Affiliates, don’t miss this opportunity to share your museum theater experiences at the Smithsonian!
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
“Mr. Avery” from Mystic Seaport
Evolving the Story: Innovation in Today’s Museum Theatre
International Museum Theatre Alliance (IMTAL) 2013 Global Conference
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC October 6-10, 2013
The 2013 IMTAL Global Conference will focus on creativity and innovation in today’s Museum Theatre. In 2013, Museum Theatre is a proven, tested, educational approach in the field of museum studies. It is also an art form bringing the best of performance to museum visitors of all ages. But how is the field continuing to evolve? The 2013 Global conference will bring together practitioners, researchers, performers, and museum professionals from around the world to discuss, debate, present, and share examples of how the field is evolving and innovating. We invite proposals that address the following topics in relation to the field of museum Theatre:
New and creative participatory experiences
Challenging and unexpected content
Innovative uses of technology or social media
Innovative methods for measuring the impact of Museum Theatre, both for audiences and for museums
Session Types:
Panel Discussion (60-90 minutes): 2 or more presenters with presentations on similar topics that may or may not have a moderator. Individual presentations will be combined thematically by the conference organizers to create one panel discussion.
Skills Workshop (60-120 minutes): Interactive sessions presented by individuals or groups and focused on learning practical skills used in museum theatre such a script writing, costume, prop or puppet creation, acting technique, evaluation, creative dramatics, grant writing, participatory theatre, or others.
Performance with Discussion (60-120 minutes): A performance of a museum theatre work followed by a discussion to provide more in-depth understanding of the goals and objectives of the work or details of the development of the work.
Pecha Kucha Style Presentations: Presenters have 6 minutes and 40 seconds each to share up to 20 slides on a paper, project, performance, or idea related to their research or work in the field of museum theatre. Several of these presentations will be combined into a one session.
Please submit proposals by May 1, 2013 to conference2013@imtal.org. Proposals should include: session type, session title, abstract of no more than 200 words, staging and AV needs, and contact information.
For more information about the International Museum Theatre Alliance (IMTAL), visit www.imtal.org.
From programs on the ground in local communities to reaching diverse audiences with new technology, Affiliates and the Smithsonian are creating innovative learning experiences that are changing the role museums play for students. These innovators in education will share their successes during two separate sessions at the 2012 Affiliations National Conference, June 12 – 14.
In September 2004, the Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, CA) began a transformative journey to Little Rock, AR, where former internees and their families, students and educators gathered to examine and reflect upon the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Arkansas students candidly discuss what they learned from studying the Japanese American incarceration and how the experience is connected to their own lives in this video. Allyson Nakamoto, Manager of Teacher Programs at the museum is one of five Affiliate speakers discussing the impact programs like these have on the local community in the session Innovation in Education, Part 1: Smithsonian Affiliates as Catalysts of Change on Wednesday, June 13.
How are inventors inspired by the places where they live and work? What might a place of invention look like? Using 21st-century skills, Places of Invention, will highlight innovative places and communities across the US, including six Affiliate communities. With Lemelson’s training, Affiliates will be conducting community research and producing documentation projects of their own cities with a local community partner. The content they produce – videos, images, oral histories, exhibitions and programs of their own – will enrich the Smithsonian’s exhibition with authentic, locally-based research. Monica Smith, Exhibition Program Manager, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History, and an Affiliate partner will discuss how Places of Invention will be integrated into interactive educational activities and public programs during Innovation in Education, Part 2: Teaching and Learning with New Technology, Thursday, June 14. Four additional programs that are reaching students using technology will also be highlighted.
Post-it Note ® Inventor Art Fry
Join us at the 2012 Affiliations National Conference, June 12-14, and meet these innovators in education.
The Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference is for current Affiliates only. If you are interested in becoming an Affiliate, or have an application in progress and would like to attend the Conference, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee for more information.
Secretary Clough reviews SITES' exhibition venues across the country, including Affiliates. Photo: Ruth Trevarrow, SITES.
I wish you an advance welcome to the 2010 Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference in the nation’s capital. I will not be able to join you this year because I will be in Basel, Switzerland with Hirshhorn Museums and Sculpture Garden director Richard Koshalek for the international art show there. More than most, you know that the Smithsonian offers a world of art—as well as history, science and culture. Thanks to our productive partnerships, we are making more of these treasures accessible to audiences around the county.
Over the past two years, I have visited several Affiliate museums and experienced first-hand the impact of your impressive work. I applaud the wonderful job that you are doing to bring Smithsonian artifacts, exhibitions, and curators to your communities. This is a vital public service, especially in today’s economic climate.
This year, Harold Closter and the Affiliations staff again have created an informative conference agenda filled with a variety of sessions and workshops so that we can learn from each other and strengthen our partnerships. I am particularly pleased that you will be discussing the Smithsonian’s Strategic Plan and the four “Grand Challenges.” I look to forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can best implement this vision for the future. Enjoy all the sessions, as well as the Congressional Reception at the Capitol Visitor Center. Thank you for your ongoing interest in the Smithsonian.
G. Wayne Clough
Secretary
Smithsonian Institution
For more information about the 2010 Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference, click here.
