2015 Call for Proposals

As Heritage Week just wrapped up and March Break is around the corner, we have extended the Call for Proposals Deadline to March 13, 2015, to give you more time to submit your proposals. The Call for Proposals deadline has been extended to Friday March 13, 2015.Submit online via Survey Monkey now!

Re-Defining Borders

Borders can define us. Whether geo-political, cultural, or institutional, whether real or imagined, borders delineate where we start and where we end. But who gets to draw those lines and what do they really mean for museums and the work that we do?

It’s time to talk about the borders that contain us: those that we stay within and those that we dare to cross.

You may explore some of the following topics or others that inspire you:

• Working in borderlands - national, provincial, linguistic, cultural, professional
• Partnerships with non-museums - the good and the bad
• Adaptive re-use - collections, architecture, ideas
• Re-defining the boundaries of “museum work”
• Cohabitation and shared infrastructure
• Culture clashes/collaborations - encounters with the “other”
• Re-defining public value - seeking meaningful metrics

As always, proposals are welcome for sessions that address the theme and that explore new and exciting ideas, keeping in mind the breadth and depth of the cultural sector.

Select from one of these Session Formats OR Suggest your own....

• New This Year!! How Low Can you Go?
• Ignite Sessions
• Concurrent Session (30 or 75 minutes)

Submit your proposal online via Survey Monkey.

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2015 Conference Committees

We are proud to announce the members of the Program Committee and the Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) who have volunteered to help make this one of the best Conferences yet.

Program Committee:

• Chair: Cathy Masterson, OMA Councillor (Manager of Cultural Affairs - Recreation and Culture, City of Windsor)
• Tammy Adkin, Manager, Guelph Civic Museum 
• Steven Cook, Site Manager and Curator, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Meighan Wark, County Librarian and Director of Cultural Services, County of Huron
• Catharine Mastin, Director, Art Gallery of Windsor
• Guillaume Teasdale, Site Manager and Curator, University of Windsor

Local Arrangements Committee (LAC):

• Shannon Prince, Curator, Buxton National Historic Site and Museum
• Kris Ives, Curator/Education Coordinator, Essex Region Conservation Authority
• Melissa Phillips, Collections Assistant, Windsor's Community Museum
• Lynnette Bain, Vice President, Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island
• Nadja Pelkey, Executive Director (Interim), Arts Council Windsor and Region
• Ghislaine Brodeur, Regional Advisor, Regional Services Branch - Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport
• Karen Linauskas, Park Superintendent, Point Pelee National Park
• Deanna Bullard, Education Coordinator, Chatham-Kent Museum

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How Low Can You Go?

The Challenge: Present your super-thrifty project to the “live studio audience” (aka conference delegates). Tell us what makes your project so useful and the best use of scarce resources. (5 minutes)
The Cliff-hanger: A member of the studio audience will be chosen to play Cliff-hanger (in the style of the Price is Right) to guess the cost of your project.
	The Reveal: Tell everyone the real budget of your project (hard costs only) and how you were able to keep the cost so low. (5 minutes) The Vote: After all presentations, the studio audience votes for the project they think is the best deal, and just plain awesome. The Winner: If your project is chosen as the best deal, you will be crowned Penny Pincher/Sammy Shoestring and receive a “beautiful” trophy.

Ignite Presentation Format:

20 slides that advance automatically every 15 seconds (5 minutes)

Check out Ignite Sessions from past OMA Conference for inspiration! Ignite Sessions 2011 and Ignite Sessions 2012

Concurrent Sessions:

These sessions can be a variety of types: roundtables, debates, workshops, Q & A, presentations, etc.  30 minutes - Session to be held concurrently with other sessions 75 minutes - Session to be held concurrently with other sessions