Illustration by Carmen Segovia
Association of African American Museums’ 47th Annual Conference
Excursions included a visit to the College of Charleston’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture and a trip to nearby St. Helena Island, a cornerstone of Gullah Geechee culture and home of the Penn Center, the first school in the South for formerly enslaved Africans.
Born during the Black Arts Movement that flourished in the ’70s, the then-named African American Museums Association was the first to create a national network for professionals in African American museums and cultural institutions, holding its first gathering in Detroit in 1978.
Today, the annual conference of the Association of African American Museums (AAAM) has evolved to become “the leading national convening for the field, bringing together practitioners, scholars, and partners to strengthen both individual institutions and the broader cultural landscape,” said AAAM President and CEO Vedet Coleman-Robinson, Ph.D.
Last year’s gathering of 700-plus participants in Charleston, South Carolina, themed “Voices of Democracy: Commemorating the Voting Rights Act’s 60th Anniversary,” offered three days of educational programming, workshops, networking, an exhibition gallery, and local tours. Content explored a variety of topics, from funding and grant strategy workshops to conversations around interpretation and narrative authority. The through line for all of these experiences, said Coleman-Robinson, is to create “safe spaces for its members to recharge, engage with one another” and “share their experiences and exchange ideas that they can implement at their respective institutions.”
AAAM organizers are “very intentional” about the host cities they choose, and Charleston’s significant African American history provided a powerful backdrop. For instance, the International African American Museum, which tells the stories of the tens of thousands of enslaved Africans who arrived at Charleston’s Gadsden’s Wharf, served as the host institution for AAAM25, including the opening reception and other curated experiences.
“What stood out most was how the city itself became part of the narrative,” said Coleman-Robinson. “The experiences were not just events but opportunities to engage with history in place, and that is something AAAM strives to replicate in every host city.”
Date: July 23–25, 2025
Location: Embassy Suites by Hilton Charleston Airport Hotel & Convention Center, North Charleston, South Carolina
Attendees: 700+
Exhibitors included exhibit design firms, technology providers, conservation specialists, cultural consultants, academic institutions, and national organizations
On the Agenda: An evening reception at the Gibbes Museum of Art, whose collection of American Art spans 350 years, offered “an experience that highlighted the richness of Charleston’s cultural institutions,” according to AAAM’s Coleman-Robinson.
Jennifer N. Dienst is Convene‘s senior editor.
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