November 21| 2025

2025 Leadership Awards Roundtable at SEMC2025.

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.

We introduced the SEMC Council Cup in 2023 to celebrate individual giving and recognize the state whose members collectively contribute the most to SEMC’s fiscal year giving campaign.

For the second year in a row, North Carolina took home the Council Cup for FY2025! Congratulations!

The FY2026 Council Cup competition is officially open!

The winner of the 2026 Council Cup will be determined by totaling all contributions made to SEMC’s general operations between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.

As of November 21, 2025, South Carolina is in the lead, with Louisiana following close behind!

We invite you to join the challenge and make a gift to support SEMC’s general operations, which fund:

• Paid internships for students working with SEMC
• Member programs (virtual and in-person)
• SEMC communications, including E-News and Inside SEMC
• Annual Meeting travel stipends

Click the button below to contribute to the 2026 Council Cup (to be awarded at SEMC2026 in Winston-Salem, NC). Under “Purpose for Donation,” select General Operating and add Council Cup Challenge in the comment section.

Every contribution of any amount helps strengthen SEMC’s long-term ability to serve museum professionals across the Southeast. Your support is tax-deductible and directly benefits our members, programs, and the work we do together.

On behalf of all of us at SEMC, thank you. We are committed to working hard to make SEMC your professional home.

The Southeastern Museums Conference 2025 Annual Meeting in Montgomery brought together over 600 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 2025 conference's success. Below are a few memories from SEMC2025. Thank you to Michael Lachowski, Rachel Katz, Dee Sanders Photography, Chris Snipes Museum Photography, and everyone else who captured and shared images of SEMC2025. You can see the full array of conference images HERE.

The Southeastern Museums Conference will hold its 2026 Annual Meeting September 28-30, 2026, at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem, NC. 

About the 2026 Conference Theme

Developed by the Winston-Salem Local Arrangements Committee, the 2026 theme, Forged in Culture – Focused on the Future, celebrates the deep cultural and artistic roots that have shaped Winston-Salem and the Southeast, while also looking ahead to how museums and cultural institutions can evolve with purpose, creativity, and resilience.

This theme invites us to:

• Honor the cultural legacies that define our communities;
• Strengthen connections between art, history, and innovation; and
• Envision the future of museums as inclusive, adaptive spaces that lead with intention.

As we gather in Winston-Salem, a city where art, history, and industry have long intertwined, we will explore how collaboration, creativity, and cultural identity can forge a shared future for museums across the Southeast.

Join SEMC attendees for direct conversation, networking, and professional growth and development next fall in Winston-Salem, NC!

Hello SEMC Members!

During this time of reflection and gratitude, I want to share my sincere thanks with each of you. SEMC is shaped and strengthened by your passion, your dedication, and the way you show up for each other. It is truly an honor to be part of this vibrant community and to work alongside such talented and committed professionals.

Thank you to all who participated in SEMC2025. Your engagement created an inspiring time of connection, collaboration, and shared learning. A special thanks goes to the 2025 Program Committee for their efforts and dedication. Thoughtful planning resulted in a purposeful program featuring 55 sessions and 4 hands-on workshops.

We now look ahead to SEMC2026 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and there are already opportunities to get involved! Applications for the 2026 SEMC Program Committee are now open, offering a chance to collaborate with peers and help craft a dynamic and impactful 2026 annual meeting program.

The 2026 Call for Session Proposals is coming soon! Keep an eye out for the official announcement. In the meantime, I encourage you to review the Suggested Topics for 2026 informed by the 2025 evaluations, and start thinking about submitting a session or workshop proposal. Your voice and expertise are essential in creating a meeting that resonates with our diverse community.

Proposal Timeline:

Early December 2025 - Call for Session Proposals opens

February 6, 2026: Session Proposals due

February 2026: Program Committee reviews and evaluates session proposals.

March 12, 2026: Program Committee meets in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to select proposals for inclusion in the SEMC2026 program.

By late March 2026: SEMC Program Administrator sends notification of Program Committee decisions to all session chairs.

I look forward to the chance to connect and collaborate with all of you in 2026!

Wishing you a fun, relaxing, and rejuvenating holiday season!

Heather Nowak, SEMC Program Administrator

2025 Program Committee meet-up in Montgomery.

On behalf of the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), we extend our deepest gratitude for the generous support of all SEMC2025 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 SEMC2026 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 Members and Volunteers

To our incredible SEMC2025 volunteers and members, thank you for making this year’s conference a true standout.

Our volunteers brought energy, smiles, and professionalism to every aspect of the event by checking in members at the registration area, welcoming all the luncheon attendees with a smile, and giving 110% to each task we asked them to help with. Their dedication was the backbone of SEMC2025, and we are deeply grateful for the hours everyone gave and the spirit each volunteer brought.

To all our members who attended: thank you for showing up with curiosity, creativity, and commitment to our shared field. Your participation, conversations, and ideas made SEMC2025 vibrant and meaningful.

We appreciate each of you, and thank you for helping create a conference that inspires us long after the closing session ends. We hope to see you in Winston-Salem in 2026!

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

We appreciate your membership and support, and we welcome your feedback! Have a terrific holiday season!

