December 2 | 2024

North Carolina museum representatives at SEMC2024 accepting the 2023 Council Cup!

Learn more about what the SEMC Council is working toward on behalf of all SEMC members. Questions about the work of the SEMC Council? Please reach out to Zinnia Willits to put you in contact with individual Council members.

Council members networked, and cultivated support for SEMC at the 2024 Directors Reception at the LSU Museum of Art.

We introduced the SEMC Council Cup last year to acknowledge individual giving and award the state that collectively contributed the most to SEMC’s year-end campaign. North Carolina came out on top as the winner of the 2023 Council Cup Challenge. Congratulations!

The 2024/2025 Council Cup competition is open!

We will determine the winner of the 2025 Council Cup by totaling all contributions made to SEMC general operations between June 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. 

As of December 2, 2024, North Carolina is once again in the lead for the 2025 SEMC Council Cup with Louisiana running a close second!

Please consider participating in this challenge and making a gift to support SEMC general operations including:

• Paid internships for students working with SEMC
• Member programs (virtual and in-person)
• SEMC Communications such as E-News and Inside SEMC
• Annual Meeting Travel Stipends

Click the button below to contribute to the 2025 Council Cup (to be awarded at SEMC2025 in Montgomery, Alabama). Under “Purpose for Donation” please select “General Operating” and then add “Council Cup Challenge” in the comment section.

When you contribute to SEMC, your dollars help build a long-term fund that enables us to serve southeast museum professionals and support the museums in our region. All donations to SEMC (any amount!) are appreciated and tax-deductible, and they help support members and programs.

On behalf of all of us at SEMC, THANK YOU for your support. We will continue to work hard to make SEMC your professional home.

The Southeastern Museums Conference 2024 Annual Meeting in Baton Rouge brought together over 500 museum professionals and industry partners for three days of learning, networking, community, and fun! We are grateful to everyone who played a role in the 2024 conference's success. Below are a few memories from SEMC2024. Thank you to Michael Lachowski, Public Relations for the Georgia Museum of Art, for capturing images of SEMC2024. You can see the full array of conference images (600+!) HERE.

The Southeastern Museums Conference will hold its 2025 Annual Meeting October 20-22, 2025 at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel in Montgomery, Alabama. 

About the 2025 Conference Theme

Developed by the Montgomery local arrangements committee, the 2025 SEMC Conference theme, Future Forward: Reach, Remember, Reclaim, reflects the way Montgomery museums are looking toward the future by embracing new voices and new interpretations. We must reach into the community, remember and reconcile our past, and reclaim our community stories and spaces. In Montgomery, let's explore emerging trends and technologies in museums, share solutions and success stories, and come together to find a way forward. 

Join SEMC attendees for direct conversation, networking, and professional growth and development next fall in Montgomery!

Greetings, Members!

During a season of gratitude and reflection, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt thanks to each of you. You are not just members of the SEMC community—you are the driving force behind everything we do. Your passion, dedication, and collaboration inspire us daily, and I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside such an incredible network of professionals.

Thank you to all who participated in SEMC2024. Your engagement created an inspiring time of connection, collaboration, and shared learning. A special thanks goes to the 2024 Program Committee for their efforts and dedication. Thoughtful planning and commitment resulted in a purposeful program featuring 50 sessions and 7 hands-on workshops. This year we also had over 480 individual session evaluations! Building on that momentum generated in Baton Rouge, it’s now time to look ahead to SEMC2025 in Montgomery, AL. There are already opportunities to get involved! Applications for the 2025 SEMC Program Committee are now open, offering a chance to collaborate with peers and help craft a dynamic and impactful program.

The SEMC virtual program series will continue to provide enriching opportunities to learn, grow, and stay connected throughout the year. Recordings of past sessions are always accessible on the SEMC website for members. There’s much to look forward to as we continue to work together as a field to strengthen our collective impact.

Wishing you a fun holiday season!

Heather Nowak, SEMC Program Administrator

2024 Program Committee meet-up in Baton Rouge

A great conference requires great sessions! Please consider submitting a proposal. The Program Committee review/decision schedule is as follows: 

• February 7, 2025: Session Proposals due 
• February 2025: The Program Committee reviews and evaluates session proposals.
• March 13, 2025: Program Committee meets in Montgomery, Alabama to select proposals for inclusion in the SEMC2025 program.
• By late March, 2025: The SEMC Program Administrator sends notification of Program Committee decisions to all session chairs.

