bullet">Museums, Democracy, and Civic Life: Exploring the museum as a public institution that can foster dialogue, participation, trust, and cultural citizenship in times of social and political change.

Inclusion, Access, and Belonging: Considering how museums create meaningful access and participation across differences of language, culture, class, age, disability, migration status, and identity.

Memory, Representation, and Justice: Examining how museums engage difficult histories, contested narratives, restitution, colonial legacies, and the politics of visibility and voice.

Education, Community, and Institutional Futures: Focusing on museum learning, public engagement, co-creation, digital participation, and new institutional models for more inclusive practice.

Alongside the special focus, proposals may also address the broader themes of The Inclusive Museum Research Network, including the museum’s role in society, practices of inclusion and exclusion, curatorial and educational innovation, and the changing relationships among collections, communities, and publics.

Format

This conference will be held in a blended format, with opportunities for both in-person and online participation. The conference environment is designed to support exchange before, during, and after the event, bringing together presenters and delegates across locations in one integrated scholarly space.

All accepted presenters will have access to a Presentation Page, where they can share abstracts, presentation materials, and supporting media, and where conference participants can engage in discussion. This format supports a fuller cycle of scholarly communication, extending beyond the live session to include preparation, dialogue, reflection, and future development.

Publication Pathways

Presenters are invited to develop their conference contributions for possible publication in The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum. This peer-reviewed journal publishes research addressing the roles, responsibilities, and futures of museums in relation to inclusion, participation, representation, and public culture.

Participants may also propose extended works for the Inclusive Museum Book Imprint, which publishes scholarly and practice-based books exploring the museum’s evolving place in society.

Key dates

Early proposal period: Now -12 February 2027
Early registration period: Now -12 March 2027

For full details and submission guidelines, visit the conference website.

Sincerely,

Dr. Kinga Anna Gajda, Conference Chair, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

Dr. Amareswar Galla, Inclusive Museum Research Network Chair, Australia

Dr. Phillip Kalantzis-Cope, Chief Social Scientist, Common Ground Research Networks, USA

📣 CfP: 20th International Conference on the Inclusive Museum