Carla

Carla Phillips

Membership & Communications Manager

cphillips@semcdirect.net

Thank you for supporting SEMC through membership!

SEMC2025 registration volunteers (L-R) Rebecca Bush, Kevin Roldan and Saskia Lascarez Casanova, greeted attendees with a smile and ALL the information! Thank you to all of our 2025 volunteers!

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

This month SEMC proudly features Sandy White, as the One to Watch! Sandy is the Director of Adult Programs and Volunteers at Historic Oakland Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia.

Sandy's nomination letter highlights her passion for inclusive programming that creates meaningful experiences for Oakland's many visitors.

"Historic Oakland Foundation's Director of Adult Programs & Volunteers, Sandy White, is “One to Watch” in the museum field because of her constant drive to enhance Oakland’s adult programs, strengthen connections with the greater Atlanta community, and create meaningful and rewarding experiences for volunteers.

This past year, Sandy partnered with art gallery & curator Cat Eye Creative to elevate the artistic experience of Oakland’s annual Illumine Arts event, helping it become the most widely attended year yet. As Director of Oakland’s most beloved and long-running programs, Sunday in the Park and Capturing the Spirit of Oakland, Sandy upholds exceptional quality while introducing fresh ideas that keep them evolving and relevant. She prioritizes telling Oakland’s story in inclusive ways, highlighting lesser-known but significant residents who reflect Atlanta’s diverse cultural heritage, and strives to make the history and stories of Oakland’s residents engaging, welcoming, and accessible for all who want to learn."

Congratulations, Sandy White: One to Watch!

SEMC is thrilled to share the GOOD NEWS that Nancy Strickland Chavis, Director and Curator at the Museum of the Southeast American Indian at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, is the 2025 recipient of the William Collins Smith Auburn Award for Advancing American Art. The $25,000 annual award, established and presented by The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University in 2024, honors an American artist or scholar-practitioner who has significantly impacted the American art scene in the spirit of the university’s modernist collection strength, grounded in creativity, innovation, and experimentation. Funded by a transformational gift from the Julia and Albert Smith Foundation, the award also honors the legacy of advisory board chair emeritus William Collins Smith, whose support significantly advanced his mother’s vision of a campus art museum that contributes to an exceptional student experience. The recipient also visits Auburn in October to engage with students, faculty, and the community as part of a residency. 

Congratulations Nancy!! We are #SEMCProud!

Nancy Strickland Chavis discusses the groundbreaking exhibition, To Take Shape and Meaning.

SEMC is pleased to feature the Charlotte Museum of History, an institutional member since 2022.

It has been a busy year at the Charlotte Museum of History. If you are in the Queen City, be sure to check out these two exhibitions before they close in early 2026.



In May 2025, the museum opened a new exhibit called Meck Dec 250 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The exhibit includes an interactive diorama of Charlotte as it might have looked in 1775, along with original documents, artifacts from the Revolutionary period, and modern memorabilia. As part of this commemoration, the museum also hosts guided tours of the historic Rock House (built in 1774), giving visitors a tangible connection to the era.

The extended series, Paths of Portraits, puts the Museum’s iconic Path of Portraits series in conversation with an exhibition entitled Carolina Faces: The Photography of Don Sturkey. Each portrait from Path of Portraits portrays a figure (or figures) from Charlotte's history who has been under-appreciated, under-studied, or otherwise overlooked. This exhibit augments the portraits with video interviews featuring the local artists behind the portraits and expanded biographies of each portrait subject.

The Carolina Faces series features dozens of portraits from Sturkey’s tenure as Chief Photographer at the Charlotte Observer between 1955 and 1989. Together, both portrait series capture some of the iconic visitors, ordinary faces, and important events from the history of the Queen City.



For more information about the Charlotte Museum of History, visit their website, https://charlottemuseum.org/.

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!

Check out the entire Stayed On Freedom series on YouTube HERE

Do you know about the Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium's “Stayed On Freedom” podcast? This series engages foot soldiers, leaders, scholars, and ‘extraordinary ordinary’ people who are “stayed on freedom," and remembering to remember how the history and continuing legacy of the Black freedom movement and Civil Rights Heritage Sites have transformed communities and changed the world!

Dear SEMC,

Thank you for sticking with me to the end! It’s been a whirlwind since SEMC2025, and I know this E-News is a lot. There is just so much good happening across our community, and I get a little carried away!

As we navigate today's challenges with pressures on our institutions and plenty of uncertainty, I have been thinking about what keeps us steady. I recently rewatched a short video first introduced to me during the SEMC Leadership Institute. Its simple message struck me again....we make a difference by doing what we can, where we are.

When the world feels complicated, it helps to remember that small actions still matter—supporting a colleague, welcoming a visitor, preserving a story, solving a problem, or just showing up with care. These everyday moments keep our museums and our communities going.

I hope this reminder gives you a little lift, too. As we head into the fun (and sometimes overwhelming) holiday season, please know how proud I am of this SEMC community and how much I believe in the work we are doing together.



Take care of yourselves, have a great weekend, and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Zinnia Willits, Executive Director

zwillits@semcdirect.net 

I Will Be a Hummingbird – Wangari Maathai