The Western Museums Association's (WMA) 2023 Request for Proposals is a unique way for attendees to share content with colleauges and contribute to a fun and creative gathering of museum professionals – all while earning a discounted rate to join us in Pasadena!

The Annual Meeting provides museum professionals an opportunity to exchange ideas and best practices, network with colleagues, and learn from one another by attending valuable sessions. With the theme of CONNECT, WMA's 2023 Annual Meeting will be an opportunity to engage colleagues, explore ideas that will help define the future of museums and the diverse communities they serve.

WMA 2023 aims to increase inclusivity and diverse participation to address the need for learning, healing, and connecting in a safe environment. With your contribution, we can craft a unique gathering that adds more voices to the conversation of how museums CONNECT people.

How can you contribute? We are currently looking for:

• Session & Workshop Proposals
• Poster Session
• Roundtable Host
• Happy Hour Discussion Host
• Inspiration Station Host
• Activity Station Host
• How Could You Contribute to WMA 2023?

Participating in any of these opportunities comes with a discounted “contributor” rate to the Annual Meeting.

Proposers are encouraged to be creative and think beyond the “sage on the stage” style of presenting, which often features one or more people presenting to the audience with limited opportunities for interaction. Interested in a morning run, yoga, or other wellness session? Propose it! Want to do a session outside? Propose it! Do you have a conundrum at work or want feedback on a particular issue? Propose a Roundtable Discussion or Activity Station program! If you need help connecting with people to participate in a session, WMA can help—just ask!

Share your creative ideas today and let’s imagine a new future for museums, together in Pasadena this October! 

The deadline for all proposals is Friday, April 7, 2023

Attend WMA's 2023 Session Proposal Brainstorm!

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 12-1pm PST

Register for the Brainstorm - and we’ll send you a calendar invite with the Zoom link.

Come with your half-baked ideas for a session, enthusiasm to participate, or just to learn more about the WMA Annual Meeting. We will start with a quick overview of the RFP process and tips and tricks for how to submit a compelling proposal. Then we will break into smaller groups based on topics of interest. We hope you leave with new ideas, stronger connections with colleagues, and feeling inspired to submit a proposal!

Register Here

Session & Workshop Proposals

Diverse presentations are a key component to the success of the Annual Meeting and are important in creating a meaningful and content-rich experience for all museum professionals who attended. YOU can help strengthen the WMA Community by submitting a session or workshop proposal for our 2023 Annual Meeting.

The Program Committee looks for proposals that use creative approaches to leverage the in-person nature of the Annual Meeting. Preference will be given to non-traditional session formats with a variety of interactive components, such as those with less emphasis on slides, more opportunities for Q&A, and audience engagement activities. So, experiment with session structure! Download our Program/Session Structures document to get inspired by different approaches for sharing your content. 

WMA specifically seeks historically under-represented conference session topics including those on visitor services, docents / volunteers, safety and security, fundraising / marketing, and cyber security.

Sessions will take place across three days: October 6th, 7th, and 8th. Workshops will take place on October 5th, and can either be half day (4 hours) for full day (7 hours).

Need to get inspired? Please, look back at our 2022 Sessions or past programs.

The Online Submission Form makes the submission process easy and fast! While the Session & Workshop Proposal Worksheet will help build your proposal before putting your information into the Online Submission Form. Simply download the Worksheet and begin planning.

Please review the Proposal Guidelines before completing your proposal. 

Download the WMA Program Rubric to understand what the Program Committee is looking for in proposals and to help you craft a session more likely to be included in the Annual Meeting.

Download Session & Workshop Proposal Worksheet

Download Proposal Guidelines

Submit Your Proposal Online

The deadline for all proposals is Friday, April 7, 2023

Poster Session

The perennially popular Poster Session provides a unique opportunity for individuals to present their academic research, progressive ideas, or public programs through illustrated and informative posters. The Poster Session allow presenters and attendees to engage in discourse with one another and network in an informal setting.

To present at WMA's 2023 Poster Session, you must be in attendance, standing next to your poster where you can interact with attendees, answer questions, and discuss your projects/research on Saturday, October 7, 2023, from 10:15am to 11:00am. Posters will remain up for the rest of the day for additional opportunities to engage with attendees.

Whether it's your first time presenting, or you'd like a refresher course, click here to check out our tips and tricks for designing and presenting your poster!