2024 Schedule at a glance

Orange to teal gradient with a headshot of Adrienne Garwood, Director of Experiential Design at the National Aquarium, over a white triangle with a wave texture

photo at right: Adrienne Garwood, Director of Experiential Design, National Aquarium

AAM 2024 Keynote Announced!

Wired for the Arts:

Revitalizing Society through Museum Engagement

Explore the profound nexus between arts and culture and societal health, and examine how museums can serve as powerful conduits for this vital integration with:

  • Renée Fleming, acclaimed singer, five-time Grammy® award winner, and arts advocate
  • Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson, Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Terri Lee Freeman, Executive Director of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum
  • Led by Susan Magsamen, Executive Director of the International Arts + Mind Lab, Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics, Pedersen Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Come ready to explore, learn, and be transformed.

Renée Fleming is one of the most acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. Honored with five Grammy® awards and the US National Medal of Arts, she has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Super Bowl. Renée’s current concert calendar includes appearances in London, Milan, Paris, and at Carnegie Hall. In November, she starred in the world premiere staging of The Hours, a new opera based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and award-winning film, at the Metropolitan Opera. She won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Solo Album for Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene. A leading advocate for research at the intersection of arts and health, Renée launched the first ongoing collaboration between The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the NIH. She is a founding advisor for the Sound Health Network at UCSF. www.reneefleming.com  

Headshot of Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson

For more than 25 years, Dr. Maria Rosario Jackson’s work has focused on understanding and elevating arts, culture, and design as critical elements of healthy communities. Her work blends social science and arts- and humanities-based approaches to comprehensive community revitalization, systems change, the dynamics of race and ethnicity, and the roles of arts and culture in communities. After confirmation by the U.S. Senate in December 2021, Dr. Jackson became the 13th chair of the National Endowment for the Arts in January 2022. With this historic appointment, Dr. Jackson is the first African American and the first Mexican American woman to serve as chair of the NEA.

Headshot of Terri Lee Freeman

Terri Lee Freeman was named President of The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (The Lewis Museum) in June 2023 after having served as its Executive Director since February 2021. Freeman is responsible for providing strategic leadership in furthering the museum’s mission as an educational and cultural institution. To that end, she has worked with staff and board to develop a five-year strategic plan that culminates in a planned renovation of The Lewis Museum’s permanent history exhibition, a growth in visitors, membership, funding support and community outreach. Freeman seeks to connect history to current events and expand the museum’s connection to the very rich and vibrant communities that make up the state of Maryland. Prior to joining The Lewis Museum, Freeman served as President of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee for six years. During her tenure, Freeman broadened the Museum’s reputation as the new public square.

Headshot of Susan Magsamen

Susan Magsamen is the founder and executive director of the International Arts + Mind Lab (IAM Lab), Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics, a pioneering initiative from the Pedersen Brain Science Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her body of work lies at the intersection of brain sciences and the arts—and how our unique response to aesthetic experiences can amplify human potential. Magsamen is the author of the Impact Thinking model, an evidence-based research approach to accelerate how we use the arts to solve problems in health, well-being, and learning. In addition to her role at IAM Lab, she is an assistant professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins and serves as co-director of the NeuroArts Blueprint project in partnership with the Aspen Institute. Prior to founding IAM Lab, Magsamen worked in both the private and public sector, developing social impact programs and products addressing all stages of life—from early childhood to the senior years. Magsamen created Curiosityville, an online personalized learning world, acquired by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2014 and Curiosity Kits, a hands-on multi-sensory company, acquired by Torstar in 1995. An award-winning author, Magsamen has published eight books including The Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonder, The 10 Best of Everything Families, and Family Stories. Susan’s newest book, a New York Times Bestseller, is titled Your Brain On Art: How the Arts Transform Us, written with Ivy Ross, Vice President of Google Hardware.

Use the schedule at a glance to begin planning your AAM 2024 experience. Below is some of what you can expect:

  • Interactive and hands-on programming and workshops designed to help you connect with your peers, dive deep into museums’ impact on health and well-being, and leave with tangible tools and tactics to bring back home.
  • Events and parties to celebrate being together and making the connections you need to thrive.
  • A MuseumExpo packed with exhibitors ready to show you the latest and greatest, content and poster presentations, and meet-up opportunities. Plus, we’re partnering with the Museum Store Association again this year for an incredible MuseumExpo experience.
  • NeighborHub meet-ups where you’ll be connecting with other museum people with the same job function or area of interest.
  • Free and reduced admission to area museums so you can experience all Baltimore has to offer.
  • Experiential workshops at Baltimore museums during pre- and post-conference days so you can see local museums in action (and have a great field trip)!

