The American Alliance of Museums will host its 2017 Annual Meeting & Museum Expo in St. Louis on May 7-10, when more than 5,000 museum professionals from across the United States and abroad will gather in the Gateway City, along with representatives from more than 40 St. Louis-area museums and historic sites.
The 2017 meeting will borrow its theme from a nickname for its host city: “Gateways for Understanding: Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion in Museums.”
It’s the largest gathering of museum professionals in the world, attracting leaders from cultural institutions that include art, history, and science museums; military and maritime museums; children’s museums; aquariums, zoos, arboretums, and botanical gardens; and historic homes and sites.
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has appointed two St. Louis leaders to spearhead the city’s planning for the event: Frances Levine, president and CEO of the Missouri Historical Society and Missouri History Museum (who has served as an evaluator for the AAM Accreditation review process for museums in the U.S. and Mexico), and Donald M. Suggs, publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American who serves on the St. Louis Art Museum Board of Commissioners and its Collections Committee. Levine will chair the Host Committee, and Suggs will serve as general chair of the event.
“Their experience in the arts and their strong voice for social justice makes them the perfect champions for this event,” Laura Lott, president and CEO of the AAM, said of Levine and Suggs.
Levine said the Host Committee will “help our fellow museum professionals understand why we love to call St. Louis home.”
“We have something for everyone, and so our local planning team is highlighting the best of St. Louis,” Levine said. “We love visiting our museums and institutions, sending guests up the Gateway Arch, showing off Forest Park, and dining at restaurants in our city’s diverse neighborhoods while listening to great live music.”
Suggs pointed out that the city’s gateway symbol – the St. Louis Gateway Arch – has its own new story to tell that speaks of St. Louis’ progress.
“There is a $380 million project that is transforming the landscape around the region’s iconic symbol,” Suggs said. “The St. Louis Gateway Arch will have its somewhat isolated national park and the adjacent riverfront better connected to downtown’s renovation and growth. This forward-looking project exemplifies some of the region’s recent growth and expanded energy that portends a more bright and interesting future for the region.”
The 2017 annual meeting will feature AAM’s first-ever Trustee Summit, where museum board members and trustees will hear from an expert panel on best practices for museum governance, and discuss the results of a 2016 nationwide survey of museum directors and board chairs. At a November 4 kickoff event, more than 40 St. Louis-area museum directors and trustees gathered to learn more about AAM’s new museum governance initiative, supported by Northern Trust. The initiative aims to strengthen museums’ connections with their communities by engaging museum boards, and by helping museum directors build and maintain strong governance structures.
For more information, visit annualmeeting.aam-us.org or follow #AAM2017 on Twitter.
