Overview

Conference Theme

“The Next 250: Museums and the Future of Democracy” will explore the important roles museums of all disciplines play in our democracy, showcase the work of Connecticut museums around the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and contemplate the future of our field at this critical moment in our country. The conference will convene people from all disciplines to discuss the challenges facing museums at this moment, demonstrate the value of work that integrates the arts, humanities, and sciences through meaningful museum experiences, and make space for dialogue and creative action for our field.

With support from the the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, we will be adding new initiatives to this year's conference designed to enhance dialogue between the arts and other museum disciplines and highlight 250th efforts at art museums and organizations. 

Registration

The basic conference registration is $90 and includes a continental breakfast, a boxed lunch of your choice, and coffee/tea and refreshments throughout the day, plus our signature conference tote. Discounted rates are available for League members ($75), conference presenters ($55), and students ($45). We also offer the option to register as a conference supporter ($125), which funds our conference scholarships.

Advance registration closes at noon on Wednesday, May 27. Attendees may register at the door the day of the conference at a higher rate ($125), but may not receive a lunch.

Register Here

Accessibility

We strive to ensure our conference is as accessible as possible. Please let us know of any accommodations you may require when you complete the registration form.

Willard-DiLoreto has accessible entrances, parking, and elevators. The CCSU Accessibility Office provides a map of accessible entrances across campus.

Important Information

Getting Here

Parking

Attendees are encouraged to park at the Willard-DiLoreto Garage (WDG), located on Paul Manafort Sr. Drive on CCSU’s campus in New Britain. There is standard, handicap, and electric vehicle parking available in this garage.

Google Maps Link for Parking: Willard-DiLoreto Garage

Conference Location

The conference will be hosted, with the exception of the keynote address, in Willard-DiLoreto Hall (WD). This academic building is located adjacent to the parking outlined above, and is connected via a third-floor skybridge to the garage. The conference will take place on the first and second floors of Willard-DiLoreto, so if you take the skybridge, take the stairs or elevators down to the first level to register.

Google Maps Link for Conference: Willard-DiLoreto Hall

Keynote

The conference keynote panel will be held in the Torp Theater in Davidson Hall (LD). This building is adjacent to Willard-DiLoreto Hall to the north on Stanley St. To get to Torp, exit Willard-DiLoreto on the second floor (west side) and turn right. Davidson Hall is straight ahead, and signage in the building will direct you to Torp Theater, at the north end.

Google Maps Link for Keynote Building: Davidson Hall

Campus Map

You can explore the CCSU campus through their interactive campus map, or access a printable PDF map, including academic building and parking locations.

Conference Schedule

All attendees will receive a printed conference program in their registration packet. You can preview the full program by downloading the PDF below. A printable schedule of sessions is also available.

• OFFICIAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM (PDF)
• PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE OF SESSIONS

Annual Business Meeting of the Membership

The Connecticut League of Museums will hold its Annual Business Meeting of the Membership at the opening of the Annual Conference on Monday, June 1, 2025. The meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. in Room D 121 of Willard-DiLoreto Hall on the campus of Central Connecticut State University.

This year's Annual Business Meeting will include votes on the following items:

• Approval of the minutes from last year's Annual Business Meeting, June 2, 2025 (PDF here)
• Approval of the proposed slate of new and renewing board candidates for two-year terms (2026–2028); see below for details

All active League members are eligible to vote at the meeting. You are welcome to attend the Annual Business Meeting regardless of whether or not you are registered for the full conference.

Board Slate

The Connecticut League of Museums announces its slate for the upcoming 2026–27 business year, beginning July 1, 2026. Each member of the Governing Board is asked to serve a two-year term, which can be renewed up to two more times. CLM's Bylaws permit a one-year extension.

Officers:

• President: Tracy Kay, Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens
• Vice President: Andres Verzosa, Stanley-Whitman House
• Treasurer: Eileen Marriott, KidsPlay Children's Museum
• Secretary: vacant

Renewing Board Members for a 2-year term:

• Tammy Denease, Hidden Women, LLC
• Andre Keitt, Greatheart Griot and Farmington Historical Society
• Ryan Paxton, Eli Whitney Museum & Workshop
• Nicole Thomas, Hempstead Houses, Connecticut Landmarks

New Members of the Governing Board for a 2-year term:

• Emily Collins, Journey Found
• Karen Fisk, Stowe Center for Literary Activism
• Andres Verzosa, Stanley-Whitman House

Continuing Board Members:

• Amanda Douberley, William Benton Museum of Art
• Samantha Fargione, Weston History & Culture Center
• Mike Forino, Preservation Connecticut
• Dan Hayden, New England Civil War Museum
• Tracy Kay, Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens
• Eileen Marriott, KidsPlay Children's Museum
• Christine Pittsley, Museum of Connecticut History at the Connecticut State Library
• Karina Wizevich, Johns Hopkins University

For Presenters

All breakout sessions will take place in classrooms on the second floor of Willard-DiLoreto. The classrooms accommodate approximately 40 people, and have moveable tablet armchairs for seating. Every classroom is equipped with a computer, podium, projector, screen, and speakers. You are welcome to bring your own laptop and hook it up to the projection system, but we recommend using the computer in the classroom, as this avoids any potential problems around connectors/dongles/cables. Login information for the podium computers will be posted in every classroom, and a student A/V technician will be on hand throughout the day to assist with the classroom technology.

If you are planning to use the computer in the classroom, you may bring your presentation on a USB drive or upload it to the cloud (your email, Google Drive, etc.) and download it to the classroom computer once you arrive. If you are planning to show a video, we recommend that you make that video accessible through a web link (e.g. a private YouTube link).