Please note the schedule at a glance is subject to change.

Schedule at a Glance

Pre-conference

Thursday,
May 16

WELCOME TO AAM 2024
EXPERIENTIAL WORKSHOPS

7:30 am–4:00 pm: Registration Open

9:00 am–4:00 pm: Experiential Workshops & On-site workshops

4:00 pm–5:00 pm: Volunteer Recognition Reception


Friday,
May 17

ROUNDTABLES, SESSIONS, & KEYNOTE
CONNECT NETWORKING EVENT

7:00 am–5:00 pm: Registration Open

7:00 am–8:00 am: First-Time Attendee Overview

7:30 am–8:30 am: Attendee Coffee Break

8:30 am–10:00 am: Opening General Session & Keynote

10:00 am–5:30 pm: MuseumExpo Open

10:00 am–11:30 am: MuseumExpo Break with Solutions Center presentations, Poster Talks, and NeighborHub meetups

11:30 am–12:30 pm: Concurrent Roundtables, Sessions, & Flash Sessions

12:30 pm–2:00 pm: MuseumExpo Break with Solutions Center presentations, Poster Talks, and NeighborHub meetups

2:00 pm–3:00 pm: Concurrent Roundtables, Sessions, & Flash Sessions

3:20 pm–4:20 pm: Concurrent Roundtables, Sessions, & Flash Sessions

4:20 pm–5:30 pm: MuseumExpo Break with Solutions Center presentations, Poster Talks, and NeighborHub meetups

6:00 pm–8:00 pm: CEO/Directors Reception

7:00 pm–10:00 pm: Connect Networking Event


May 21

Saturday,
May 18

ROUNDTABLES, SESSIONS, & MUSEUMEXPO HAPPY HOUR

7:30 am–5:00 pm: Registration Open

8:30 am–9:30 am: Concurrent Roundtables, Sessions, & Flash Sessions

9:30 am–5:30 pm: MuseumExpo Open

9:30 am–10:00 am: MuseumExpo Coffee Break

10:10 am–11:10 am: Concurrent Roundtables, Sessions, & Flash Sessions

11:30 am–12:30 pm: Concurrent Roundtables, Sessions, & Flash Sessions

12:30 pm–2:00 pm: MuseumExpo Break with Solutions Center presentations, Poster Talks, and NeighborHub meetups

1:00 pm–2:00 pm: Networking Lunches

2:00 pm–3:00 pm: Concurrent Roundtables, Sessions, & Flash Sessions

3:20 pm–4:20 pm: Concurrent Roundtables, Sessions, & Flash Sessions

4:20 pm–5:30 pm: MuseumExpo Closing Happy Hour and Networking Reception with Solutions Center presentations, Poster Talks, and NeighborHub meetups


Sunday,
May 19

HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS
AAM PARTY

7:30 am–5:00 pm: Registration Open

8:30 am–10:00 am: Concurrent Workshops

9:00 am–10:00 am: Industry Sessions

10:20 am–11:50 am: Concurrent Workshops

12:00 pm–1:30 pm: Networking Lunches

1:00 pm–2:00 pm: Industry Sessions

1:00 pm–2:30 pm: Concurrent Workshops

3:00 pm–4:00 pm: Industry Sessions

3:00 pm–4:30 pm: Concurrent Workshops

7:00 pm–10:00 pm: AAM Party – Celebrate the conclusion of AAM 2024 with over a thousand of your peers, new connections, and colleagues for dancing, music, food, drinks, and more.


Post-conference

Monday,
May 20

EXPERIENTIAL WORKSHOPS

9:00 am–2:00 pm: Experiential Workshops

This is a schedule at a glance for the 2024 AAM Annual Meeting & Museum Expo. All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time. Please note that this is subject to change.

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  • Photo of attendees posing in front of an #AAM22 neon sign
  • back of an audience clapping in a session room
  • person holding award above their head
  • Photo of volunteers
  • person speaking enthusiastically into microphone
  • Photo of Michael Bobbitt giving a keynote
  • Photo of an AAM2022 speaker
  • people at an AAM party
  • a large audience waiting for the keynote speaker
  • person writing on a large card
  • three people smiling and posing for a picture
  • Photo of people dancing at the AAM Party
  • four people chatting and smiling
  • Overhead photo of the MuseumExpo

The American Alliance of Museums’ mission is to champion equitable and impactful museums by connecting people, fostering learning and community, and nurturing museum excellence.