Each issue of Museum consists of four to five feature articles and one point of view article. These articles are typically selected from pitches submitted by individuals working in all types and sizes of museums or supporting the broader museum field.

2025

January/February

TrendsWatch

Members get the first look at TrendsWatch, the annual forecasting report from AAM’s Center for the Future of Museums. Stay tuned for the trends, coming soon!

March/April

Accessibility

Topics may include, but are not limited to: designing spaces; physical accessibility; multisensory experiences; interactive and assistive technology; accessible exhibits; accessible education programs; digital accessibility; staff training and awareness; neurodiversity; universal design; multilingual accessibility

Article pitch deadline: October 28, 2024

May/June

Museums and Trust (Annual Meeting Issue)

Articles will focus on select session topics to be presented at the AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo.

July/August

Artificial Intelligence

Topics may include, but are not limited to: human-centered approaches; societal and ethical implications; AI infrastructure; AI and the visitor experience; AI in fundraising (donor analysis, prospect research); workplace integration and transformation; staff or visitor training; content credibility; museum curation; data privacy; AI-driven visitor personalization; addressing bias in AI applications; chatbots; predictive analysis and data processing; AI and machine learning for collections management; museum operations (security, ticketing, membership)

Article pitch deadline: February 24, 2025

September/October

Collections Stewardship

Topics may include, but are not limited to: digital preservation and accessibility; decolonizing collections; provenance research on object origins and ownership; collection diversification; ethical acquisitions; AI for collections management; intellectual property; public transparency; virtual access to collections; cross-institutional collaboration for collection care; environmental sustainability in collections care; NAGPRA/repatriation

Article pitch deadline: April 28, 2025

November/December

Visitation

Topics may include, but are not limited to: visitor demographics and trends; impact of technology on visitation; post-pandemic visitation; program impact and visitation; community engagement impact; visitation challenges and solutions; membership and loyalty programs for enhanced engagement; pricing models and impact on visitation; visitation and tourism; innovations in programs or experiences to enhance visitation; marketing strategies; visitor evaluation and data driven improvements

Article pitch deadline: July 1, 2025

2024

January/February

TrendsWatch 

Culture Wars 2.0
AI Adolescence
Towards Net Zero

March/April

Volunteers/Volunteerism – Preview this issue 

Potential topics can include but are not limited to: volunteer recruitment and retention; visitor engagement; cultural competency; communicating on sensitive topics; performance improvement and feedback; volunteer preferences; training and development; personalization/customization; recognition and appreciation; diverse and inclusive volunteerism; virtual volunteers; interpretation techniques; challenging visitor behaviors.

Article pitches were due November 1, 2023.

May/June

Health and Well-being – Preview this issue 

Potential topics can include but are not limited to: health services and support; remote and hybrid work; work-life balance; wellness programs; burnout prevention; open and transparent communication; stress management; community engagement and service; professional growth and development; recognition and appreciation; conflict resolution and mediation. See our Annual Meeting theme focused on this topic.

Article pitches for the May/June issue were due January 5, 2024.

July/August

Polarization

Potential topics can include but are not limited to: political neutrality; organizational culture and values; crisis management and controversy; communication and social media strategy; culture wars; inclusive visitor and community engagement; politically motivated funding shifts; public perception and trust; board and donor relations.

Article pitches for the July/August issue were due February 16, 2024.

September/October

Leadership

Potential topics can include but are not limited to: CEO/board relations; hybrid work models and engagement; evolving fundraising strategies; board leadership; addressing contemporary issues such as climate change, AI and automation, technology ethics and privacy; crisis preparedness and response; government relations and policy advocacy; earned revenue and fundraising; leadership development; impact measurement and reporting; innovative collaborations/partnerships; social justice and advocacy.

Article pitches for the September/October issue were due May 6, 2024.

November/December

DEAI

Potential topics include but are not limited to: creating and implementing a DEAI plan; trustee engagement in DEAI; DEAI informed practices in development, finance, and human relations; accountability with the community; measuring and evaluating DEAI; development of Chief Diversity Officer positions, onboarding, and support; well-being and care for those engaged in DEAI; DEAI in a politically polarized era; inclusive and community centered work in culturally specific institutions.

Article pitches for the November/December issue should be received by July 8, 2024.

2023

January/February

TrendsWatch  (Digital trends; post-pandemic workplace; the partisan divide)

Potential topics include national or local civic education programs; pandemic digital experiments and improvements; assessing and planning for the cost of maintaining digital assets; reshaping the workforce in alignment with practical and value-based decisions on such things as pay, benefits, and policies; automation in museums and its workforce implications; pathways to professional advancement.

March/April

Storytelling

Potential topics include label writing; descendent voices; community storytelling; first- or third-person interpretation; personal narratives; tours; performance-based storytelling; digital storytelling; storytelling design and/or techniques; visitor-centered approaches; controversial subject matter; ethical responsibilities; multivocal stories; exhibition design as storytelling.

