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Access session recordings from MTA's Forums, Meet-UPs, and Webinars!

Hear from seasoned museum professionals on hot topics in the museum field, as our speakers broke down challenging topics ​and shared new approaches to complicated issues many museum boards are currently facing.

Jump to a specific forum with the categories listed below or browse the full library on this page.

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2025 Fall Forum | NASHVILLE

Featured
Designing for the Digital Age
Designing for the Digital Age

Embracing digital design and enabling trustees in guiding digital innovation in museums to enhance storytelling, accessibility, and community connection—while staying true to the core missions of your museum.

As museums increasingly integrate digital media into the visitor experience, new opportunities emerge for storytelling, accessibility, and community engagement. Drawing on examples from the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Heard Museum, and the Arizona Science Center, this panel will explore how technology-driven design can expand reach, deepen impact, and stay true to institutional missions. Participants will also discuss the important role of boards and trustees in guiding innovation and will be invited to share their own insights and questions.

Featured speakers:

  • Dan Clevenger, AIA Principal, Global Cultural + Performing Arts, DLR Group

  • Carol Duke, Assoc. AIA Principal, Cultural + Performing Arts, DLR Group

Featured
Endowments for Museums
Endowments for Museums

Financial sustainability was addressed in a session on endowments, where Rebekah Beaulieu and Maryanna M. Johnson shared evolving practices in endowment building, impact investing, and governance. Their insights reflected how museums must align financial strategies with mission-driven goals in 2025 and beyond.

Endowments remain a cornerstone of museum sustainability, yet their management and purpose are evolving in response to today’s financial and societal landscapes. This session will explore current approaches to building, investing, and stewarding endowments that align with institutional missions and long-term goals. Participants will gain insights into effective governance strategies, impact investing, and the challenges and opportunities shaping endowment practices in 2025.

Featured Speakers:

  • Rebekah Beaulieu, Ph.D., Louise Taft Semple President & CEO, Taft Museum of Art

  • Maryanna M. Johnson, Vice President & Financial Advisor, Blue Rider Group at Morgan Stanley

Featured
Using MTA Materials for Onboarding in Museums
Using MTA Materials for Onboarding in Museums

Leadership development was a key theme with Rebekah Beaulieu, offering an experienced perspective on trustee onboarding using MTA materials. She demonstrated how MTA resources can support board education, foster alignment, and strengthen institutional leadership from the ground up in your museum.

Effective trustee onboarding and education is essential for building strong, informed, and engaged museum leadership. This session will explore practical strategies for introducing new board members to their roles and responsibilities, highlighting how MTA resources can support this process. Drawing on extensive experience in museum governance and planning, participants will gain insights into fostering alignment, accountability, and long-term institutional success.

  • Rebekah Beaulieu, Ph.D., Louise Taft Semple President & CEO, Taft Museum of Art

Featured
Museum of the Future
Museum of the Future

William Jefferies invited participants to consider the museum of the future, using the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) as a case study and highlighting how inclusive storytelling can broaden audiences and redefine the museum experience for a more diverse and engaged public.

As museums evolve to reflect the full diversity of cultural expression, they have the opportunity to tell richer, more inclusive stories about our shared heritage. This session will explore how the National Museum of African American Music embraces this mission by highlighting the vital contributions of African Americans to the development of American music—especially country music. Participants will gain perspective on how embracing diversity can shape institutional identity, broaden audiences, and redefine the museum experience.

Featured Speaker:

  • William Jefferies, Director, National Museum of African American Music

Featured
Special Presentation
Special Presentation

In a special presentation, Jill Sandler explored the creative intersections between chocolate and art history, showing how sensory and unexpected experiences can deepen audience engagement. Her talk underscored the value of thinking beyond traditional boundaries to connect with visitors.

Exploring the intersections of chocolate and art history, this engaging presentation invites participants to consider how creativity and craftsmanship transcend traditional boundaries. Drawing from her popular class at the Chautauqua Institute, Jill Sandler will demonstrate how museums can inspire and connect with audiences through unexpected forms of artistry and sensory experience.

