Call for Proposals

The Power of Partnership
Annual Conference 

Albany, March 29 - 31, 2020

For thousands of years, people have come together in Albany to trade objects and ideas. MANY’S 2020 annual conference invites museum professionals to gather in Albany to explore and celebrate the power of bringing people together to advance our organizations, our field, and our missions.

Conference sessions offer an opportunity to share best practices, highlight successful new programs, and help shape the future of our field so that organizations and communities can achieve more together. Museums, historic houses, universities, libraries, cultural heritage organizations, galleries, municipal and tourism promotion agencies in the Capital Region have been working together closely for over a decade. Our local planning committee invites you to our state’s capital to see how touchstone sites of our nation’s history, art, and culture are shining brightly in the light of more complete narratives.

Join us in Albany at one of the most exciting times in the political year as our legislators conclude budget negotiations. Saturday pre-conference workshops will immerse attendees in the city’s built environment and unique resources. There will also be a special forum on Saturday, March 28 during which museum professionals and folklorists will share the ways they work together to build understanding around informal learning practices and the interpretation and presentation of community traditions in museums. Two keynotes and 24 concurrent sessions will offer learning experiences for professionals of every discipline and career level. Tuesday activities include Capstones and the potential to meet with your legislators on the last lobby day before the annual budget vote. 

Individuals from institutions of all sizes, all stages of their careers, and from all disciplines are welcome to submit a proposal - inspiration and education comes from any and all voices.

Submitting a Proposal: The Power of Partnership

MANY is looking for proposals that share what partnerships look like today and how they might evolve to help achieve our missions and move our organizations forward in the future. 

Proposals should:

• share examples of how organizations fulfill their missions by engaging in partnerships
• how partnerships evolve and grow into sustainable relationships between organizations including, tourism promotion agencies, schools, museums, and other cultural heritage organizations
• how partnerships weave relationships to grow stronger communities and increase access to their collections, exhibitions, and educational programs

In addition to sessions that meet The Power of Partnership theme, we’re also seeking proposals that share successful examples and best practices in: 

We are also calling for proposals from emerging museum professionals and students for our “10x10” sessions. We invite EMPs and students to share your vision for the museum field of the future through 10 PowerPoint slides in 10 minutes.

The 2020 conference will begin at noon on Sunday with lunch on the 4th floor of the New York State Museum. We invite suggestions for “affinity group” gathering tables that will help us arrange the room. 

Proposals from organizations in the Capital Region can include Saturday Workshops and Tuesday Capstone Programs. Workshop and Capstone Programs should offer attendees a closer look at museum practices, exemplary projects, hands-on learning opportunities, and offer perspectives from the leadership of organizations hosting the program. If you are interested in hosting a Workshop or Capstone, but aren’t sure how to proceed, please contact MANY board member and local conference committee chair, Star D’Angelo at starlynd@gmail.com and she can help you shape your proposal. 

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of MANY board and museum professionals from the Albany area. The deadline for proposals is 5 PM October 25, 2019. The review committee will meet and those accepted will be notified in November.

Download the Annual Conference 2020 Session Proposal Form here.

Email your session proposal in Word format to conference@nysmuseums.org.