May 18-20, 2021

Visit the conference RSVP page for more information on how to reserve a spot for each session.  

Over the past two decades digital technologies have created new markets and disrupted business models across a range of industries. While museums and heritage sites have tentatively begun to engage with the digital world and its possibilities, their business models remain largely tied to monetizing the in-person visit. COVID-19 has exposed the limitations of such reliance and has left many organizations on a precarious financial footing.

This virtual conference brings together academics and practitioners to explore how museums and heritage sites can respond to changing socio-economic circumstances by reimagining business models, markets and products. The sessions will explore emerging forms of cultural marketization and address how museums and heritage sites can better leverage digital opportunities, to develop both online and off-site revenues to create new, engaging forms of cultural consumption.

The sessions will address the cultural impact of new marketization strategies and consider the feasibility of such development for museums and heritage sites, particularly exploring how they can become more embedded within the Creative and Cultural Industries. Moreover, income generation strategies will be couched within other crucial issues facing museums and heritage sites, such as social justice and the climate crisis.

Ultimately, the conference considers how museums and heritage sites can develop strategies to more effectively to ensure their own long-term financial sustainability whilst continuing to contribute to the growth of the broader Creative Economy.

Sessions:

Museums, Heritage and Economy: Reimagining Business Models  
18 May, 09:00-11.00 [Pacific Daily Time]/17.00-19.00 [British Summer Time]

The session explores how the covid-19 pandemic has prompted museums and heritage sites to rethink their business models and explore new strategies. Speakers will discuss a post-tourism economy, what forms of income generation have remained viable through the pandemic, and what new business models might look like. 

Speakers

Karol Wight 
President and Executive Director, Corning Museum of Glass  

Jamie Larkin and Paul Burtenshaw 
Assistant Professor of Creative and Cultural Industries, Chapman University/ Heritage Consultant 

Chris Michaels 
Director of Digital, Communications and Technology, The National Gallery  

Chair: Paul Burtenshaw, Heritage Consultant

Exploring New Partnerships: Museums, Heritage and the Creative Economy  
19 May, 09:00-11.00 [Pacific Daily Time]/17.00-19.00 [British Summer Time]

This session explores how museums and heritage sites can effectively engage with organizations across the Creative Economy to develop new audiences, ways of working, and monetizable programming and experiences. Speakers will discuss the types of partnerships that can be forged, how this can transform perceptions of museums and heritage sites, and the kinds of relationships can be developed with dynamic entities such as tech startups. 

Speakers 

Hannah Shimko 
Head of Policy and Communications, The Heritage Alliance  

Raivis Sīmansons 
Museum Consultant and Curator, Žanis Lipke Memorial  

Brendan Ciecko 
Founder and CEO, Cuseum  

Chair: Patrick Fuery, Professor and Director, Center for Creative and Cultural Industries, Chapman University

Culture Cash: Emerging Methods of Monetization  
20 May, 09:00-11.00 [Pacific Daily Time]/17.00-19.00 [British Summer Time]

This session explores how museums and heritage sites are actively developing new methods of generating income. Speakers will discuss how museums have pivoted revenue generating strategies during the pandemic, how existing income streams can be reimagined or repurposed, and new and innovative methods of monetizing museum assets. 

Speakers

Florence Schechter 
Founder and Director, Vagina Museum  

Trilce Navarrete-Hernandez 
Lecturer in Cultural Economics, Erasmus University  

Kimberly Macuare 
Innovation Labs Co-Director, The Dali Museum 

Chair: Chiara Bonacchi, Senior Lecturer in Heritage, University of Stirling