Museums Make New York: The State of Culture
MANY 2026 Annual Conference

May 7–9 2026
New York State Museum | Albany, NY

Bold. Civic. Proud. The MANY Annual Conference is the primary statewide gathering of museum leaders, cultural organizations, and public agencies across New York’s museum sector. A statewide call to recognize museums as essential civic infrastructure powering New York's identity, economy, and cultural vitality. Museums don't just belong to New York — they've made New York. They help define what the state stands for: curiosity, creativity, and excellence.

From world-renowned institutions to community preservation, every collection and museum professional contributes to shaping the civic and cultural identity of the country's most museum-rich state. An occasion to celebrate the power and responsibility of the museum field as an engine of New York's global influence, the 2 ½ day 2026 Museum Association of New York Conference in Albany will center museums as engines of social, economic, and cultural impact that:

• Uniquely advance education, creativity, equity, and environmental stewardship.
• Foster community representation and civic pride.
• Strengthen local economies and buttress the cultural economy.
• Contribute to New York's local and global identity.

The Museum Association of New York (ma-nee) MANY's conference programming reflects the full diversity of New York's museum landscape. We will convene in Albany to elevate the museum field's role in public policy, funding, education, and economic development. This includes large and small organizations, as well as historical, scientific, artistic, and community-based institutions, from remote "forever wild" communities to the urban heart of a global megacity, and the Great Lakes to the Long Island Sound.

In light of fundamental changes to the public funding landscape, and to capitalize on relationships with state and elected officials, the 2026 Conference will be held in Albany. Generously co-hosted by the New York State Museum on the Empire State Plaza, at the doorstep of the state government, Museums Make New York: The State of Culture will engage, advocate for, and celebrate the globally admired importance of museums in New York State—whether in terms of their critical role in education, the reverberating community impact, and/or the vital economic effect of cultural revenue. With the proud and unwavering support of the New York Attorney General's Office, this includes legally assured mission-critical commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Who Will be There?

For decades, the annual event has convened colleagues across disciplines, sizes, and regions, as well as creative partners, students, and community collaborators. MANY's full membership comprises 700+ museums with annual budgets ranging from <$10,000 to >$300 million, and staff sizes ranging from 1 to over 2,000. Collectively, MANY member institutions welcome more than 20 million visitors annually and contribute over $5 billion to local and global economies. From internationally recognized institutions to local community sites, we are united in commitment to public service and excellence in the arts, humanities, culture, history, and science. Museum professionals, board members, creative partners, students, industry peers, and community collaborators from across New York State are invited to participate.

Why Gather? Why New York State? Why Now?

Strong museums depend on strong professional communities. Museums do their most important work locally and in networks of expertise, but the strength of the field as independent public-serving organizations depends on relationships and knowledge sharing across institutions and across silos of scholarship. At a moment when cultural policy, funding structures, and public expectations are rapidly evolving, those connections matter more than ever.

New York is home to one of the most expansive and diverse museum ecosystems in the world—from internationally recognized institutions to small community heritage organizations. Together, these museums represent one of the deepest concentrations of curatorial, scholarly, and public humanities expertise anywhere in the world. Bringing museum leaders together across regions, disciplines, and institution types ensures that New York’s museums continue to learn from one another, collaborate across communities, and lead national conversations about the role of museums in civic life.

The 2026 program combines field-wide conversations, research presentations, and peer-led sessions. In 30 breakouts, more than 70 museum professionals, cultural leaders, and policy experts will share their expertise through plenary conversations, workshops, and presentations throughout the conference. Presenters represent museums, universities, cultural organizations, and public agencies from across every region of New York State.

Full schedules, session details, partner events, and additional resources will be available through the Museums Make New York conference app following registration (app to Launch April 2026).

Schedule 

Plenary Sessions

Plenary sessions will bring together leaders from across New York’s museum and cultural policy landscape for presentations to all conference attendees. Presentations are designed to provide shared context for the field, bringing together leaders in cultural policy, nonprofit governance, tourism, philanthropy, and community leadership. Together, these conversations frame the challenges and opportunities facing museums across New York State. Full details of the Plenary speakers will be shared in April.

