Latest News
Call for AMA Board Nominations
Members are invited to submit names of candidates for the
Alberta Museums Association (AMA) Board of Directors for the 2026 -
2029 term.
The AMA Board is looking for individuals who have a shared belief
in the AMA's core values, knowledge of policy governance, and an
understanding of provincial government.
All nominees must review the following documents:
Board Director Duties & Responsibilities,
Policy Governance Overview, Board Governance Process Policies
6: Code of Conduct and
7: Conflict of Interest, and then complete and return the
Nominee Questionnaire and Board
Nomination Form.
All nominees must be Individual Voting Members of the AMA in good
standing. The AMA Board will prepare a slate of qualified
candidates from the nominations received and solicited. In the
event that there are more candidates than positions to be filled,
an election, by secret ballot, will be held at the AMA's Annual
General Meeting on September 24, 2026.
The AMA does not accept nominations from the floor at the
Annual General Meeting. The selection of candidates best
suited to lead the AMA requires thoughtful planning and attention
to skills and areas of expertise currently required by the Board,
and nominations from the floor do not give nominated candidates a
fair chance to have their names placed before the membership.
The deadline for nominations is Thursday, July 2,
2026.
For more information, please contact the AMA Board of Directors,
at board@museums.ab.ca.
Certificate in Museum Studies Program Application Closure for
2026 - 2027
Due to significant oversubscription in the Certificate in Museum
Studies (CMS) Program, the Alberta Museums Association is
closing new applications to the CMS Program for the 2026 -
2027 fiscal year. This closure will allow currently
enrolled participants better access to the CMS courses required to
complete their Certificate and graduate from the Program.
To read full details on this decision, visit the CMS Program FAQ
page linked below.
Temporary CMS Program Application
Closure
2026 Leadership Awards Nominations Now Open
If you or your museum have completed a project that
you are proud of, consider submitting a nomination for a
Leadership Award.
All submissions are to be made using the
Leadership Awards Nomination Form. A step-by-step guide
for preparing a nomination package can be found in the
Leadership Awards Nomination Booklet.
The Leadership Awards Nomination Deadline is April 16,
2026. Read about past Award recipients here.
Leadership Awards Nominations
Membership Advisory: Government of Alberta Budget
2026
On February 26, 2026, Finance Minister Nate Horner presented the
Government of Alberta's Budget 2026. We have published an advisory
that looks at the funding for our sector.
Government of Alberta Budget
2026
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
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