Featured Speaker:

  • Jill Sandler, Owner & Head Chocolatier, The Chocolatier’s Palette

2025 Spring Forum | PHILADELPHIA

Featured
AI in Museums
AI in Museums

Featured speakers, Anne Duquennois and Eileen Tomczuk discuss both the potential benefits and concerns surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI), encouraging critical thinking on how to use AI intentionally and ethically in museum settings.

The possibilities for using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in museums are endless. AI can enhance exhibition design, marketing, audience engagement, strategic planning, administrative tasks, and more. Speakers discuss both the potential benefits and concerns surrounding AI, encouraging critical thinking on how to use AI intentionally and ethically in museum settings. Since AI is still very new, what protocols and guidelines could/should be in place for use in museum work?

Featured Speakers:

Anne Duquennois – Lead Visual Communications Designer for the University of Colorado

Eileen Tomczuk – Researcher at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking, and PhD student in Urban Studies at Tulane University

Featured
Leadership Transitions in Museums
Leadership Transitions in Museums

Kaywin Feldman discusses her new book, Leadership Succession and Transition for Museums and Arts Organization: A Guide for Boards and Chief Executives.

Kaywin Feldman discusses her new book, Leadership Succession and Transition for Museums and Arts Organizations: A Guide for Boards and Chief Executives. The book explores leadership transitions in museums, arts organizations, and nonprofits. Drawing on her 30+ years of experience leading four museums, Feldman offers her perspective on these transitional times and the role of boards during them.

Featured Speaker:

Kaywin Feldman, Director of the National Gallery of Art

Featured
Generational Engagement in Museums, Part 1
Generational Engagement in Museums, Part 1

An intergenerational panel discusses how different generations are currently engaging with museums. Part 1 features Dr. Roger Casey, former President of McDaniel College, and his research on generational engagement in American society over the decades.

The full panel topic, Generational Engagement in Museums, features insights from a mid-career director and a newly minted graduate who has joined the volunteer ranks at the National Gallery of Art.

 

In Part 1, Dr. Roger Casey, former President of McDaniel College, shares his research on generational engagement in American society over the decades in his presentation, From Me-Gen to i-Gen: The ABCs of X, Y, Zs.

 

Don’t miss Part 2 of this panel topic for an intergenerational panel discussion on how different generations are currently engaging with museums. Lauren Adler, a volunteer at the National Gallery of Art, shares valuable insight as to what her peers of a young generation desire from museum experiences today.

Featured Speakers:

Dr. Roger Casey- Former President of McDaniel College

Featured
Generational Engagement in Museums, Part 2
Generational Engagement in Museums, Part 2

Part 2 features Lauren Adler, a volunteer at the National Gallery of Art, as she shares valuable insight to what her peers of a young generation desire from museum experiences today. Dr. Roger Casey then rejoins as a featured speaker for an intergenerational discussion on how different generations are currently engaging with museums.

The full panel topic, Generational Engagement in Museums, features insights from a mid-career director and a newly minted graduate who has joined the volunteer ranks at the National Gallery of Art.

 

In Part 2, Lauren Adler, a volunteer at the National Gallery of Art, shares valuable insight as to what her peers of a young generation desire from museum experiences today. Dr. Roger Casey then rejoins the panel for an intergenerational discussion on how different generations are currently engaging with museums.

 

Make sure to also watch Part 1 of this panel topic featuring Dr. Roger Casey, former President of McDaniel College, as he shares his research on generational engagement in American society over the decades in his presentation, From Me-Gen to i-Gen: The ABCs of X, Y, Zs.

Featured Speakers:

Lauren Adler- Volunteer, National Gallery of Art

Dr. Roger Casey- Former President of McDaniel College

Anne M. Lampe- CEO, Museum Trustee Association

Featured
Current State of Executive Searches
Current State of Executive Searches

Jackie Mildner in conversation with Anne M. Lampe regarding the current state of Executive Searches. In a post-covid world, what do they look like?

Jackie Mildner in conversation with Anne M. Lampe regarding the current state of Executive Searches. In a post-covid world, what do they look like? Is there a need for more talent? What are the challenges and opportunities for Executives in the current environment?

