Storytelling & Belonging: Preservation through Education Programs

ID: WMA2026_623

Track:

Discover how The Neon Museum is reimagining preservation through community-centered collecting that allows our interpretation and programming to be deeply grounded in memory recall and storytelling. Drawing on program findings, this session highlights a Creative Aging memoir-writing initiative and portable oral history model that support mental and physical wellbeing. Learn how your collection can spark memories and expand storytelling pathways to reduce barriers, elevate underrepresented voices, culminating in practical strategies to foster community knowledge and belonging, while building more inclusive collections.

Session Information

Format: Regular session/panel (roundtable, single speaker, etc.)

Uniqueness: By combining Creative Aging with active, community-driven collecting, this approach transforms archives into living systems, capturing everyday histories through accessible, multimodal storytelling methods.

Objectives:

1. Using collections to spark memory and storytelling. Participants will learn how objects and archives can be used as prompts to elicit personal narratives, supporting memory recall, interpretation, and enriching visitor engagement.  
2. Designing accessible storytelling programs. Attendees will explore how to develop programs that teach storytelling skills to the public, particularly through creative aging frameworks, using adaptable, low-resource models that reduce barriers to participation.  
3. Collecting and integrating community narratives. Participants will gain tools for gathering stories through written and oral formats, and strategies for incorporating these narratives into interpretation, exhibitions, and collections to build more inclusive, representative institutional practices.   Outcome: Attendees gain a replicable model for building storytelling programs and adaptive oral history methods regardless of museum size or resources.

Engagement: Participants will engage through a brief facilitated brainstorming activity, small-group discussion, and open Q&A. Attendees will apply concepts to their own institutional contexts, generating practical ideas for implementation. Strategies include guided prompts, peer exchange, and optional sharing. Resources needed are minimal: paper or digital note-taking tools, a projector for presentation slides

Relationship to Theme:

Audience

Audiences: Curators/Scientists/Historians Other Registrars, Collections Managers 

Professional Level: All levels 

Scalability: This session offers flexible strategies adaptable to institutions of all sizes and types. Participants will learn scalable storytelling and collecting methods that can be implemented using existing staff, spaces, and resources.

Participants