Information about past virtual events listed below or click the button below to view past in-person annual convenings. Members can access recordings of past events. Not a member? Join Now!
Transformative Experiences: The Evolution of Family Content at the Cleveland Museum of Art
June 12, 2025
Join Stephanie Foster (Lead Interpretive Planner), Rachel Arzuaga (former Interpretive Planner) and Paula Jackson (Manager of Youth and Family Engagement) from the Cleveland Museum of Art as they discuss the evolution of in-gallery family content at the CMA. They will share how they have used visitor motivations to advocate for additional Facilitator audience-geared resources and explore how this content has evolved from 2020 to 2025.
Beware the Amygdala Hijack: Emotional Intelligence for Interpretation Leaders
April 10, 2025
In this webinar, explore how to leverage your human superpower, your emotional intelligence, to impact your leadership skills as an interpretation professional. Jennifer DePrizio is the Founder and Principal of DePrizio Leadership Group: Coaching & Consulting for Inspired Leadership. www.deprizioleadership.com
Centering Children in Interpretation at the Clyfford Still Museum
April 25, 2024
with Nicole Cromartie, Director of Learning and Engagement, Clyfford Still Museum
Participants in AAMI’s 2022 Denver conference may remember the Clyfford Still, Art, and the Young Mind exhibition (March 11 – August 7, 2022), which was on view at the Clyfford Still Museum. Co-curated with children across the Front Range from six months old to age eight, Young Mind revealed how children think about art. Co-curators Bailey H. Placzek and Nicole Cromartie organized the exhibition into five gallery themes corresponding to key developmental stages researchers identified based on children’s preferences. Local children selected and arranged their favorite artworks; shared their perspectives for gallery interpretation; and helped design interactive activities. CSM worked with Trainer Evaluation to better understand the impacts of this new approach to exhibition development, specifically, the child-led interpretation. Learn about the key findings from this evaluation, the implications for the field, and how CSM has continued to center children’s (and other community members’) perspectives in interpretation.
Feedback Loops and Incremental Change: Expanding Interpretive Strategy at the Art Institute of Chicago
August 29, 2024
In 2021, two previously distinct areas at the Art Institute of Chicago merged under one departmental umbrella: Interpretation, which stewards written and audio didactics for all exhibitions and the permanent collection; and Gallery Activation, which leads in-person programming that enlivens the museums, from tours to workshops. The current Interpretation division now operates with an expanded focus on developing strategic and accessible ways to engage adult audiences. Together, we engage in a collaborative process that uses tours and live conversations as a way to test storylines and gain immediate insight from audiences about their questions or barriers they may have with the artwork or ideas expressed in the collection. We incorporate this direct feedback into the development of labels and other forms of self-guided interpretive materials. This presentation will trace the department’s evolution and underscore how audience research has been key to building incremental institutional change and creating a more welcoming visitor experience. These unique approaches and ways of learning from our visitors and each other have enabled us to develop a more holistic interpretive strategy that merges written and spoken narratives throughout the museum.
Iterating Interpretation at the O’Keeffe
February 29, 2024
with Jennifer Foley, Deputy Director for Collections and Engagement at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Board President of AAMI
Starting the interpretation process from scratch can be daunting. Jennifer Foley from the O’Keefe Museum will talk about their interpretive journey starting from minimal installed didactics and a scripted audio tour. In 2021 they launched a new visitor research project in order to better understand the visitor experience and the same year implemented a new interpretive process for the museum. Applying the new interpretive process and utilizing eight months of visitor research data to inform their choices they installed new interpretive materials throughout the collection galleries and developed a new exhibition created in direct response to visitor comments. Continuous data collection on the visitor experience tracked numerous post-visit surveys with over four thousand open comments. This rich data set has been coded and analyzed, offering a unique comparison of visitors’ museum experience pre- and post-interpretation. This visitor research makes clear how important it is to advocate for interpretation at our institutions.
How the Word Is Passed: A Conversation with Clint Smith
September 28, 2022
AAMI is honored to host New York Times bestselling author Clint Smith for a Fall Virtual Convening. In 2018, Smith set out on an unprecedented tour-of-tours, visiting dozens of museums, historic sites, and other locations with legacies of slavery. The stories these institutions tell about their—our—past range from intentional reckonings to reticent omissions to sensational and even dangerous revisions. In How the Word Is Passed, each chapter closely examines one site at a time, detailing Smith’s experience as a visitor on guided tours, in exhibitions, and during events. He expands on his observation by talking with stakeholders and staff as well as additional research. With candor, Smith considers the intersection of many of his own identities at the time with these experiences—as a poet, educator, PhD Student, new father, Southerner, and descendant of enslaved people.
