Annual Conference | Ontario Museum Association

OMA Conference 2021: Reopening, Recovery, Reimagination

Land Acknowledgement: As an organization of provincial scope, the Ontario Museum Association recognizes that its members and community live and work on the lands and territories of Indigenous peoples. Toronto, where the OMA offices are located, is the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, Haudenosaunee and the Huron Wendat. This territory is part of the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement, an agreement between the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. This territory is also covered by the Upper Canada Treaties.

As you participate, we invite you to reflect on the land that you are on, who the traditional keepers of the land are, what the treaty relationship is, or if it is unceded territory. We wish to express our gratitude for the resources we are using and pay respect to the rich and ongoing Indigenous history of what is now Ontario and Canada.

We encourage our members to listen to and amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples and communities. Resources and further information can be found on the OMA website under resources and tools for museum practice, HERE.

Statement of Valuing Diversity: The OMA is committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes participation from visible minority group members, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.

Expect regular updates to this page as we announce more sessions and speakers!

Have you missed connecting with colleagues, friends, and community? While we’re not yet ready to host a gathering in person, we are very pleased to invite you to join us virtually for the OMA Annual Conference 2021: Reopening, Recovery, Reimagination Thursday, November 25, 2021. This gathering is to help you connect, reconnect, and engage with the Ontario museum community and we have a jam-packed day of inspiring sessions about issues relevant to you.

The OMA recognizes that this has been an exceptional year for our members and this is reflected in the fees for this year's conference to maximize participation. Together, we want to envision what museums can be and what they can achieve. We’ll feature panels of museum leaders and moderated discussion sessions to facilitate this reimagination.

Expect regular updates to this page as we announce more sessions and speakers!

This year's conference is an opportunity for museums to gather after a challenging year to be rejuvenated by each other’s company, have vital conversations about what the sector needs to recover, and reflect on the difficulties of reopening. We know you’ve missed those coffee conversations and spur-of-the-moment meetings in person at our conference, so we’re making sure that you’ll be able to make those connections online. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to chat and be inspired by your colleagues across the province.

We’ve all faced professional and personal challenges during the pandemic, but it has also given us the chance to reimagine our programming and processes, stretch our creative muscles, and rise to the occasion. We want to celebrate the solutions you’ve all found and encourage collaboration as we look ahead to a hopeful future for Ontario museums.

Let’s celebrate the accomplishments of our colleagues and museums! Draw some inspiration and warm feelings from presentations of the OMA Awards of Excellence, Certificate in Museum Studies Graduates, Post-Secondary Awards, and Honouring Our Esteemed Colleagues.

Keynote Highlight: Micah Parzen - Museum of Us

We’re excited to announce Micah Parzen, Museum of Us as Keynote Speaker!

“Over the past sixteen months, our driving question has been: How can we emerge from the pandemic’s portal to become a better version of ourselves? And while our answer has taken a wide variety of forms (including a long-overdue name change), key shifts in our human resources policies and practices are making the biggest impact of all.”

Wondering why we’re so eager to hear from him? Read what Micah has to say about building more equitable museums HERE, and taking a holistic approach to decolonization HERE.

Micah is an experienced nonprofit leader, attorney, anthropologist, and agent of transformational change, who seeks to authentically partner with others in creating a ripple effect of good in the world. He currently serves as CEO of the Museum of Us (formerly the San Diego Museum of Man), a position he has held since 2010. Widely known as a thought leader in the arts & culture/non-profit sectors, Micah is regularly invited by the likes of BoardSource, the Smithsonian Institution, and the American Alliance of Museums to deliver keynote addresses, serve on panels, and otherwise share his perspective on the most vexing issues of our day. In the past three years alone, his team’s work has been featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic, among other high-profile platforms. In addition to serving as a trustee at La Jolla Country Day School, Micah also currently serves as the President of the Board of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, a collaboration of 28 arts & culture institutions in Balboa Park, which sits on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Kumeyaay Nation. Micah holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Case Western Reserve University, a J.D. from UC Davis, and a B.A. in Anthropology from UC Berkeley.

Session Highlight: Learning from the Public - Museums for Me

The OMA joined the Alberta Museums Association and other provincial and territorial associations in the Museums For Me campaign, taking place during the pandemic. This project engaged Canadians on the meaning and value they see in museums.

Hear from the project leaders on the results and how they help demonstrate public value.

Stay up-to-date with the OMA's 2021 Annual Conference by viewing our webpage HERE, and following the hashtag #OMAConf2021 on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

We look forward to seeing you on November 25 !

Please note that members must be logged in to access registration.

The OMA team is here to assist you. If you have any questions prior to or during the Conference, please send us an email conference@museumsontario.ca or call us at 416-348-8672 or toll-free in Ontario 1-866-662-8672.

Ontario Museum Association
Monday-Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm
Toll-free in ON: 1-866-662-8672
Phone: 416-348-8672

The Ontario Museum Association's online Annual Conference 2021 and Annual General Meeting 2021 are supported by the Government of Ontario.

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