BALANCE: Creating Connections and Finding Community in Tucson
Heading to Tucson for the Western Museums Association (WMA) 2024 annual meeting was an exciting first for me—a mixture of eagerness, curiosity, and a dash of nerves. While preparing for the trip, I kept thinking about the conference theme: "balance." Museums today are navigating complex dynamics between tradition and innovation, community engagement and institutional identity, and I couldn’t wait to see how these ideas would unfold over the next few days. Thanks to the Wanda Chin Scholarship from WMA, I had this incredible opportunity to join museum professionals from across the West, all ready to dive deep into these balancing acts.
Finding My Place in the Museum Community
From the moment I arrived, I felt at home among people who share the same drive to make museums more inclusive, welcoming, and reflective of the communities they serve. Though the theme of “balance” wove through the entire event, many of the educational sessions I attended focused specifically on community—how museums can open their doors wider, embrace community voices, and take on the shared responsibility of cultural stewardship.
One session on community curation struck a deep chord with me. The speakers tackled tough questions: How do museums let communities tell their own stories while maintaining accuracy and respect? How can we invite input while staying true to our missions? It was fascinating to hear from institutions that have wrestled with these questions, embracing co-creation as an ongoing and imperfect process. The stories they shared showed me that finding balance isn’t just about compromise—it’s about creatively rethinking roles so that museums are not only relevant but also deeply impactful. It reinforced my belief that involving communities in storytelling isn’t just the future; it’s essential right now.
Learning from Inspiring Museum Professionals
Every person I spoke with during the annual meeting was excited to connect, share their insights, and learn from each other. It made me feel a part of a community that values innovation, curiosity, and inclusion.
I had conversations with exhibit designers, community curators, and collection managers, each bringing a different perspective on the unique balance required in their roles. We talked about how balancing diverse responsibilities within museums sometimes feels like juggling. Yet, the shared passion for storytelling and education reminded me why I chose a career in this industry. Being surrounded by professionals who care so deeply about making our institutions accessible and relevant to everyone was a humbling reminder of the larger purpose that unites us.
Bringing “A Cage Built of Jade” to Life
One of the most rewarding parts of the conference was hosting the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation’s traveling exhibit, A Cage Built of Jade, at the hotel. This exhibit tells the story of early Chinese immigrants who faced detention and discrimination at Angel Island but also demonstrated incredible resilience against all odds. Designing the exhibit was a deeply meaningful project for me but having the opportunity to host it where so many museum professionals could experience it was an absolute honor and a moment of pride for me.
Reflecting on Balance and Growth
Looking back on my time at the WMA meeting, I feel like I walked away with a renewed understanding of my work and the museum field as a whole. From thought-provoking sessions that challenged my ideas on community involvement to candid coffee-break conversations that sparked new insights, every interaction added to a personal and professional transformation I hadn’t anticipated.
As museum professionals, we bear the responsibility of making our organizations open and inclusive to all and representing the diversity of voices and histories within them. I’m incredibly grateful to WMA and the Wanda Chin Scholarship program for making this experience possible. Attending this meeting gave me a clearer sense of purpose, a toolkit of fresh ideas, and, perhaps most importantly, a newfound confidence in my role in the larger museum community.
Leaving Tucson, I felt part of something much bigger—a collective effort to honor the past, engage with the present, and thoughtfully shape the future. This conference solidified my commitment to community-centered work and showed me how powerful museums can be when we strike the right balance between tradition and innovation, inclusion and integrity. I’m excited to bring these lessons back to my work and can’t wait to keep learning, growing, and contributing within this inspiring field.
Russell is the Exhibitions Curator for the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) in San Francisco, California. Since entering the museum field in 2004, he has earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology from Rollins College and a master’s degree in museum studies from San Francisco State University, with an emphasis in curation. His passion for design and community curation has been seen through recent projects with California State Parks, the National Park Service at Alcatraz, and the USS Hornet Museum.
www.linkedin.com/in/russellnauman
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