IMA Annual Conference
2023 Irish Museums Association Annual Conference
Influencing Museums
8-9 September, Derry~Londonderry
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Friday, 8 September 2023
09:00 – 10:45: Walking tour of City of Derry, departing from front of Guildhall (Guildhall Square entrance, no pre-registration necessary).
11:30 – 12:00: Registration and Tea, Coffee, pastries, Lecture Theatre, MU Building, Magee Campus
12:00 – 13:45:
Opening of proceedings, Dr Audrey Whitty, IMA Chair and Director, National Library of Ireland
Tsione Wolde-Michael, Executive Director, President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, USA.
Unearthing the Treasures: African collections in the national museums of Ireland, North and South
Panel: Dr Olusegun Morakinyo, Visiting Research Fellow, Trinity College Dublin; Tríona White-Hamilton, Curator of Modern History, National Museums NI; Dr Aoife O’Brien, Curator of Ethnography, National Museum of Ireland.
13:45 – 14:30: Lunch
14:30 - 15:50: Session II, moderated by Professor Elizabeth Crooke, Ulster University (UU)
Populism, pandemic and the public good
Sharon Heal, Director, Museums Association UK
Are we all activists now? Connecting practices across the sector
Panel: Anjuli Grantham, public historian and environmental activist; Adriana Valderrama Lopez, Psychologist (former director (2016-2018) of Casa de la Memoria Museum, Medellin, Colombia); Kris Reid, Collections and House Manager, Castle Ward National Trust; Chair: Professor Tom Maguire, Head of School of Arts and Humanities, Ulster University.
15:50 – 16:10: Break
16:10 – 17:30: Session III, moderated by Dr Danielle O'Donovan, University College Cork
Welcome Professor Malachy Ó Néill, Director of Regional Engagement, Ulster University.
Sensitive Histories and Vulnerable Museum Practice: A forum facilitated by the NMI'S Sensitive Histories Working Group
Panel: Dr Emma McAlister, Digital Curatorial Researcher, National Museum of Ireland (NMI); Donna Rose, Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Scheme Postgraduate Scholar PhD; Oein DeBhairduin, Traveller Cultural Development Officer, NMI.
In defence of Display: The importance of encountering humanity in museums
Evi Numen, Curator, Old Anatomy Museum, Trinity College Dublin.
18:30 – 20:30: Tower Museum visit and reception (Derry Girls-themed!) with guest of honour Councillor Patricia Logue, Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council.
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Saturday, 9 September 2023
8.30 – 09:00: Registration, MU Building, Magee Campus.
9:00 – 11:15: Session IV, moderated by Professor Elizabeth Crooke, Ulster University.
Welcome
Museums and Public Trust in Democratic Societies: Challenges and opportunities
Rhiannon Mason, Professor of Heritage and Cultural Studies and Head of the School of Arts and Cultures, Newcastle University, UK
Engaging Visitors and Building Trust: Everyday objects transformed by the Conflict Exhibition tours LibrariesNI
Panel: Dr Karine Bigand, Senior Lecturer in Irish Studies, Aix-Marseille University, France; Julieann Campbell, PhD Researcher, School of Law, Ulster University; Cate Turner, Executive Director, Healing Through Remembering.
11:00 – 11:30: Break, refreshments.
11:30 – 13:15: Session Va (note this is a parallel session)
In Tech We Trust: Museums and misinformation in the digital age
Chair: Dr Órla Murphy, Head of the Department of Digital Humanities, University College Cork; Panel: Laura Patrick, Regimental Heritage Officer and Director of the Virtual Military Gallery, Royal Irish Regiment Benevolent Fund; Benedict Schlepper-Connolly, Head of Exhibitions, Digital & Programming, Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI); Adam Stoneman, Creative Communities Engagement Officer, Galway City Council, and Coordinator, Muse-Tech Working Group.
Careful Attention: Museum as a site of attention care in the context of the digital attention economy
Renata Pękowska, PhD Researcher at the School of Media, Technological University Dublin
11:30 – 13:15: Session Vb (note this is a parallel session)
Influencing Holistic Dialogues on the Past? Migrants and a World War One centenary project in Northern Ireland
Dr Philip McDermott, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University
Faiths in Focus – Interfaith dialogue in Irish museums
Jenny Siung, Head of Learning, Chester Beatty
A World of Stories
Nic Wright, Community Engagement Officer, Causeway Coast and Glens Museum Services
13:15 – 14:15: Lunch
14:15 – 16:30: Session VI
Influence and Power: Museums, society and purpose, post pandemic
Facilitators: Elizabeth Crooke, Professor of Museum and Heritage Studies, Ulster University; Dr David Farrell-Banks, Practitioner Research Associate: Collections & Participation, Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge.
In Conversation
Closing reflections, chaired by Brian Crowley, Collection Curator, Kilmainham Gaol OPW