We encourage you to explore the suggested topics for 2025 and consider submitting a session or workshop proposal—your voice and expertise are essential in creating a meeting that resonates with our diverse community.

On behalf of the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), we extend our deepest gratitude for the generous support of all SEMC2024 Annual Meeting sponsors.

Thanks to your sponsorship, we were able to bring together the SEMC community for a memorable and enriching event. Your support helped foster an environment of learning, collaboration, and growth—ensuring that attendees could connect, share ideas, and be inspired by the collective expertise of our community.

We are grateful for your belief in SEMC’s mission to strengthen and advance museums and cultural institutions across the southeast. Thank you for this invaluable support!

Is your company interested in supporting the SEMC2025 Annual Meeting through sponsorship? Contact Zinnia Willits to learn more about sponsor opportunities, levels and benefits at zwillits@semcdirect.net or 843-224-0876

Thank You For Your Incredible Support!

To all the volunteers who had a role at SEMC 2024, THANK YOU! 

I want to extend my sincerest gratitude for your time, energy, and dedication to helping make the conference such a success. Your hard work and commitment were evident in everything you did, and we truly couldn’t have done it without you!

From assisting with registration to guiding attendees and managing logistics, your contributions were invaluable. Your professionalism and enthusiasm were evident, and they made a real difference in creating a welcoming, smooth, and memorable experience for everyone involved.

SEMC staff and conference planning teams are grateful for your willingness to volunteer and for your support in helping bring the spirit of Baton Rouge to the conference. Thank you for being such an important part of SEMC2024. We hope to see you in Montgomery for SEMC2025!

Don’t forget to follow us on social media so you can stay in the know about all things SEMC!

Instagram     semcdirect

Facebook     southeasternmuseums

Twitter          semc2

Have a fantastic week,

Carla

Carla Phillips

Membership & Communications Manager

cphillips@semcdirect.net

Thank you for supporting SEMC through membership!

Tamara Herring, a new Council member and SEMC2024 volunteer, greeted attendees as they arrived at the Hilton Baton Rouge. Thank you Tamara!

Watch this new section of E-News to explore cutting-edge technologies transforming museums. From immersive virtual reality exhibits to AI-powered curation tools, discover how museums are embracing innovation to enhance visitor experiences, preserve history, and make art more accessible. We are excited to highlight inspiring examples of technology that are shaping the future of cultural engagement.

This week learn more about My Museum Tour, developed by the Art Institute of Chicago to encourage visitors to build their own self-guided museum tour!

SEMC Ones to Watch spotlights museum talent making an impact across our region.

This month SEMC proudly features Emily Dippie, as the One to Watch! Emily is the Curator of Education at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.

Emily's nomination letter highlights her passion and expertise in developing programs to engage fellow educators, families, and children in the history and exhibits presented at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

"Emily has served as Curator of Education at the Kentucky Derby Museum for the past year and a half. Within months of coming aboard, she was working with our Visitor Services team on creating Ari's Winter Workshop. Named after the Museum's resident miniature horse, the workshop was a brand new way to appeal to families and young children during the holiday season.

In 2023, Emily took the lead in implementing Ari's Horseshoe Adventure, a new educational tool that helps children interact with and learn from the Museum's exhibits. This is done through strategically placed kiosks in several museum exhibits where young visitors can take activity cards that allow them to learn more about each exhibit through a narrative driven by Ari, the miniature horse.

Additionally, Emily and the education team have done a fantastic job in returning the Museum to its pre-pandemic education attendance and have created several new programs offering greater choices to Kentucky educators."

Congratulations Emily Dippie: One to Watch!

Western North Carolina has always been a beloved holiday travel destination. While some parts of the region are still recovering from widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, many areas are open for business and in need of visitors!

