NHMU's team shares their collaborative approach to creating an exhibit on Indigenous basketry. This process, guided by co-curators nominated by their tribes, has strengthened NHMU's decolonization efforts and created a model for exhibit development, building on NHMU's history of relationship-building with Indigenous communities. We have witnessed strengthened relationships within and between co-curators, NHMU, and tribes. The group has a shared resolve to preserve and communicate Indigenous knowledge and share this model with the museum community.

What if museum work didn't depend on a building? This session explores how public art can extend museum practice into everyday community spaces or function as museum space where no building exists. Using Springville, Utah's Art Loops and statewide public art systems as case studies, panelists will share how collaboration, policy, and collections shape this work. Attendees will leave with practical strategies to create scalable, public-facing experiences in any community.

Developing exhibits is often messy, straying from a prescribed set of rules. No matter how hard you try, scope creep can devolve into scope slaughter. Teams end up frustrated or disappointed. What causes exhibit making to go off the rails? When can you loosen up and make your own process? In this session, we will explore common pinch-points, offer practical advice, and muse on aspiring to "best practices"—which maybe aren't that perfect after all.

This session focuses on how museums bridge generational gaps to ensure long-term vitality. Leaders from the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Nora Eccles Harris Museum, and Kimball Art Center share innovative strategies for engaging children, college students, and seniors. This panel explores how tailoring programs to specific life stages fosters community engagement. Attendees will walk away with a "Life-Stage Toolkit" to broaden their audience base and build sustainable, inclusive institutional models resonating across the patron lifespan.