The annual meeting of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) will be held in Montreal, Tuesday, May 21 through Thursday, May 23. The meeting will mark the completion of the tenure of president Kimerly Rorschach (Seattle Art Museum). She will be succeeded as AAMD president at the conclusion of the meeting by Timothy Rub (Philadelphia Museum of Art).

This year’s annual meeting features a day-long leadership development program, in addition to the panel discussions, presentations by outside speakers, committee meetings, and regular information-sharing sessions for members. Building on an initiative organized last year by AAMD with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the first day of the Montreal meeting will feature a series of leadership development sessions focused on training for executives of non-profit organizations. These sessions will be taught by Keith Murnighan, Harold H. Hines Jr. Distinguished Professor of Risk Management and Robert Livingston, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, both from the Kellogg School. This set of programs is part of AAMD’s ongoing commitment to providing professional development opportunities for its members, and to bringing different speakers with a range of perspectives to AAMD’s meetings.

Other highlights from the Montreal meeting program include:

• A keynote address from Mariët Westermann, Vice President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, titled “One of us. Or, What are art museums for?”
• A presentation and discussion looking at 15 years of growth in America’s arts facilities, presented by Joanna Woronkowicz from the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago.
• Malcolm Rogers (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and Richard Kirschner (Chief Conservator, Shelburne Museum), will present a session on new environmental guidelines being considered for exhibitions and loans.
• A report to the membership by Olga Viso (Walker Art Center) and Todd Breyfogle (Aspen Seminars) on a program held at the Aspen Institute earlier this year on challenges and opportunities facing museums in the 21st century.

AAMD was invited to Montreal by two of its members in that city, Mirko Zardini (Canadian Centre for Architecture) and Nathalie Bondil (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts). Each institution will host events for the group over the course of the meeting.

The Association of Art Museum Directors—representing 224 art museum directors in the US, Canada, and Mexico—promotes the vital role of art museums throughout North America and advances the profession by cultivating leadership and communicating standards of excellence in museum practice. Further information about AAMD’s professional practice guidelines and position papers is available at www.aamd.org.