Breakout Sessions

The conference program will include approximately 30 breakout sessions led by museum professionals and partners from across New York State. Topics currently planned include:

• Developing sustainable adult engagement programs
• Building long-term partnerships between museums and public schools
• Using performance and theater methodologies in museum education
• Integrating ASL interpretation and accessibility into museum tours
• Designing and sustaining exhibitions in challenging public and financial environments
• Historic preservation projects as catalysts for community engagement
• Podcasting and digital storytelling as tools for extending interpretation beyond museum walls
• Recognizing overlooked histories through historical markers and memorialization initiatives
• Interpreting museum collections as evidence of environmental and human change
• Sustainable marketing and communications strategies for museums with limited resources
• Fundraising and capital campaigns in a shifting funding landscape
• Internship partnerships that strengthen museum workforce pipelines
• Immigration narratives as central to the cultural history of New York
• First Amendment protections and advocacy tools for cultural organizations
• Hands-on nonprofit accounting workshop for museum administrators
• Labor organizing and unionization in the museum field
• Workforce resources for museums as employers and for museum employees, presented by the New York State Department of Labor.
• Deputy Attorney General Jim Sheehan of the New York State Attorney General’s Office Charities Bureau will discuss nonprofit governance, legal protections under New York law, and the responsibilities museums carry as independent institutions serving the public trust.
  
  

Museums & Partners Presenting

The MANY 2026 Conference brings together leaders from museums, historic sites, universities, cultural organizations, public agencies, and creative partners across New York State. By convening voices from across regions, disciplines, and organizational sizes, the conference highlights the collaborative network that makes up New York’s cultural infrastructure.

Colleagues from more than 60 organizations will lead sessions in the 2026 Museums Make New York: The State of Culture program. Presenters and participants represent museums, universities, schools, and public agencies from across New York State. (Additional organizations to be confirmed)

Albany Institute of History & Art • Antique Boat Museum • Arts Equity Group • Boscobel House and Gardens • Buffalo AKG Art Museum • Buffalo Institute of Contemporary Art • The Buffalo History Museum • City College of New York (CUNY) • Culture & Arts Policy Institute • Culture@3 • Discover Albany • D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area / Hudson River Valley Greenway • Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York • Empire State Development • Erie Canal Museum • Fenimore Art Museum • Fenimore Farm & Country Village • First Amendment Culture Team (F.A.C.T.) • Fulton County Historical Society • Hanford Mills Museum • Historic Cherry Hill • Historic House Trust of New York City • Ithaca Sciencenter • Lewis Latimer House Museum • Long Island Children’s Museum • Long Island Museum • Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester • Morris-Jumel Mansion • Museum at Bethel Woods • National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House • New York Council of Nonprofits • New York Folklore Society • New York Hall of Science • New York Library Association • New York State Board of Regents • New York State Broadcasters Association • New York State Council on the Arts • New York State Department of Labor • New York State Division of Tourism • New York State Museum • New York State Tourism Industry Association • NYS Alliance for Arts Education • NYS Arts • Onondaga Historical Association • Preservation League of NYS • Public Employees Federation • Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation • Richardson Olmsted Campus • Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation • Rufus King Manor Museum • Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, SUNY New Paltz • Saranac Laboratory Museum • Seward House Museum • Syracuse University Museum Studies Program • Three Village Historical Society • University at Buffalo Art Galleries

Local Museums, Capital Region

Conference attendees are warmly welcomed to explore museums and cultural sites in and around Albany.

New York State Museum • Albany Institute of History & Art • New York State Capitol • Empire State Plaza Art Collection • The Egg • Sanctuary for Independent Media • Arts Center of the Capital Region • Hart Cluett Museum • Irish American Heritage Museum • Underground Railroad Education Center • Ten Broeck Mansion • USS Slater • Schuyler Mansion State Historic Site • Albany Center Gallery • University at Albany Art Museum • Historic Cherry Hill • Shaker Heritage Society • Albany Pine Bush Preserve • Albany Firefighters Museum • Opalka Gallery

Gathering the Field

Alongside formal sessions, the conference offers opportunities for conversation and connection with colleagues across New York’s museum community. These moments—both structured and informal—create space for relationships, collaboration, and shared learning across institutions.

Events include:

• A welcome reception at the Corning Tower Observation Deck overlooking Albany and the Hudson Valley ($75)
• The Night at the Museum and MANY Awards celebration
• The MANY Annual Members Meeting
• Meet-ups and informal gatherings throughout the conference
• Opportunities to explore museums and cultural sites across Albany and the Capital Region