IMA Annual Conference
2026 Irish Museums Association Annual Conference
Shared Futures – Museums as Spaces of Belonging
5-6 March 2026, Monaghan
The Irish Museums Association's 2026 Annual Conference, Shared Futures – Museums as Spaces of Belonging, will be held in collaboration with Monaghan County Museum, at the Peace Campus, Monaghan, on Thursday, 06 March, and Friday, 06 March, 2026.
The 2026 Conference will examine museums’ potential to operate as truly shared civic spaces, showcasing strategic ways to embed equity, diversity and social inclusion in every layer of practice.
Sessions will aim to highlight good practice in reshaping historical narratives, forging meaningful cross-community partnerships, drawing on border contexts for richer storytelling, and translating EDI principles into lasting organisational change.
It will invite delegates to discuss how museums can reflect, question and even dismantle social divides while safeguarding public trust: What structural shifts are necessary to guarantee genuine power-sharing? How can institutions collaborate across internal ecosystems and with diverse communities, especially when the values of equality and diversity face organised pushback?
Together, we will chart practical paths towards museums that are not only for the public, but of the public.
The IMA gratefully acknowledges core funding from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and from the Heritage Council.