Featured Speaker:

Jacqueline “Jackie” Mildner- Partner, Isaacson, Miller: Executive Search

Anne M. Lampe- CEO, Museum Trustee Association

2024 Spring Forum | ATLANTA

Featured
Community Engagement Strategies & Prescribing Art
Community Engagement Strategies & Prescribing Art

Community Engagement Strategies & Prescribing Art

Featured Speakers:

Brian McGrath Davis- COO; Art Pharmacy

Elizabeth Peterson-Jennings- Museum Director; Oglethorpe University Museum of Art

Katie Ericson- Director of Education, Michael C. Carols Museum; Emory University

Featured
Cyber Security
Cyber Security

A recent hack affected the art world in a major way by accessing museums through their collection management software. What can you do to protect your organization from similar cyber attacks?

A recent hack affected the art world in a major way by accessing museums through their collection management software. What can you do to protect your organization from similar cyber attacks?

Featured Speakers:

Eric Kahan- President & Founder; Collector Systems, LLC

Alan Blount- National Cyber and Technology Product Leader; RISK Strategies

Johnny Lee- Principal, Forensic Advisory; Grant Thornton

Featured
The Virtual Courier
The Virtual Courier

The Virtual Courier: New Best Practices for Challenging Times

Cayetana Castillo discusses the Art Institute of Chicago pioneering a virtual couriering program that began in 2020.

Featured Speaker:

Cayetana Castillo – Associate Vice President, Collections and Loans; Art Institute of Chicago

Featured
Partners in Progress
Partners in Progress

Partners in Progress: Trustees at the Helm of Design and Construction for the Museum’s Future

Partners in Progress: Trustees at the Helm of Design and Construction for the Museum’s Future

Featured Speakers:

Mike Myers- Cultural Industry Specialist; Whiting Turner

Pam Holzapfel- Vice President and Project Executive; The Projects Group

Bruce McEvoy- Principal, Design Director; Perkins and Will

2022 Spring Forum | PALM BEACH

Featured
Help in a Challenging Time
Help in a Challenging Time

Help in a Challenging Time: The Results of the 2021 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy. Join William Jarvis, Managing Director of Bank of America and the editor of the Study, for an in-depth discussion of the results of the Study’s results.

Help in a Challenging Time: The Results of the 2021 Bank of America Study of Philanthropy

What are the trends in giving and volunteering among America’s affluent households? What causes do they support, and why? How is the traditional picture of affluent philanthropy changing? Join William Jarvis, Managing Director of Bank of America and the editor of the Study, for an in-depth discussion of the results of the Study’s results. Participants will learn recent trends in giving and volunteering among America’s affluent households, causes supported by high net worth donors, and reasons for giving, as well as how the traditional picture of high net worth philanthropy is changing.

Featured Speakers:

  • William Jarvis- Managing Director, Bank of America Private Bank

Featured
Acquiring and Donating a Work of Art
Acquiring and Donating a Work of Art

Sharon Chrust, Kate Fitz Gibbon, and Pamela L. Grutman discuss the increasingly complex world of art acquisition, covering issues such as what the collector/donor should be watchful of in acquiring a work of art.

In the increasingly complex world of art acquisition, this panel examines what the collector/donor should be watchful of in acquiring a work of cultural heritage, to an NFT via crypto. Additionally, estate planning and gifting ramifications as well as new tactics by artists to ensure their works are given to various museums.

Featured Speakers:

Sharon Chrust- Principal, Sharon Chrust & Associates

Kate Fitz Gibbon- Executive Director, Committee for Cultural Policy

Pamela L. Grutman- Partner, Olsoff | Cahill | Cossu LLP

Featured
Adaptation of Existing Museum Spaces and Capital Projects
Adaptation of Existing Museum Spaces and Capital Projects

Daniel Carter of Quinn Evans Architects and Mike Myers of Whiting-Turner Contracting Company present case studies as well as best practices for a capital project and ongoing maintenance and upgrade of existing spaces.