May/June

Social and Community Impact

July/August

Education

Potential topics include teacher training; education models; museum/school partnerships; virtual learning; life-long learning-intergenerational learning; social/emotional learning; education and censorship; expanding roles of educators; human-centered education; unschooling; homeschooling.

September/October

Advocacy

Potential topics include state and local advocacy initiatives; year round advocacy; making the case for the social and economic impact of museums and why museums matter; creative approaches to advocacy; state and/or local tax initiatives that benefit museums; planning for and participating in America 250 (USA’s Semiquincentennial).

November/December

Repatriation

Potential topics include voluntary repatriation; new boundaries on legal challenges; state and federal legislation; beyond repatriation–reparations and restitution; ethical considerations; collection stewardship; museum and source community partnerships.

2022

January/February

Organizational Excellence: Performance, Assessment, and Transformation   

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, Accreditation; Museum Assessment Program (MAP); standards; peer review; core documents verification.

March/April

Community Engagement

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, social practice; exhibition co-creation; social inquiry exhibitions; community-centered practice; health and well-being; supporting vulnerable communities; research and evaluation; BIPOC engagement; COVID-19; activism.

May/June

Annual Meeting Issue

July/August

Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, go-green initiatives; exhibitions; environmental education; environmental justice; preservation, conservation and environmental activism; building design and operations.

September/October

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, organizational structures/culture; human resources; access; public accountability; governance; collections; exhibition interpretation and display; staff training; curation; anti-racism; power shifting.

November/December

The Digital Revolution

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, organizational culture; digital skills; equity and access; augmented reality; virtual reality; visitor experience; mobile applications; websites; digital collections; virtual exhibitions; social media; business models; virtual learning.

2021

January/February

Race and Social Justice 

Potential topics are, but not limited to, Black Lives Matter; organizational structures; public accountability; truth and reconciliation; conflict mediation; systemic racism; collection acquisition; exhibition interpretation and display; staff training; curation; anti-racism; shifting of language from DEAI to racial equity to anti-racism; power shifting.

March/April

TrendsWatch

Topics include museum-school partnerships that offer structured support for students during COVID-19; college or university galleries or museums supporting student activities during COVID-19; adopting digital tools or strategies in response to COVID-19 challenges; reparative practice through collections, resources, staffing or governance to advance greater equity; promoting civic dialogue across partisan social and political divides; building local audiences as a consequence of travel and tourism restrictions during COVID-19.

May/June

Annual Meeting Issue

Topics include community-centered practice and engagement; communications strategy; immigration and refugee communities; inclusive emergency management; bridging difference; activism; museums as public assets; misinformation and trust; activism; social impact; co-curation; climate change and environmental sustainability; global connection; fostering belonging; reducing polarization.

July/August

Emotion and Empathy

Topics include, but aren’t limited to, affective learning strategies; exhibition design; social inquiry exhibitions; community practice; social impact; institutional trauma; emotional intelligence; research on perception or physiological response and emotion; healing and renewal; resilience; self-care; belonging; generational trauma; environmental empathy; empathy-building; exhibitions on emotion.

September/October

Creative Aging

Topics include programs and services for people 55 and older, and caregivers for aging adults, to foster health and well-being during the COVID-19 era; ageism in museum operations; seniors and volunteerism; getting started with creative aging museum programs; evaluation of creative aging programs; funding sources for creative aging initiatives/projects.

November/December

Museum Identity and Redefinition

Topics include, but are not limited to, museums as public assets, civic spaces, stewards for cultural heritage, and prisms of identity.

2020

January/February

Curatorial Practice

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, changing responsibilities, social issues, collection-based engagement; decolonizing collection acquisition, interpretation, and display; visitor, object-based, or community-based approaches; professional training.

March/April

Identity Issues

Potential topics broadly focused on identity to include, but not limited to, collections, exhibitions, representation, women’s rights, LGBTQ issues, gender bias, gender equity.

Summer

Bridge to the Future

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, museum practices, programs, and operations that are responding to emerging social, economic, political and technological forces and implications for the future.

September/October

Civic Engagement

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, civic participation and education, responsible citizenship, community service, volunteerism, democratic values and dilemmas, activism.

November/December

Building Audiences

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, data-driven decision-making, diversifying audiences, engaging new audiences, retaining loyalty, research-based strategy, community building, marketing and communication strategies, earned revenue opportunities, new membership models.

Write for Museum

Please fill in the following form to submit your article pitch. Keep in mind each issue of Museum includes four feature articles and one point of view article.

Items of interest about your museum—temporary or permanent exhibitions, education programs, partnerships or initiatives, new building/wing—should be submitted for consideration to bit.ly/MuseumNewsAAM

Career news—transitions, promotions, retirements, in memoriams, accolades—should be submitted for consideration to bit.ly/CareerNewsAAM