Association of Academic Museums and Galleries Annual Conference
May 24–25, 2016
Katzen Arts Center, American University
Washington, D.C.

CHALLENGES The Association of Academic Museums and Galleries’ (AAMG) meeting is unique in that it’s put on by the organization’s board of directors rather than by a full-time planning team. “We are one of the hardest-working museum boards in the country,” said AAMG President Jill Hartz, executive director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon. “Everyone has a full-time job and then takes on significant responsibilities, both for this conference and other programs and projects we do throughout the year.” Although plans are in the works to eventually have AAMG’s regional chapters help out with planning the Annual Conference, Hartz and her fellow board members are on their own this year.

INITIATIVES The 2016 meeting is especially important to AAMG’s members, because the organization plans to hammer out and begin codifying best practices for academic museums and galleries. “This year’s conference is designed to share national models and engage our constituencies in that conversation,” Hartz said. “We hope to have this document ready by the end of 2016.”