I came to the 2025 Western Museums Association Annual Meeting expecting to find answers, direction, and clarity. What I found was even more questions, complexity, and nuance - but I think this is exactly what I needed.
If you ask me, I’ll tell you I really love what I do. My work is creative and deeply relational. I get to create opportunities for people to connect with art, history, community, wildlife, and each other - and often all of these things together. Through my work, I have learned so much about the place I live. I feel inspired by the incredible individuals my job has connected me with. But I often also feel like I am doing something “wrong,” that there is some specific way this work is supposed to look and feel and I just haven’t quite figured it out. That if I could find the key, I could unlock so much incredible potential in myself and my museum.
I was so excited for the opportunity to attend the WMA Annual Meeting to meet other museum people and learn from professionals and individuals with much more experience than I have. There would be answers at the WMA Annual Meeting, I was sure of it! There was some formula or some set of steps that I would be given at a WMA session and suddenly I would have all the tools and nothing about my job would feel hard any more.
The last thing I found at the WMA Annual Meeting was an answer… or was it?
Session after session reiterated that community work is complex and messy. As I review my notes, quotes and questions from the sessions I attended stand out:
From Reciprocal and Transactional Relationships, “How do we define ‘benefit?’ How do we define ‘success?’” and “reciprocal relationships mean asking ‘what do you need?’”
From Aloha No: Despair, Healing, and Love in the time of HT 25, “Working in community is possibly one of the most difficult jobs on the planet,””other people are vital in a truly creative process,” and “conflict brings the practice of loving and truth forward.”
From Decolonizing Science Narratives in Museums, “decolonizing is a process, not a product” and “let go of perfection, be ready to make mistakes.”
From Come as you Are: A Discussion Among Emerging, Mid-, and Late-Career Museum Professionals, “don’t be afraid to redefine yourself,” and “how do you define success?”
From In Community: Creating and Sharing Exhibits and Programs, “take time!” and “be patient… everyone has their own priorities.”
In summary, be open to change, embrace mistakes as part of the process and healing from hurt as a part of building stronger relationships. Remember that taking time is good - relationships require patience and attention to flourish. Be intentional in how you define success - it might not look or feel how you expect it to. Allow each relationship to be different, and attend carefully to the needs of each.
I am grateful for the presenters who traveled from all over the West to share their experiences and perspectives. Hearing about the challenges they faced was affirming - I am not alone. Hearing how they persevered or found solutions was a reminder - stay present to the process and stay creative. Seeing examples and hearing stories of the projects they shared was inspirational - this work is worth it.
In the end, I didn’t find the answers I was looking for. I don’t think they actually exist. I found a joyful, hopeful, caring group of humans who are creating their own answers every day, and I think I am one of those people too.
Martha brings an eclectic array of experiences as an educator to her role as Community Engagement Coordinator at the High Desert Museum. Teaching outdoor school, leading backpacking trips, working as a summer camp naturalist, providing social-emotional and academic support in public schools, and even teaching ballet are all experiences that have shaped Martha’s practice and passion as an educator. At the High Desert Museum, Martha gets to exercise her creativity to create unique programming for diverse communities across the High Desert.
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