Moderating the program will be Adrienne Lalli-Hills, Director of Learning and Engagement at the First Americans Museum. As part of their conversation, they will delve into aspects of Smith’s book that have resonance and clear applications for interpretation and others in the museum field committed to anti-racist work.
DEIA and Interpretation: AAMI Fall Virtual Convening
November 18, 2021
Join guest speaker Omar Eaton-Martínez, Senior Diversity Fellow for the American Alliance of Museums, along with AAMI Board President, Swarupa Anila, in conversation about the interplays of DEAI, social justice, and belonging in the field of Interpretation.
Interpretation as a Field: Where Are We Now?
July 23, 2021
Interpretation professionals share a history of strategies and struggles. It’s a new field—so how far have we come? And where do we need to go? In this hands-on discussion, Irina Mihalache and Courtney Murfin share insights from their study Interpretation as Field and invite participants to help shape future research. Funded by Canada’s Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the research team will share findings around some of the sector’s key questions:
What resources, theories, and practices most influence our work today?
Have we made any headway in our relationships with curators? What about designers,
programmers, and marketers?
How can interpretation integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into our knowledge and
practice?
Read more about the study here.
Presenters
Irina D. Mihalache, Toronto-based academic
Courtney Murfin, Interpretive Planner, Royal Ontario Museum
Curator-Interpreter Show and Tell: Reflections on A Perfect Power: Motherhood and African Art
Friday, March 26, 2021
4:00 PM EST/3:00 PM CNT/2:00 PM MTN/1:00 PM PAC
Join Baltimore Museum of Art Director of Interpretation, Verónica Betancourt and Associate Curator of African Art Kevin Tervala, for a lively and informal discussion of the interpretive strategy for A Perfect Power: Motherhood and African Art (on view from April 5, 2020 – March 7, 2021). Hear how curators and interpreters worked together to bring a contemporary lens to the interpretation of 19th and 20th century artworks.
Virtual Panel: Toward Inclusive Interpretive Practice: Metasynthesis Study Findings
Friday, January 29, 2021
4:00 EST/3:00 CNT/2:00 PM MTN/1:00 PM PAC
What does it mean to be an institution that that practices equity and inclusion in interpretive planning? How can museums be responsive to and representative of their communities’ needs?
In 2018, the Detroit Institute of Arts, in partnership with GaribayGroup, finalized a ground-breaking study: the analysis and synthesis of six years’ worth of data gathered from front-end studies for various exhibitions and reinstallations. These studies surfaced issues voiced by individuals whose heritage is reflected in the art—but who are typically excluded from participation ideation or planning processes. This panel will focus on simple, powerful, and effective approaches for addressing issues of equity and cultural representation in interpretation, alongside reflection on the findings from a 2021 vantage, as art museums work to design and achieve institution-wide DEAI plans.
Moderator:
Swarupa Anila, AAMI Board President and Senior VP for Exhibition and Gallery Development, Royal Ontario Museum
Panelists:
Cecilia Garibay, Principal, Garibay Group
Ken Morris, Director of Visitor Research and Evaluation, Detroit Institute of Arts
Virtual roundtable: December Diplomacy
Monday, December 14, 2020
4:00 PM EST/3:00 PM CNT/2:00 PM MTN/1:00 PM PAC
Ahh, diplomacy…that fundamental, yet oft-overlooked element of interpretive planning. As IPs, we sit at the centre of many different stakeholders, both inside and outside the museum. We discuss, advocate, persuade, suggest alternatives, and gently push back. And even though it’s a truth universally acknowledged that honey is a better accompaniment to a thorny conversation than vinegar…diplomacy can still be difficult and exhausting.
Like any muscle, diplomacy skills need to be flexed and stretched to be useful—so join Jennifer Foley, Julia Forbes, Gamynne Guillotte, and Judy Koke for tips and insight on navigating these (occasionally) tricky waters. This event will be recorded; attendees will be notified if the recording is uploaded to YouTube.
Virtual Happy Hour: Nightmare at the Museum!
