Conference Call for Proposals

During the Covid-19 pandemic, museum and cultural heritage sites faced numerous challenges in relation to how to sustain themselves and how to support their local communities. We recognized once more the power we hold to bring people together, promote healing, and advocate for change in difficult times. As we approach a post-pandemic era, the time seems ripe to assess how museums and their roles have evolved alongside the surrounding world. For the 2023 conference, we ask museum and other cultural heritage workers to look at the past, their present or the future and consider:

• How have museums used or can they use their power for good?
• How can they remain relevant and at the forefront of discussions around identity, culture, sustainability, and more as the field evolves?
• How have or can museums advocate for change through projects and programs, with their directors, governments, funders, and communities?
• What roles have museums and cultural heritage sites played in transforming how individuals think, learn, and act in an ever-evolving world?

MAC invites the submission of proposals exploring these questions and the larger theme of The Power of Museums: Relevancy, Advocacy, Transformation. We encourage the submission of proposals in a variety of different formats. Please either share with us:

• Individual projects and programs around these areas
• Interdepartmental collectives working to address how your museum can stay relevant, advocate, or transform
• A facilitated conversation with your own colleagues or representatives from other institutions
• Your work and ideas as demonstrated through a hands-on workshop
• Any other ideas you have–we would like to provide you the opportunity to experiment with how you present, share, and learn, so we invite you to be creative with your proposals.

Sample ideas of topics include:

• Engaging with Communities in Advocating for Cultural Sustainability
• Role of Museums in Addressing Environmental Sustainability Challenges
• Economic Suffering and Financial Recovery of Cultural Industries in a Post-Covid Era
• Advocating for Your Museum and Gaining Governmental Support
• Importance of Mental Health Resources within Museums and for Museum Professionals

We recognize that while we speak of museums as sites of relevancy, advocacy, and transformation, there are other institutions that also should be included in this discussion: cultural heritage sites, libraries, archives, historical societies, universities, and more. We invite and encourage submissions from all types of institutions in the Caribbean cultural heritage field. Each of these different institutions will bring unique perspectives and it is important for us all to learn about how these themes impact different subfields of the museum world. We look forward to seeing a range of proposal topics, formats, institutions, and individuals, reflecting the diversity and richness of the Caribbean and its diaspora.