5 pm – 7 pm | 307 E. College Ave, Silver City, NM The Tech Showcase is an annual opportunity for NMAM members to share their projects and demonstrate the ways they are using technology and other creative strategies to engage audiences onsite and online. This year’s event, hosted by Silver City’s new makerspace, Future Forge, will feature the Santa Fe Children’s Museum’s mobile planetarium and projects from the Bernalillo Community Museum, Manitos Community Memory Project, Electric Playhouse, the New Mexico Holocaust Museum, New Mexico Humanities Council, National HIstory Day students, and more plus some surprise hands-on activities planned by Future Forge. The event is free and open to the community with prior ticketing. Food will be provided by Silver City food truck vendors. |
Friday October 14 | Coffee and Refreshments – In-person event 7 am – 8:15 am | Grant County Conference Center Nurturing Collaboration – In-person event Session Block 04 | 8:30 am – 9:45 am | Training Room 117 The Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe spent the pandemic years focusing on what real, meaningful collaboration looks like, particularly for a small non-profit arts center that stewards a collection of global Indigenous arts. Bess Murphy, PhD, Creative Director and Curator at the Coe Center, and Samantha Tracy (Diné), Collections Manager, will co-present new models for access, collaboration, and community support developed through rethinking what accessibility means when the Center had to shift radically away from their hands-on work. The resulting online programs, Collections Spotlight and Conversations of Ourselves: An Indigenous Survey of James Kivetoruk Moses, illustrate how they were able to create virtual intimacy with their collection and reciprocity with their collaborators. Post-pandemic they have completed a new collaborative program, Giving Growth, that takes the impetus of sharing and community they found virtually into a profound example of relationship building through art. Supporting Classroom Teachers with Museum Resources – Hybrid event Session Block 04 | 8:30 am – 9:45 am | Training Room 135 This session, led by Shannon Wilson, Silver City Museum Volunteers & Youth and Family Programs Manager, will present how the Museum is bringing resources into the classroom and student work into the Museum in response to the impact on teachers of COVID and meeting the requirements of the State’s new social studies curriculum standards. With grant support from the New Mexico Humanities Council, this model outreach pilot program is establishing enduring relationships with social studies teachers in local public schools by providing trainings and a unit lesson plan template to use in conjunction with a wide variety of local history topics along with access to resources and materials from the Museum’s collection. Each classroom is then invited, with the guidance and support of Museum staff, to use what they’ve learned to create their own exhibit to be showcased in the Museum. New Mexican Oral Traditions Based on Fossil Evidence of Animal Adaptation – In-person event Session Block 04 | 8:30 am – 9:45 am | Training Room 116 Students and staff at Florence Hawley Ellis Museum of Anthropology and Ruth Hall Museum of Paleontology are fortunate to collect fossil material from dig sites located near the Ghost Ranch Education and Retreat Center. Throughout the millennium, animals have adapted to our changing environment. For this presentation, Dr. Gretchen Gurtler, Director of the Museums at Ghost Ranch will consider local folklore concerning “monsters” that has existed for many generations. These legends often contain details that correspond to the size and morphology of Triassic fossils collected by paleontologists working in the New Mexico region, leading her to believe that these ancient oral traditions can be traced to observations of fossil material. Directors Circle – Hybrid event Session Block 05 | 10 am – 11:15 am | Training Room 135 Weaving the Threads: Bringing Together New Mexico Museum Resources and National History Day Students – In-person event Session Block 05 | 10 am – 11:15 am | Training Room 117 New Mexico’s National History Day Coordinator and former director of the Los Alamos History Museum Heather McClenahan will be joined by NHD teachers Claudie Thompson and Lee Wilson and students from Silver City High School for a lively roundtable discussion on how museums can connect with National History Day projects by providing primary and secondary sources, educational programs, and great examples of historical thinking and research. In return, museums can make new connections with young people, have their stories told more widely, and see their resources shared with a broad audience. By the end of the session, participants will have written plans for connecting their organizations with NHD. Becoming a Cultural Tourism Destination – In-person event Session Block 05 | 10 am – 11:15 am | Training Room 116 With its hospitable spirit, distinctive historic and cultural resources, and abundant creative energy, it’s easy to see why Silver City is a popular cultural tourism destination. This panel discussion, moderated by Susan Berry, the former director of the Silver City Museum, joined by Charmeine Wait, Executive Director, Silver City MainStreet, Lois Duffy, founding member, Silver City Art Association, and Diane Kleiss, board member for proposed Silver City Art Museum will explore the braided strands of volunteerism, entrepreneurism, historic preservation, cultural programming, public art, events, collaboration, vision, and sheer determination that have brought the community to this moment. Over time, local area governments have gradually recognized the economic contribution of the arts and cultural sphere and are actively supporting, collaborating, and investing in these assets. This solid foundation allowed the Silver City area to weather the pandemic relatively unscathed. Hear our stories! Awards Luncheon – In-person event 11:30 am – 1 pm | Grant County Conference Center Ballroom Hewett Awardees and Scholarship recipients will be honored at this annual gathering. How You Doin’? Coping with Chaos – In-person event Session Block 06 | 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm | Training Room 117 Too often museum staff are focused on the external: How did you serve your public during lockdown? How did you use virtual sessions to expand your offerings? How can you do it better? It is rare that museum staff are allowed the opportunity to share in a non-judgmental setting their personal thoughts and feelings about the chaotic times we have been through and continue to go through. Embracing the idea of “what you hear here, when you leave here, let it stay here,” this session will allow participants the chance to share their personal truths about their experiences and feelings in a sacred circle. The goal of this session is not to fix anyone or offer suggestions, but to be fully present and listen to each other without judgment. Presented by Jennifer McClung, Curator, Branigan Cultural Center, City of Las Cruces. Community Roundtable – In-person event Session Block 06 | 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm | Training Room 116 Katie C. Doyle, Assistant Curator for the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, will host a listening session to help shape programming for the Vladem Contemporary in the years ahead, specifically addressing two new community-oriented projects for practicing artists and scholars that will be part of the build-out: a storefront window to showcase artwork from emerging New Mexican artists, and a study room for private study time with the help of a museum specialist. Come add your voice to the conversation about how these new public exhibition and research spaces can best serve the needs of practicing artists and scholars to ensure the success of New Mexico’s newest contemporary art venue. Overcoming Hate and Intolerance: New Mexico Holocaust Museum’s Multi-Strategic Approach to Building Upstanders – Hybrid event Session Block 06 | 1:15 pm – 2:30 pm | Training Room 135 Raye Cohen, Board President and Interim Director of the New Mexico Holocaust Museum and Gellert Center for Education in Albuquerque, will share how the museum uses the lesson of the Holocaust, other genocides, and intolerances to build communities of upstanders dedicated to confronting hatred and intolerance by speaking out and standing up for what is right and by supporting justice and human dignity. The Museum offers a variety of innovative and creative programs for adults and students across the state with particular commitment to educating young people because stopping hate and intolerance begins with them. Through collaboration – with classroom teachers, in community, at the Museum and online - they aspire to be agents of change by encouraging dialogue, building mutual understanding, and taking appropriate actions within diverse communities to create upstanders. NMAM Annual Business Meeting – Hybrid event 2:45 pm – 4 pm | Training Room 135 Happy Hour/Gallery Walk – In-person event 5 pm – 7 pm | Downtown Silver City |
Saturday October 15 | Field trips on your own |
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New Mexico Association of Museums, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. |