For Exhibitors

Exhibitor setup begins at 7:00 a.m. You may park temporarily in the circle in front of Willard-DiLoreto Hall, just off Paul Manafort Sr. Dr., for convenient unloading and loading. Please plan on parking your vehicle in the Willard-DiLoreto Garage for the remainder of the day.

We provide a table and seating for two at every table. We recommend you bring your own table coverings, but we have extra beige tablecloths in a hodgepodge of sizes that you are welcome to borrow if you need one.

Electrical access in the atrium is extremely limited (there is only one outlet). If you requested electricity, we have done our best to locate you within an extension-cord's reach of a power strip plugged into that single outlet.  Please plan on bringing your own extension cords—and tape to secure them. Our campus hosts will be bringing over some battery packs in the midmorning to help out with the electricity challenges. We have a couple of extra power strips on hand, but we strongly advise that you do not count on access to an outlet throughout the day.

For All Registrants

What to Bring

• Paper and pen/pencil for taking notes
• Reusable water bottle (filling stations are located throughout the building)
• Curiosity, enthusiasm, and a desire to participate in all aspects of the conference!
• Your appetite—we'll have a light breakfast and a boxed lunch for you, plus coffee, tea, and water throughout the day, and an afternoon snack to give you a boost.
• A rain jacket or umbrella—scattered showers are in the forecast, though it looks to be an otherwise lovely day in the 70s

What to Expect

All preregistered attendees will receive:

• A nametag
• A registration packet containing the complete conference program, your marketplace passport, a handy bookmark, and information from our sponsors
• Our signature conference tote bag, which you can fill with goodies from our exhibitors

Internet Access

You may connect to CCSU's public wireless network, ccsu-public, throughout the day. You will need to create a guest account when you arrive, and a password will be emailed to you. More information, including printable instructions, is available on the CCSU IT website.

Marketplace Passport

Exhibitors of all stripes will fill our light-filled atrium. In your registration packet, you will receive a special Marketplace Passport. Get your passport initiated by at least 23 exhibitors  and the conference artist by 4:00pm, and you will be entered in a prize drawing.

Post-Conference Happy Hour

After our busy day is over, we invite you to unwind with us at 5CB (formerly Five Churches Brewing). You're responsible for your own drinks, but there will be food/snacks. Five Churches is located at 193 Arch Street in New Britain, a short drive from campus. Ample parking is available on the street and in the lot across the way. We look forward to hanging out with you!

2026 Conference Highlights

Create Art with Lizzy Rockwell

We are pleased to announce that artist, illustrator, children's book author, and community quilter Lizzy Rockwell will be our first ever conference artist-in-residence. Lizzy will be leading conferencegoers in a collaborative art project that relates to our conference theme of "The Next 250." All conference attendees will have the opportunity to create a work of art that will become part of a larger piece crafted over the course of the day. This is going to be really fun, and we can't wait to sit down next to you and make something!

Student Poster Session

For the first time ever, we are excited to be featuring the capstone research projects of three CCSU Public History MA students. You can check out their posters all day long in the second floor entryway, and visit with them during the midmorning coffee break from 10:30 to 11:00 to learn more about their work and ask questions.

• Denise Davies, "The Jewish Rural Cemetery Movement in New Haven: Nominating Congregation Mishkan Israel Cemetery and Chapel to the National Register of Historic Places"
• Jon Kozak, "Showing the Work: Planning and Documenting the Process of Public History at an Industrial Heritage Site on the Long Island Sound"
• Kyra Laiuppa, "The Space (Toilet) Race: A Seventy-Year Evolution of NASA's Space Waste Management"

Keynote Panel

Our conference keynote will bring together three prominent voices in the museum, arts and culture, and civics fields to engage with us in conversation about what comes after the SemiQ—and to provide opportunities for taking courage in community with one another. We're thrilled to have with us:

Elizabeth Larison: Director of the Arts and Culture Advocacy Program at the National Coalition Against Censorship, which advocates for free expression and offers resources, training, and tools to organizations across the country.

Merle McGee: President and CEO of Everyday Democracy, which works with communities and organizations to foster dialogue and engage communities, young people, and emerging leaders in forging participatory multiracial democracy.

Amy Werbel: Professor of the History of Art at SUNY–Fashion Institute of Technology, the Co-Chair of Public Art Dialogue, and a State University of New York Civic Education and Engagement and Civil Discourse Fellow. Her work focuses on art censorship historically and in the present day.

Exhibitor Hall

Our Museum Marketplace will be located in the beautiful light-filled atrium of Willard-DiLoreto Hall. The Museum Marketplace opens at 8:00 am along with Conference Registration and remains open until 4:00 pm.

We have 29 exhibitors at this year's conference (asterisk denotes conference sponsor/supporter):

• Association for the Study of Connecticut History*
• Ball & Socket Arts, Inc.
• Barker Specialty*
• CCSU Public History Program
• Connecticut by the Numbers / Express Strategies
• Connecticut Center for History & Civic Learning
• Connecticut Digital Newspaper Project
• Connecticut Explored
• Connecticut Humanities*
• Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
• Connecticut Office of the Arts*
• CTBeer.com
• Godfrey Memorial Library
• The Good Gallery
• The History Press / Arcadia Publishing
• Industrial History New England
• J. Baldwin Conservation LLC
• Nationwide Security Corporation
• New England Civil War Museum
• Northeast Document Conservation Center
• Plays in Place
• Preservation Connecticut*
• Public Art CT
• Public Good LLC
• Small Museum Association
• Stanley-Whitman House*
• Still River Editions*
• Wesleyan University Community Oral History Project*
• Wesleyan University Press

Thank You to Our Sponsors

 

The 2026 Conference is also made possible with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.