2025 Annual Conference

Reinvention and Resilience in Uncertain Times

Monday, June 2, 2025

Call for Session Proposals

Download a PDF of the Call for Session Proposals

Submit a Session Proposal

Session Proposal Deadline: Monday, March 3, 2025

The Connecticut League of Museums (CLM) invites session proposals for our 2025 Annual Conference, “Reinvention and Resilience in Uncertain Times,” which will take place June 2, 2025.  As the museum field continues to navigate new and unexpected challenges—from political division and funding uncertainty to the climate crisis and social justice movements—we must adapt, innovate, and find ways to support each other and thrive in an ever-changing landscape.

This year’s conference will explore how our organizations—large and small—can reinvent themselves in response to these many challenges, build resilience in our institutions and communities, and support the well-being of the people we serve: our visitors, our staff and volunteers, local communities, and the wider public.  We seek dynamic, engaging, and thought-provoking proposals that address such topics as:

• Navigating Funding Uncertainty
  What strategies can help us secure funding and maintain financial stability in an unpredictable landscape?
• Political Division and Polarization
  How can museums rise above the fray to promote belonging while addressing political and cultural divides?
• Climate Leadership
  How can museums contribute to the climate conversation through programming, sustainability efforts, and community leadership?
• Finding Hope and Community
  How can stories of resilience, hope, and the power of community-building within the museum and cultural heritage sector encourage other organizations to build something better?
• Meeting the Moment: Museums Responding to Crisis
  How can museums step up in addressing current societal issues, from social justice to climate action?
• Encouraging Dialogue in the Museum Space
  How do we build institutional and individual capacity to engage in complex and uncomfortable dialogues in ways that promote healing?
• Self-Care and Healing for Museum Workers and Communities
  How can museum professionals support their own well-being and mental health in demanding times?
• Coalition-Building: Working Together Through Difficult Times
  How can we strengthen partnerships and collaborations to meet challenges head-on?
• Confronting Disinformation and Bias
  How can museums and collecting institutions stand up for complete histories and build trust with all communities while approaching, addressing, and dismantling sanitized or biased narratives in their collections, programs, and exhibitions?
• Productivity in Challenging Times
  How do we remain productive, innovative, and engaged during periods of uncertainty, discomfort, and social upheaval?

Session Formats

We welcome a variety of session formats, including but not limited to:

• Workshops (a training-focused deep dive; participants will come away with a new skill)
• Panel Presentations (a series of presentations on a theme)
• Interactive Sessions (an immersive experience for the audience)
• Case Studies (a deep dive into how programs, projects, or exhibits were created, implemented, and evaluated)
• Roundtable Discussions (an interactive conversation with the audience)
• Lightning Talks (a series of short, 2-3 minute talks centered around a theme or idea, with ample time for conversation afterward)
• Think Tank or Working Group (presenters and audience work together to brainstorm ideas, discuss an issue, or address a common challenge)

Conference sessions are usually one hour.  Successful sessions offer practical examples of projects and efforts that tackle real-world challenges, bring together presenters from more than one institution or community, and provide takeaways that participants can bring back to their own communities. We aspire to provide information and inspiration on Monday that can be put into practice on Tuesday, as well as spark thought in the year ahead.

We are committed to broadening participation in the conference from across the field.  We are especially seeking proposals from first-time attendees and presenters, as well as from organizations that have not been part of the League in the past.  Scholarship opportunities will be available.

You don't have to be an expert to propose a session! We're particularly interested in your ideas for think tanks and discussion sessions on a subject you're interested in but may not know much about. If you've got some thoughts and are willing to moderate a conversation, suggest it! When you get a bunch of people in a room who are interested in a topic, good things emerge.

Got a session idea but need to find some fellow presenters? Join us for one of two virtual matchmaking sessions to share your ideas and meet others who might be interested in collaborating.

Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 7–8 p.m.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, 12–1 p.m.

Submit a Session Proposal

To submit your session proposal, please fill out the Google Form.