The Florida Association of Museums Annual Conference is just around the corner!

Last year, I was invited to participate in a panel session on academic audiences at the 2011 Florida Association of Museums conference in Tampa, FL. Back then, I presented the results of a survey I had conducted to identify the current state of awareness of the existence of an art museum on campus among the student population at Florida State University. The educational session was titled: "Engaging Academic Audiences across the Disciplines" and the session included art museum educators from academic museums at Florida State University, Florida International University and University of Miami (see more details in the conference program here). 

This year, the theme of the conference is "Changing Perceptions" and I thought this was really a perfect opportunity for me to submit a proposal so that I could lead a session this time related to Hispanic audiences, inspired by my recent visit to Arizona. I am very pleased that my proposal was accepted and I am now in the process of inviting and confirming panel participants! Exciting! More to come soon about that, but for now, here is some information about the panel session I am leading:

Title: Demographic Awareness, Inclusiveness and Sustainability: Integrating Hispanic Audiences through Relevant Museum Practices.

Overview: Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States and they represent 22.5% of the total population of Florida. This session intends to explore and discuss how museums can integrate Hispanic audiences through relevant museum practices that emphasize inclusiveness and advance sustainability. It will be of the interest of a variety of museum professionals from different types of museums.

The tentative schedule has already been posted and I see many interesting presentations listed. Therefore, I am excited, not only about presenting, but also about attending the conference again this year! You can take a look at the preliminary program here and perhaps you'll also decide to attend :)