The Western Museums Association 2008 Annual Meeting

Co-sponsored by Museums Alaska

September 17-21, 2008   Anchorage, Alaska

Alaska is a land without limits. The largest and most rugged of our states, Alaska is known for its vast wilderness landscape. From the frozen tundra of the north to the high reaches on Denali in the interior to the glaciers and rainforests of the southeast, Alaska seemingly goes on forever. The people who make the state their home have attitudes as unconstrained as their environment. As diverse as the population of Alaska is, its residents have one thing in common: a spirit of individualism that bends or breaks the rules that the rest of the country lives by. "We don't care how everyone else does it -- we'll do it our way," is an often-heard refrain.

We can learn a great deal from Alaska. As open minded as we would like to believe we are, we museum professionals often surround ourselves with artificial rules and limits that stifle the potential and possibilities of our institutions. What rules have we imposed on our collections and exhibits? What regulates our institutional mission? What limits are there on our very definition of what a museum is? In an ever changing society, museums must undergo evolution to remain relevant. But change is often stifled by the artificial limitations of our museum traditions.

Join us in Anchorage in 2008 for a chance to break free of these limits...

Program Committee Chairs

Aldona Jonaitis

Executive Director

University of Alaska Museum of the North

Kurt Zwolfer

Education Specialist

Idaho Historical Museum

Co-Sponsor/Host Committee: Museums Alaska