Museum representatives from around the state to gather here

Four hundred of New York State’s museum leaders and professionals will arrive in Rochester next week for the Museum Association of New York’s (MANY) annual conference, allowing the region to showcase its numerous arts and cultural institutions to a statewide audience.

The conference theme is “Visioning Change,” which reflects the transformations happening at the state’s museums, officials said. Statewide, museum collections are changing and audiences are evolving, as are the tools and technologies they use. During curated sessions, workshops and programs, conference attendees will have a unique opportunity to meet, work with and learn how their peers from around the state are reacting to the change.

“We’re reaching new audiences, learning how to tell difficult stories with our collections, and we’re creating partnerships that help us make room for difference,” MANY Executive Director Erika Sanger said in a news release.

The event will run from April 8 through 10 at the Hyatt Regency of Rochester and various facilities in and around Rochester, including the George Eastman Museum, the Strong National Museum of Play, Genesee Country Village & Museum, the Rochester Museum & Science Center, the Memorial Art Gallery, the Seneca Art & Culture Center at Ganondagan, and others.

Museums represent one of the largest industries in New York, with an estimated total annual economic impact of $5.37 billion, equal to that of the state’s agricultural industries. The museum industry in New York supports nearly 62,000 jobs each year, providing billions of dollars in income and wages to the state annually.

In the past year, MANY has increased its membership to more than 500 museums, zoos, botanical gardens and historical societies statewide, and the organization speaks for every museum equally, regardless of its budget or location, Sanger said.

Last year’s conference was held in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County. This year’s event will feature an array of roundtable discussions and educational programs developed by museum professionals statewide.

A pre-conference event will be held April 7 at the Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford.

“The Rochester area is home to a wealth of museums,” GCVM President and CEO Becky Wehle said. “We are thrilled to be able to welcome our museum colleagues from across the state here to share our knowledge and innovative programs with them.”

The conference’s keynote address will be delivered by James Hackney Jr., the senior director of development at Yale Divinity School. Hackney will discuss how museum professionals can embrace and create the change they want to see in their lives and institutions by working together.

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