Today’s exhibits require more modern galleries that have technology built in as well as capable of supporting higher functioning air quality systems and more sensitive lighting systems. This, along with museum’s desire to create new, inviting, and flexible spaces where a larger audience will feel included, in many cases, must be rendered from existing spaces. This panel will present case studies as well as best practices for a capital project and ongoing maintenance and upgrade of existing spaces.

Featured Speakers:

  • Daniel Carter- AIA Project Manager, Quinn Evans Architects

  • Mike Myers- Cultural Industry Specialist, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company

Featured
IDEA in Your Museum
IDEA in Your Museum

What does Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility mean in your museum community? Join Directors from across the country as they share how their museum communities are defining inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility, and where their foci have landed.

What does Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility mean in your museum community? Join Directors from across the country as they share how their museum communities are defining inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility, and where their foci have landed. These can range broadly from a focus on the museum mission and collection, to the groups that are represented in the community in a particular region of the country. These Directors will also share the progress their organizations have made in IDEA efforts in all areas of their museum ecosystem, as well as strategies for success and challenges faced with IDEA initiatives in the museum.

 

Featured Speakers:

  • Megan Bourne- Chief of Staff, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

  • Mark Letzer- President & CEO, Maryland Center for History and Culture

  • Irvin M. Lippman- Executive Director, Boca Raton Museum of Art

Moderator: Anne M. Lampe, CEO, Museum Trustee Association

2021 Fall Forum | DALLAS

Featured
Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums
Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums

Brooke Minto discusses the newly-formed Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums, an initiative focused on increasing Black perspectives and narratives in North American art museums to promote institutional equity and cultural engagement.

Brooke Minto, in conversation with Anne Lampe, discusses the newly-formed Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums, which aims to increase the inclusion of Black perspectives and narratives in North American art museums to make our institutions more equitable and excellent spaces of cultural engagement.

Featured
Designing the 21st Century Museum
Designing the 21st Century Museum

Featured panelists Jill Snyder, Principal, Snyder Consultancy, Zena Howard, Managing Director, Perkins & Will, and Daniel Payne, Managing Principal, AEA Consulting share their learnings from a museum design charrette process—advancing a broader societal conversation about equity and inclusion—conceived and co-produced by Snyder Consultancy, Perkins & Will and AEA Consulting over the summer of 2021.

This panel shares the findings from a museum design charrette that was conceived and co-produced by Snyder Consultancy, Perkins & Will and AEA Consulting over the summer of 2021. Advancing a broader societal conversation about equity and inclusion, the charrette gathered together a diverse group of museum professionals, designers, and thought leaders to reimagine the museum’s-built environment. Organized around three platforms: Civic Hubs, Belonging, and Inclusive Design, the participants explored how museum design practice can create more democratic, participatory and polyphonic spaces. In addition to museums, case studies included artist residencies and cultural districts to draw upon best practices.

Featured Speakers:

Jill Snyder, Principal, Snyder Consultancy

Zena Howard, Managing Director, Perkins & Will

Daniel Payne, Managing Principal, AEA Consulting

Featured
Managing Collection Insurance
Managing Collection Insurance

Managing Collection Insurance: How Art Insurers are Responding to Climate and Associated Risk. This session will provide an overview of global fine art loss, offer insights into collection management and how emergency planning can form mitigation techniques that will enhance the protection of your collection.

The effect of climate change has impacted property. There has been an increase in claims activity, which has repercussions on the fine art collector and museum collection in the form of increased insurance premiums. This session will provide an overview of global fine art loss, offer insights into collection management and how emergency planning can form mitigation techniques that will enhance the protection of your collection. Included in this discussion on weather-related risk factors, you will learn basic concepts in risk management, standard operating procedures, disaster and evacuation planning, and how to determine probable maximum loss so that your collection is properly insured to protect against catastrophic events.

Featured Speakers:

  • Anne Rappa- Senior Vice President, Huntington T. Block

  • Rachel Barclay- Director of Fine Art and Specie, Aon London

  • Stephen Earthman- Senior Account Manager, Crozier Fine Arts

Moderator: Anne M. Lampe, CEO, Museum Trustee Association

Featured
Sotheby's NFTs and the Art World
Sotheby's NFTs and the Art World

Join Nina Del Rio unpacks the 2021 market milestones and discusses the relevance of NFTs and the blockchain on the Museum landscape.

