Conference 2020 content
World Turned Upside Down: Exploring the Future of Museums, 2-6 November 2020
Our 2020 annual conference was held virtually and was free to all our members. It featured a range of fantastic speakers, engaging sessions and lots of practical advice and support.
Across five days of debate, reflection, networking and more, we explored the theme of the future of museums in a world turned upside down by a year like no other, and how the sector can rise to the challenges we face.
Sponsors and supporters
Microsoft
Surface Impression
Tru Vue
One by One
GEM
Association for Cultural Enterprises
Art Fund
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Engage
Key sessions
Black Lives Matter – anti-racism and museums
The Black Lives Matter movement has resonated throughout the world. What action can museums take to examine their histories of empire and slavery and tell different stories?
The wisdom of elders with Elaine Heumann Gurian and Johnnetta Betsch Cole
Too often we dismiss the wisdom that is accumulated through many years of engagement, questioning and practice. In this session, Johnnetta and Elaine share their knowledge, hopes and aspirations in a reciprocal dialogue with the audience.
Reflections on the future of museums
2020 has brought about unprecedented changes in society. This session explored these challenges and reflected on how this current crisis might shape and change the future of museums.
From an era of change into a Change of Era: Latin America reimagines museums
A panel of leading experts discussed the new museology as seen from Latin America.
A Black British Museum: a space for contemplation, reflection and joy
Sharing unique perspectives and insights on what a Black British Museum – a museum where Black experience takes front and centre stage – can be.
Zeina Arida, Director of the Sursock Museum, Beirut
Zeina discussed the challenges Sursock Museum has faced from the pandemic and the devastating explosion that hit Beirut on 4 August 2020.
Launching the Learning and Engagement Manifesto
Our new manifesto for learning and engagement is a call for museums to play a central role in civil renewal and social change to address the challenges of our time.
Lonnie Bunch and David Lammy in conversation
A conversation between Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian, and David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham in north London and former culture minister.
Slavery, colonialism and the public realm
Panellists from cities across the UK discussed their respective approaches to acknowledging and redressing the legacy of slavery and its monuments in our urban spaces.
Museums Change Lives Awards 2020
Celebrate the winners of the Museums Change Lives Awards 2020 and discover the museums that have made a difference in a year like no other.
Closing session: what next?
In our closing session of Conference 2020 we heard reflections on the debates and conversations that took place, and considered what might be next for museums.
Core sessions
Power to the People: democratising our museums
Exploring practical ways in which museums can use the MA's Power to the People framework to improve participatory practice and equity of agency with communities.
Power up
We brought together four successful advocates from organisations which have influenced public policy, and explored the potential for museums to reshape civic life in towns and cities in a post-Covid context.
The superpower of feminist leadership
Sharing definitions, approaches and the demands of feminist leaders to catalyse the power of feminist leadership for individuals, museums and the sector.
How activist can an activist museum really be?
As more museums are exploring the concept and definition of an “activist museum”, what does this really mean for our organisations and our sector?
Five mindsets for museums of the future (Digital Innovation and Engagement Fund launch)
Together with the MA and The Liminal Space, UKRI launched a new museums-focused public engagement programme and funding call.
Health check – the impact of Covid on regional museums
How have small and medium-sized museums, ineligible for large government or other public grant programmes, fared during the pandemic?
Disability inclusion in museums
How can we centre disability access and inclusion at the core of all our work, and how can we tackle discrimination and unconscious bias against disabilities head-on?
Repatriation and restitution
Exploring case studies of relationships between university museums and source communities who are working on the restitution and repatriation of museum objects.
Power to the roots
Museum workforce grassroot networks discussed their work and the importance of these groups in empowering the workforce to create an inclusive, sustainable sector.
What do we mean by decolonise?
Examining the origins of the word decolonise, what museums and galleries seem to think it means, and if that holds true with its wider meaning.
Born in the 21st century – the new museums doing things differently
What does it mean to start a museum in the past decade? How does practice echo or differ from older museums? We discussed a new group of “emerging” museums with an explicitly social justice mission.
