IMTAL was established in 1990. Since 1998, our conferences have recognized and supported the best in museum theatre innovation and practice. These meetings of museum and theatre professionals from around the world have advanced the field of museum theatre, helping to encourage growth of new programs as well as best practices and high quality work. Veteran practitioners, emerging professionals, academics and students come together to impel and inspire each other.
The pandemic has hit our industry particularly hard.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION RESULTS
Nora Quinn (above r) stays on the board in her new role as Treasurer, replacing the outgoing (and outgoing!) Mason Absher
Aaron Bonds (above c), of Children's Museum of Indianapolis, was elected as Outreach Officer.
Elizabeth Keaney (above l), of George Washington's Mount Vernon, returns to the board as an At-Large member. She previously served as Secretary.
Thank you, Todd!
It is traditional to present the out-going board President a token of appreciation at our annual gathering. The global pandemic interfered with our plans, but has not dimmed our respect and admiration for Todd D.Norris.
Todd shows off the award, which the board had delivered to his home. It was hidden by his housemate and revealed to Todd during - what else - a ZOOM meeting.
*POSTPONED TO 2022!*
UPDATE DEC 2021:
Our conference - originally scheduled for Oct, 2021 - was shifted due to
the continued Covid-19 situation. Now, the conference "Communicating
the Past" shall take place in Athens in partnership with Panteion
University between May 19 - May 23 (duration 3 days plus optional
excursion - exact schedule is being finalised). We hope to welcome you
there!
UPDATE JULY 2021:
As we face further uncertainty concerning travel - with continued restrictions between countries and the surge in cases of new variants of COVID emerging across the world, the organizing committee for the forthcoming Communication the Past (ComPast) Conference in Athens this October has taken the unanimous decision to postpone this event to sometime in late Spring/ early Summer of 2022.
The Committee did not take this decision lightly and feel that this is the best decision in view of the circumstances. We wish to acknowledge and thank everyone who has given their time to, submitted abstracts and shown interest in participating in this event. We hope that you will be able to join us again in 2022. Please look out for new conference dates which we will publish as soon as we are able to do so.
Thank you for bearing with us,
The Organizing Committee for ComPast
#Compast will bring together people who want to share and extend their knowledge of how live interpretation and museum theatre are used to interpret the past in museums and at heritage sites. The Conference is organized by IMTAL-Europe, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences/Dept. of Communication, Media and Culture & EXARC. It will last three full days (Fri-Sun), with an optional excursion day.
CONFERENCE 2020
IMTAL at 30: Pandemic, Protests, and Possibilities
73 of you took the time to join us on one or both days, and your enthusiasm and energy was evident across multiple time zones and zoom screens!
Thank you to Catherine Hughes for her powerful keynote, to Jo Clyne and IMTAL Asia-Pacific, to Angela Pfenninger and IMTAL Europe, to Paul Taylor and David Henry Wrigley and (This link open in new tab) T(This link open in new tab) esla’s Dream, to George Buss and Mason Absher and (This link open in new tab) The Bob Ross Experience, to those of you who stayed up late, and those who got up early, to our members and friends who listened, to those who spoke out and spoke up, and to those of you who shared your frustrations and your fears, your hopes, your dreams, your strengths, your stories, and your passions.
We didn’t solve all the world’s problems. We didn’t dismantle systemic racism. We didn’t put a dent in economic imbalances, we didn’t untangle the webs of social injustice, and we didn’t smash the patriarchy. But we did identify more of the tools we need to take on those jobs, we did find common ground, more members of our tribe, more souls dedicated to art and education and truth; and above all, we connected with, and were inspired by friends. Not too bad for a few hours, really.
ARTICLES ONLINE:
In addition to the PDF version (above), now you can also link to comment on, and share articles on social media via the ARTICLES ONLINE section. We encourage you to explore and interact with this new format: leave a comment, start a dialogue, and spread the word about museum theatre!
