Cynthia Sweet, Executive Director of The Iowa Museum Association and IMA Board President Michael Vogt, Curator, Iowa Gold Star Military Museum, announced today that sites have been chosen for upcoming Iowa Museum Association Annual Conferences for the next three years.
In making the announcement, Sweet noted that proposals had been received from all areas of Iowa, and that the Board takes seriously its responsibility to serve all Iowa museums by moving the conference around the state and making it as accessible as possible. At the same time, conference venues must be large enough to host and lodge the over 100 museum workers, volunteers, board members and students attending.
Conference sites are determined three years in advance. The 2009 conference, “Iowa Museums: Real Relevant, Resilient” was held October 4-6 in Waterloo, Iowa. The 2010 conference will be held October 17-19, 2010 in Grinnell, Iowa.
Today’s announcement named the sites for 2011 (Des Moines), 2012 (Johnson County), and 2013 (Sioux City).
Each year the Iowa Museum Association offers three scholarships to the Conference. Applicants for the scholarship must be first-time attendees of an Iowa Museum Association Annual Meeting and Conference and work as an employee or volunteer at a non-profit art center, museum, botanical garden, arboretum, historic site, zoo or science center located within the state of Iowa. Students enrolled in a degree program involving any of the above fields of study were also encouraged to apply. The scholarships cover the conference registration fee and conference meals.
The recipients of the 2009 scholarships were Angela Beenken, Curator/Manager Wilder Memorial Museum, Strawberry Point; Christy N. Taylor, Curator, Nodaway Valley Historical Museum, Clarinda; and Rosemary Schwartz, Director, La Porte City FFA Historical and Ag Museum, La Porte City.
The Iowa Museum Association was founded in 1976 and Sweet has been Executive Director since September 2007. The mission of the Iowa Museum Association is to provide quality training and development to Iowa museum professionals and volunteers, advocate for support of museums, and build a strong community of museums in Iowa.
The association is made up of over 200 museums from almost every county in Iowa. These museums range from history and art museums to local historical societies, zoos, botanical gardens, county conservation bureaus, science centers, children's museums, historic homes, and living history sites. Member museums collect and focus on a wide range of interests - antique airplanes, Iowa agriculture, presidential homes, fine art, railroads and depots, and much more.
The Iowa Museum Association provides a voice for museums to communicate with local and state government, and provides workshops, conferences and technical support to improve collection management, exhibits and other facets of museum work which training directly contributes to and enhances Iowa's tourism attractions, preserves Iowa history and strengthens community and local pride.
For more information please contact Director Cynthia Sweet at 319-239-2236 or imasweet@cfu.net or visit www.iowamuseums.org
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