Latest News
Congratulations to the Recognized Museums
Attaining Designations for 2025 and 2026
We are pleased to announce eleven institutions have recently
attained their designation in the Recognized Museum Program.
The AMA congratulates the Millet and District Museum and Archives on
attaining the Recognized Museum Leader designation for 2025 - 2033,
and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum,
the Brooks & District Museum, and the Philip J. Currie
Dinosaur Museum on attaining the Recognized Museum Leader
Designation for 2026 - 2034. As Recognized Museum Leaders, these
museums have demonstrated a long-term commitment to taking best
practice standards to the next level.
The AMA would also like to congratulate the following
institutions that have attained the Recognized Museum designation
for 2026 - 2031:
These institutions join more than 100 Recognized Museums across
the province that are meeting, maintaining, and modelling best
practice standards as leading contributors to the social, cultural,
and educational fabric of Alberta. Check out the Visit Alberta
Museums section to explore this vibrant community of Recognized
Museums across the province.
Visit Alberta Museums
Conference 2026 - The
Adaptable Museum: Embracing Creative Stewardship for a Sustainable
Future
The Canadian Museums Association (CMA) recently announced that
they have decided to step back from co-hosting the 2026 National
Conference. Read their release
here. The Alberta Museums Association (AMA) will move forward
with hosting a Conference as planned with the theme developed in
collaboration with the CMA, The Adaptable Museum: Embracing
Creative Stewardship for a Sustainable Future.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the
AMA, founded in 1971, and we wish to celebrate this milestone event
with AMA members, partners, and collaborators.
The Adaptable Museum
Conference
We are now seeking session proposals, details below.
Conference 2026 Call for
Proposals
2026 CMS Course Schedule
The 2026 Certificate in Museum Studies (CMS) Course Schedule is
now available. If you are looking to plan out learning
opportunities for the year, check out the full listing linked
below.
2026 CMS Course Schedule
Call for Grants Jurors
The Alberta Museums Association (AMA) is currently seeking
Individual Members to serve as Grants Jurors for multi-year terms
of two and three years for Institutional
Grants.
The deadline to apply is January 30, 2026. See details
below.
Call for Grants Jurors
Our 2025 Award
Recipients
The
Alberta Museums Association is pleased to announce the recipients
of the 2025 Leadership Awards and Robert R. Janes Award for Social
Responsibility. The AMA Awards Program recognizes
leadership, exceptional work, and innovative thinking contributing
to the social, cultural, and educational fabric of Alberta. The
Awards Program is grounded in the belief that excellence,
innovation, and creativity form the foundation of outstanding
museums.
2025 Leadership Award - Education: Lac La Biche
Museum
2025 Leadership Award - Engagement: National Music
Centre
2025 Robert R. Janes Award for Social Responsibility:
Millet and District Museum and
Archives
AMA
Awards Program
Grants Program Changes
In the 2024 - 2025 fiscal year, the Alberta Museums Association
(AMA) conducted a review of the Grants Program to help us better
meet the needs of our members. We hired a consultant to provide
independent feedback and recommendations on how to improve the
program. We held direct consultations with Individual and
Institutional Members, collected feedback from a broad AMA
membership survey, and researched best practices and emerging
trends in grant programs offered Canada-wide. We looked at where
the program had succeeded, and the challenges and needs of AMA
Members. Our goal was to update the AMA Grants Program to support
continuous and sustainable funding that is diversified and reliable
to meet the needs of our members.
The AMA is pleased to announce the launch of the revised Grants
Program, and the creation of the new Knowledge Development Bursary
Program in the 2025 - 2026 granting year.
To read more about the revised grants and bursary programs, click
the button below.
AMA Grants and Bursary Programs
AMA's Advocacy Policy
In spring 2025, the AMA Board of Directors approved the External
Advocacy Policy for the Association. This policy serves as a guide
for how the AMA will manage advocacy that addresses community or
social issues beyond the direct needs of the AMA and our
members.
The AMA is committed to being adaptable, responsive, and
innovative in an environment of constant change, and this
necessitates that the Association is responsive to issues affecting
the museum sector and the broader community. As part of its
commitment to organizational adaptability, the AMA is working to
implement best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion;
accessibility; environmental sustainability; and
reconciliation.
This policy outlines the AMA's commitment to non-partisan dialogue
that addresses issues in a collaborative way, and our ability to
act as support for affected communities in their advocacy work
around social issues impacting the museum sector.
AMA's External Advocacy
Policy
