Leeds will be welcoming the Museums Association’s annual conference to the Royal Armouries this November, with the theme of ‘The Joy of Museums’.
The Museums Association Conference has only been held in Leeds once before, in 1936, which saw 300 delegates attend. Following the support of conferencing bureau, Conference Leeds, the city will welcome Museums Association and its thousands of delegates back to Leeds 12-14 November.
The conference will focus on celebrating the innovation that makes UK museums special places to work and visit. This theme will be brought to life through sessions on storytelling, technology, health and wellbeing, and social justice.
The event will include a musical experience from the Museum of Homelessness and social justice poet, Surfing Sofas, about the invisible stories of the UK homeless community, in addition to community activist, Michelle Charters, who is the first Black woman to lead the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.
The conference will include tours and social events at a number of Leeds Museums and Galleries sites, including Leeds City Museum, Leeds at Gallery and Temple Newsam. There will also be tours of the recently redeveloped Henry Moore Institute.
Simon Stephens, the head of publications and events at the Museums Association, said: “We have fantastic sessions planned for our in-person and online delegates. In particular our Museums Change Lives Awards are always a high point at our conferences as we have the opportunity to recognise the great work museums around the country are doing.”
Claire Heap, head of Conference Leeds, said: “Leeds has an incredibly extensive variety of museums for residents and visitors of the city to enjoy. Everything from heritage and medicine to industrial and armoury can be seen in Leeds and it’s one of the huge tourism draws for our wonderful city.”
