2023 Irish Museums Association Annual Conference

Influencing Museums

The 2023 IMA Annual Conference, Influencing Museums, was held at Ulster University Magee Campus, Derry, on Friday 8 September and Saturday 9 September.  

This conference focused on the vital role museums play in shaping public conversations and driving positive change in our society. Delegates collectively explored how museums can effectively speak truth to power, navigate external pressures, and lead with integrity in challenging times.

A focus of the conference was to also examine strategies for addressing conflicts between museum values and stakeholder views, amplifying marginalised voices, and acknowledging historical complicity. Together, shaping a future where museums influence, lead, and drive positive change, ensuring they remain beacons of truth and catalysts for transformation in a rapidly changing world. 

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Conference Theme

Programme 

Speakers' Bios and Abstracts

Registration & Fees

Organising Your Trip

Conference Supporters

Speakers: 

Tsione Wolde-Michael, US President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, USA; Dr Olusegun Morakinyo, Visiting Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin; Tríona White-Hamilton, National Museums NI; Dr Aoife O’Brien, National Museum of Ireland; Sharon Heal, Museums Association UK; Anjuli Grantham, public historian and environmental activist; Adriana Valderrama Lopez, formerly Casa de la Memoria Museum, Colombia; Kris Reid, Castle Ward National Trust; Professor Tom Maguire, Ulster University; Dr Emma McAlister, National Museum of Ireland (NMI); Donna Rose, Postgraduate Scholar PhD; Oein DeBhairduin, NMI; Evi Numen, Old Anatomy Museum, Trinity College Dublin; Professor Rhiannon Mason, Newcastle University; Dr Karine Bigand,  Aix-Marseille University; Julieann Campbell, PhD Researcher, Ulster University; Cate Turner, Healing Through Remembering; Professor Fiona Kearney, Glucksman; Dr Órla Murphy, University College Cork; Laura Patrick, Royal Irish Regiment Benevolent Fund; Benedict Schlepper-Connolly, Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI); Adam Stoneman, Galway City Council; Renata Pękowska, PhD Researcher, Technological University Dublin; Dr Philip McDermott, Ulster University; Jenny Siung, Chester Beatty; Nic Wright, Causeway Coast and Glens Museum Services; Brian Crowley, Collection Curator, Kilmainham Gaol OPW; Professor Elizabeth Crooke, Ulster University; Dr David Farrell-Banks, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.