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020
7:00 PM EST/6:00 PM CNT/5:00 PM MTN/4:00 PM PAC
We all have that nighmare-ish story from work—
Maybe it was the time you had to talk someone down from the abyss of a 300-word intro
panel…
Or the Big Idea that mysteriously crept up to five increasingly convoluted
sentences….
Or the (possibly possessed) colleague who said, “I don’t see why the target
audience can’t be visitors with a PhD in art history.”
Tune in to our virtual happy hour with your favorite beverage and your most chilling museum nightmares. But beyond the jump scares, we want to hear about the creative twists you used to save the day—as a community, we learn and grow from each other’s experiences. No story? No problem—you can just listen in. This is an informal event, and a safe and judgment-free space.
The event will not be recorded. Costumes encouraged!
Have a great tale you’d like to keep a bit mysterious? Fill out this form and we’ll share your story anonymously.
To Touch or Not To Touch
June 5th, 11 am – 12:30 pm EST
To touch or not to touch? Museums are wrestling with this question among others as they make plans to reopen their galleries to the public. Join interpretation colleagues to share strategies for adapting a range of in-gallery audience engagement tools to meet new safety measures/expectations during the COVID-19 crisis. In this interactive session, participants will break into smaller groups for discussion and then be brought back together to share with the larger group. Results will be compiled and shared through the AAMI blog.
Read the recap of the convening here.
Can Interpreters Change How Museums Work?
Friday, August 7, 2020 | 9 am Pac/10 am Mtn/11 am Cent/12 pm East
Amidst massive layoffs in the field, a global pandemic, and a historic racial justice movement, the need to move beyond statements of support for change is clear. While calls for equity and sustainable, community-centered museum practice are not new, the present moment may offer a rare chance to make major inroads. As staff who work across departments, how can we help create alignment so that change lasts? This will be an “in the weeds” conversation on how anyone with interpretive responsibilities can leverage interdepartmental work as a means of ensuring change isn’t left to the realm of one person, exhibition, or program. Micro presentations by staff from Philbrook Museum of Art, Seattle Art Museum, and Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center will be followed by break out sessions where participants will share ideas on how we can face challenges and make change possible.
Presenters: Tracy Truels is Assistant Director, Interpretive Engagement at Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Tasia Johnson is Manager of Interpretive Technology at Seattle Art Museum; and Adrienne Lalli Hills is Associate Director of Studio School at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and EdD Out-of-School Learning Student at the University of Pittsburgh.
AAMI Session: Digital Engagement in the age of COVID-19
Wednesday, August 19, 2020 12 Pac/1 Mtn/2 Cent/3 East
The coronavirus pandemic has forced museum interpretation professionals to re-examine our strategies and practices for visitor engagement. Most of our standard in-gallery engagement tools are rendered at least temporarily obsolete, forcing a shift in outreach activities to digital platforms to provide low- or no-touch access to content and experiences.
This panel explores a few of the ways Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art continues to adapt to our new professional landscape by highlighting a few projects, both virtual and in-gallery, where collaboration among the interpretation, communication, and education teams are creating new kinds of digital engagement opportunities for our guests in an age of uncertainty.
There will be time at the end of the presentation for discussion and collective sharing.
Presented by: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Moderator: Robin Groesbeck, Director of Exhibitions and Interpretation
Participants: Neal Johnson, Digital Media Director; Stace Treat, Head of Interpretation; Brittany Johnson, Interpretation Specialist
Bringing people together, 6 feet apart: Fostering Social Experiences in Museum Galleries in Wake of Covid-19 Pandemic
Thursday, September 3, 202012 | Pac/1 Mtn/2 Cent/3 East
Interpretation staff from Newfields will briefly discuss experiences with balancing social distancing guidelines and reduced touch interpretive tools with the goal to create active, social encounters in art museum galleries. Newfields staff will share how visitors have engaged with adapted interpretive tools in Edward Hopper and the American Hotel, organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, in partnership with the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.
After the brief presentation by Newfields staff, we will split into breakout sessions for participants to discuss the following questions:
- How can we create human-centered experiences when people aren’t at the museum?
- How can we create human-centered in-gallery experiences when we’re following safety guidelines?
- What tools have you used to achieve either of these goals? What has worked well or hasn’t worked as well? What tools would you like to try?
Presenters: Tascha Horowitz, Director of Interpretation, Media, and Publishing, Newfields, Indianapolis, IN; Maggie Ordon, Interpretation Planner, Newfields, Indianapolis, IN; Wednesday Rees, Interpretation Planner, Newfields, Indianapolis, IN