CMA 2021, National Conference in Review

Vanda Vitali, Ph.D.

This issue of Muse is dedicated to Moving Forward, our 2021 National Conference which was held online across five days in early May.

We would like to bring to everyone, particularly those members who could not attend, a taste of our sessions, and our learning, from this event.

Conferences are very important, particularly in a rapidly changing environment and in a country that is as vast as ours is. They are a way of informing professionals of new developments, current practice and experimental progress and outcomes. They are also essential for professional networking, bringing together those who would conceive of joint projects that crosspollinate the profession. Conferences can be jumping off points for fruitful mentorships, when more established colleagues can connect with young professionals giving both a healthy outlet to transmit their interests and concerns about the future of the profession. Exhibition halls allow for museums to connect with the private sector, an important hub of information sharing and commerce that is driving force of museum’s adaptation of new technology. Finally, conferences are a way of sharing fun and memorable moments with colleagues, in vivo or online which boosts the moral of a dedicated but often over-burdened sector.

The conference was built around the theme of optimism, designed to inspire all of those in our field who make the museum world more meaningful for everyone.

The conference had several aims.

First, we wanted to address the current needs and interests of the sector from multiple points of view. So, we heard directly from different museum practitioners, both from Canada and working internationally, on the steps they are taking to further develop museums of all types.

Secondly, given the difficulty of the past year, we sought to inspire museum people to engage actively with whatever may be ahead, be that pandemic recovery, digitization of collections, ways to engage and inform museum visitors to a site or online and more.

Third, we wanted to provide something new. Many of our speakers might never have thought to address a museum audience, and yet are involved in critical museum research and thinking on legal matters, diversity, or audience development. The list goes on. Our presentations covered many important topics.

Finally, online participants could pose questions directly to those speaking, and get immediate thoughts on the subject.

Many voices and perspectives were heard, with tremendous opportunities to learn from various technical issues to those about inclusion and diversity, about environmental responsibility, and about museums being catalysts for progress on critical social issues.

There were unexpected gains from the CMA holding an online conference. During virtual sessions, we saw speakers as they looked into the camera, and it felt as if they were sitting in front of us, face to face. It gave the conference a welcome intimacy. Not to mention that brownie baking session thanks to Digital Museum of Canada.

The conference also provided for a broader and more diverse outreach. I was particularly pleased with the participation and contribution from museum emerging professionals.

By the time you read this issue, Intertask, our conference organizers, may have been in touch with you to learn about your opinions and reactions to this, for us, our first on-line Annual Conference. I am asking you to please take a moment to complete this survey. As the pandemic has changed the way we view and undertake our many-faceted activities, we need to learn.

We also marked the end of conference by celebrating the achievements of the museum community through the CMA Awards. The CMA Awards uplift and inspire by helping set community benchmarks of excellence. All are awarded following a competitive process and peer review by a volunteer jury.

You can join us in congratulating 2021’s award winners by reading the special section dedicated to their achievements in this issue of Muse, but also by visiting our dedicated awards page on museums.ca or sharing the news over social media with followers and colleagues.

As we look to next year’s event, there is, of course, some additional pressure to make it our best conference yet as the CMA is celebrating our 75th anniversary. We are very much looking forward to being with you, our members and stakeholders, as we enter a next chapter of our evolution. M