The growth of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been explosive. In the first half of 2021 alone, NFTs generated over $2.5 Billion in sales value. In October of 2021, Sotheby’s announced the launch of Sotheby’s Metaverse, the first dedicated, full-service NFT marketplace to come from a ‘traditional’ auction house. As the year draws to a close and the NFT framework continues to grow, what can we expect from NFTs in 2022, and in the years ahead? What impact will the blockchain and more specifically smart contracts have on the future of the art market and cultural philanthropy. Join Nina Del Rio as she unpacks this year’s market milestones and discusses the relevance of NFTs and the blockchain on the Museum landscape.

2021 Spring Forum | VIRTUAL

Featured
MTA’s 2021 Virtual Spring Forum | Day 1
MTA’s 2021 Virtual Spring Forum | Day 1

Day 1 of MTA’s 2021 Virtual Spring Forum includes the following panels:

  • Facing Challenge with Resilience

  • Executive Searches Accomplished Virtually

Day 1 Sessions

Facing Challenge with Resilience

2021 is not a normal year. Our cherished institutions face new challenges and increasingly uncertain futures due to the lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic. For museum leaders in the face of daunting dilemmas, how can we move forward to safeguard the financial viability of our museums and the meaning and purpose of our work, while delivering on mission to better serve our communities? In this opening session, Diane Ragsdale, Director of Cultural Leadership, Banff Center for the Arts and Sanjit Sethi, President, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, will lay a foundation for success by sharing frameworks for making strong decisions that further your institution’s mission, uphold core values and maintain fiscal responsibility. Jamie Bennett, Interim President and CEO, United States Artists, will moderate this session.

Featured Speakers:

  • Jamie Bennett- Interim President & CEO, United States Artists

  • Diane Ragsdale- Director of Cultural Leadership, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity

  • Sanjit Sethi- President, Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Executive Searches Accomplished Virtually

The abrupt closure of businesses and cultural institutions due to the pandemic and the shut-down of travel left museums that were in the middle of an executive search process frozen in time. Unable to bring in candidates for in-person interviews, moving this process forward seemed to be an impossible task, and many institutions began to question what repercussions would surface should the search be postponed. Hear from our panelists on how to successfully bring an executive search to completion through a re-designed virtual process.

Featured Speakers:

  • Sarah Hall- Director, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts

  • Marilyn Hoffman- Senior Search Consultant, Museum Search & Reference

  • John Schnebly- Chair of the Search Committee, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts

Featured
MTA’s 2021 Virtual Spring Forum | Day 2
MTA’s 2021 Virtual Spring Forum | Day 2

Day 2 of MTA’s 2021 Virtual Spring Forum includes the following panels:

  • Collecting in the Twenty-First Century: What You Need to Know

  • What a Trustee Needs to Know About Deaccessioning

Day 2 Sessions

Collecting in the Twenty-First Century: What You Need to Know

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, we watched as much of the art world was forced online. The art fairs and events we look forward to annually were canceled or postponed indefinitely, and many galleries departed their congested cities in a mass exodus. Despite the fact that the art market shrank by 22% in 2020, online sales value doubled, confirming our suspicion that the art world’s digital pivot would not be temporary. While in-person art fairs and gallery exhibitions are poised to resume and auction houses are lining up eight-figure lots for their spring sales, the persisting question seems to be: will the traditional art market go hybrid, or are we facing a non-fungible future? Join our panelists for this session as they explore the new and rapidly evolving art market, and what you need to know as a collector.