Reopening the doors
Our panellists reflected on what they have learnt when reopening their museums post-lockdown, how they have adapted to the new realities, and what the future might look like.
Museum responses to the climate emergency
How can museums can get their own houses in order, and how can they encourage people to be active citizens, living more sustainably and lobbying for change?
Collecting the pandemic
What does it mean for museums to collect in a time of crisis, what ethical considerations need to be made, and how can museums reflect the structural inequalities of the pandemic?
In Practice sessions
Inside out – bringing collections to audiences during lockdown and beyond
Three projects funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund's 'Sustaining Engagement with Collections' grants shared how they kept audiences engaged during the pandemic.
Microsoft – The museum "digital divide"
We discussed key ways to address museums' “digital divide” – the gap between understanding, availability, access and adoption of technology in museums.
How to create a blended learning offer for schools
In this practical workshop, Frances Jeens, Interim Director of the Jewish Museum, shared advice on how to develop a virtual learning programme for schools.
Keywords: emotional labour
Reflections on how the practice of “emotional labour”, which has become synonymous with a wide range of issues, invites new forms of self-reflection in museum work.
Keywords: courage
Members of the museum community from the UK and the US discussed how they are practising courage through their use of digital technology in a pandemic.
Keywords: precarity
Our panellists considered how the precarity of museums and their workforces plays out in their seeming inability to broach and incorporate new ideas.
Retail in recovery
A diverse panel of museums from across the UK explored the ongoing impact Covid is having on the museum retail sector.
Covid-secure learning: putting guidelines into action
We discovered how learning practices are shifting in order to keep people safe and remain relevant to the needs of schools and the wider community.
Creating engaging videos on a budget
Covid has highlighted the need for museums to up their digital skills – including creating films to reach audiences unable to visit. We explored the top tips and best practice.
Managing social history collections in a digital age
Exploring how curators are working with digital collections, we heard about digitising oral histories, acquiring digital objects and more.
Virtual museum tours
Gairloch Museum, Ross and Cromarty
Curator Karen Buchanan treated us to a behind-the-scenes tour of this independent museum in north-west Scotland, one of the five joint winners of the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award 2020.
City Art Centre, Edinburgh
Trainee Susie Cavill took us on a walk-through of current exhibitions, explained why key pieces were chosen, and discussed how the venue and its staff have adapted to Covid.
St Fagans National Museum of History, near Cardiff
We joined David Anderson, director general, and Nia Williams, director of learning and public programmes at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, for a tour of St Fagans to see the highlights of its recent redevelopment.
Creswell Crags Museum & Prehistoric Gorge, Derbyshire
Rebecca Morris-Buck walked us through this unique museum, which oversees an Ice Age cave system featuring some of Britain’s best examples of prehistoric art.
Reimagine, Remake, Replay: Making Waves at Ulster Museum, Belfast
This tour featured the winner of the Best Museums Change Lives Project Award 2020: Reimagine, Remake, Replay (RRR). RRR is a ground-breaking initiative connecting 16- to 25-year-olds to heritage through digital innovation.
Careers sessions
How to (digital) network like a pro
Looking at how you can develop your digital networking skills on different platforms and sharing what you can put in place to network effectively.
Workforce wellbeing at a time of uncertainty
Exploring how uncertainty can affect wellbeing and the techniques and support available.
Career crossroads
Discover the tools and techniques to help you think about "what next?", identify your needs and wants, explore options and develop a project plan.
Future museum skills
This year has seen huge global changes to the economy and the way we live. What does this mean for those working in museums? What future skills do we need to develop and how can we develop them?
The AMA in a Covid-world
Whether you are looking for the next step, looking to join the sector or looking to remain engaged in museum best practice and current thinking, the AMA may be right for you. Find out more in this session.
Upcoming events
view all eventsBreaking Barriers: Radical Curatorial Practice
28 January 2026, 1100-1600
Online, Zoom
Online, Zoom
Open Minds: Understanding Copyright in Museums
10 December 2025, 1100-1600
Online, Zoom
Online, Zoom
Building Foundations: Transforming Facilities Management
19 November 2025, 1100-1600
Online, Zoom
Online, Zoom