As one Asheville resident recently wrote on her Instagram page, "If you are able, please visit Asheville. We need you! Not everything is destroyed. Support small businesses. Buy beer. Visit Biltmore. You can get a table at Cúrate so easily..and a parking spot downtown. Much of our local economy runs on tourism and the tourists just aren't coming. I can't blame them but I've been here the whole time and it's fine. We're fine. Did I mention we got drinkable water back last week? Weeks ahead of schedule. You won't go thirsty!"

Many cultural sites have reopened including the Asheville Art Museum (reopened October 30) and the Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center which is operating in a temporary location while their site is repaired.

Read more about where to go, what to do, and where to stay in Western North Carolina this season!

SEMC is pleased to feature the Civil Rights Memorial Center, an institutional member since 2021.

A project of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Civil Rights Memorial Center (CRMC), located in Montgomery, Alabama, consists of four galleries that focus on the modern civil rights movement (1954-1968); the stories of the martyrs honored on the Civil Rights Memorial, contemporary social justice issues, and a space of reflection.

Upon entering the Martyr Room, visitors learn about the 40 people whose names are inscribed on the Civil Rights Memorial. While some of the names are well known, many are names that visitors might not recognize; students, farmers, ministers, truck drivers, a deputy sheriff, and a Nobel laureate, ranging in age from 11 to 66. Most were ordinary people with extraordinary courage and conviction.

The Orientation Theater connects the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s to social justice activism today. Upon entering, visitors are surrounded by imagery both past and present to create an immersive experience that inspires and encourages people to discover their own ways to help bring about social change.

The March Continues: Today’s Activist is a hallway that introduces contemporary civil and human rights challenges. Visitors are led through an interactive experience where they learn more about the power of grassroots organizing and mobilization to help them understand that ordinary people can make a difference.

The last gallery is The Wall of Justice, where a multicolored, digital display of the names of more than half a million people cascades continuously down a 20-by-40-foot screen in a simulation of the water flowing over Dr. Martin Luther King’s words on the Memorial outside. Each name was added by someone who has visited the CRMC and made a personal decision to work for justice in their own life.

Known as the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement, the city of Montgomery is rich in civil rights history, and no tour of Alabama’s capital would be complete without a visit to the Civil Rights Memorial Center. 

Go to their website ( https://www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial) for more information and make this museum a must-see on your next trip to Montgomery!

Thank you Civil Rights Memorial Center for being part of the SEMC community! See you at SEMC2025!

SEMC: Around the Region.....

SEMC staff has the opportunity to interact with members across the region each week...and we see and hear so much. Watch this E-News feature for information we pick up in weekly calls, emails, Zooms, and in-person visits with members!

The Dot Experience Prototyping Group at work!

Have you heard about The Dot Experience/American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky? Scheduled to open in 2026 this innovative museum will incorporate elements of an attraction, a factory tour, and a center of education. It will be a destination experience with a mission to change perspectives about blindness, encourage people to act in their own ways to make the world more welcoming for everyone, and to lead as a model museum of inclusivity.

The Dot Experience has teamed up with Solid Light to design the world’s most accessible museum. As they conceptualized the design for this monumental project, teams have been working to ensure an equitable process for all involved including the formation of an Inclusive Prototyping Group. Solid Light is creating full-body figures of several notable people who will be featured in The Dot Experience. The Prototyping Group provides feedback from a tactile standpoint on potential materials for the figures. They also supply insights on how different features of the figures, like clothing, hair, and skin, can be conveyed tactually.

Dear SEMC,

Thank you for making it to the end! It's been a busy month since SEMC2024 and I realize this E-News is LONG. Sometimes I get carried away by all the great things happening across SEMC!

Anyhow, ending today with a resource and a post that made me laugh. There is a LOT of leadership churn happening across the museum field right now. Whatever the circumstances, these transitions can cause anxiety and uncertainty among staff and stakeholders. This recent publication, Leadership Succession and Transition for Museums and Arts Organizations is timely and will hopefully provide some guidance. I just ordered my copy!

Finally, as we move into the lovely and insanely busy holiday season with all of its fun and weighty expectations, many of us may identify with being a master of "partial arts"....so many things to get done...so little time. It's OK! We are all doing the best we can.

Take care of yourselves and have a great week!

Sincerely,

Zinnia Willits, Executive Director

zwillits@semcdirect.net