Featured Speakers:

  • Karen Boyer- Principal, Elements in Play Fine Art Advisory

  • Kate Buchanan- Senior Vice President, Risk Strategies

  • Dana Prussian- Vice President, Art Services, Bank of America Private Bank

What a Trustee Needs to Know About Deaccessioning

Good governance requires both the careful collections stewardship and the execution of fiduciary responsibility. An effective board

Featured Speakers:

  • Martin Gammon- President, Pergamon Art Group

  • Alex Nyerges- Director & CEO, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

2020 Fall Forum | VIRTUAL

Featured
MTA's 2020 Virtual Fall Forum | Day 1
MTA's 2020 Virtual Fall Forum | Day 1

Day 1 of MTA’s 2020 Virtual Fall Forum includes the following panels:

  • Leading With Agility

  • Cyber Security: Prevention, Risk and Liability

Leading With Agility

A crisis can bring out our best and worst instincts. Museum leaders and staff have banded together to cope, problem solve, and share innovative ways to support their communities in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. However, the urge to blame our struggles on external factors can get in the way of moving forward as a field with the necessary speed and adaptability needed to ensure the future success of our cherished institutions. Join Steven Krupp, Senior Partner at Heidrick & Struggles and William Perthe, Bernard C. Watson Director of Adult Education at the Barnes Foundation, for this session on how museum leaders can learn to “unthink” and lead with adaptability, resilience, learning and foresight.

 

Featured Speakers:

  • Steven Krupp- Senior Partner, Heidrick & Struggles

  • William Perthe, Bernard C. Watson Director of Adult Education, the Barnes Foundation

 

Cyber Security: Prevention, Risk and Liability

As museums have shifted heavily to their virtual platforms for connecting with our constituents, cyber security is more important than ever. Our three panelists will examine Cyber Security from the perspective of preventative measures and what your actual policy covers to legal issues in this sector to a forensic security professional sharing what they look for after a breech has occurred. Our panelists will explore all these topics and more that pertain to your web-based presence.

Featured Speakers:

  • Kari Rollins- Partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group and Office Managing Partner, SheppardMullin

  • Johnny Lee- Principal and National Practice Leader of the Forensic Technology Group, Grant Thornton

  • Robert Rosenzweig- Senior Vice President and National Cyber Risk Practice Leader, DeWitt Stern, A Risk Strategies Company

Featured
MTA's 2020 Virtual Fall Forum | Day 2
MTA's 2020 Virtual Fall Forum | Day 2

Day 2 of MTA’s 2020 Virtual Fall Forum includes the following panels:

  • Becoming Caretakers of Our Creative Culture and Legacy: If We Don’t Do It, Who Will?

  • Communications during Disruptive Change

Becoming Caretakers of Our Creative Culture and Legacy: If We Don’t Do It, Who Will?

Curlee R. Holton assumed the position of Executive Director at the David Driskell Center in the summer of 2014, having served as consultant and Interim Executive Director for the center since 2012. He previously held the position of David M. and Linda Roth Professor of Art and founding director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI). As an artist and scholar, Holton is an internationally renowned printmaker and painter whose work has been exhibited professionally for over 25 years in more than 60 one-person shows and over 100 group shows in national and international venues such as the 7th International Biennale in Cairo, Egypt; Taller de Artes Plasticás Rufino Tamayo in Oaxaca, Mexico; the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Driskell is the recipient of numerous fellowships, awards and prizes, including three Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships and a Harmon Foundation Fellowship. In 2000, he received the National Humanities Medal from President Clinton.

Keynote speaker:

Curlee Holton- Artistic Director and Executive Director at the David Driskel Center at the University of Maryland

Communications during Disruptive Change

While museums are experiencing a time of broadening their perspectives and expanding their engagement and community of stakeholders, their communications play a key role in their expansiveness during this time of change. Museums are faced with changing expectations of their constituents from an aesthetic escapist experience to creating welcoming institutions where all visitors can find more personally relevant content, that is people/ community centered and welcoming to everyone. Communications involves not only external stakeholders, but internal discussions/disagreements that need to establish a consensus and be transparent with external stakeholders in order to build community. This panel will discuss communication strategies that are built on preparedness which are nimble and responsive to the current evolution of museums.

Featured speakers:

  • Jill Snyder- former director of Cleveland MoCA

  • John Melick- founder Blue Medium

  • Mary Ceruti- Director Walker Art Center

  • Franklin Sirmans- Director Perez Art Museum