October 24-26, 2022   |   Provo, UT   |   Futuring Through Museums

Futurists use a cross-disciplinary approach to view the present as a window to possible outcomes by imagining potential trends and developments in society. Critical consideration of the future allows us to make better decisions and take more deliberate actions. As museums, we sometimes divorce material culture, objects, and art from the context in which they were produced. Recovering missing stories, mining collections and archives for new perspectives, and involving our communities is necessary work as we head toward a future that is neither fixed nor singular. While strategic planning and mission statements drive our daily work, how are we utilizing the past and the present to inform the future trajectory of our efforts? How are we critically and deliberately anticipating, redefining, and fulfilling our communities’ cultural needs? How are we using what we know about our audiences and our communities to include their voices and remain relevant and responsive?