SEMC Comes to Winston-Salem
This fall, Winston-Salem will welcome the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) 75th Annual Meeting, bringing more than 600 museum professionals to town. SEMC is an organization that fosters networking, professional development, educational opportunities, communication, and diversity for museums across our region. The Lam Museum staff has a long history of involvement with SEMC, attending conferences and other professional development opportunities, presenting sessions highlighting our work at Wake Forest, and serving on committees. We are excited to be even more involved this year with the meeting in our hometown.
Museum Educator Tina Smith is serving as the Local Arrangements Chair for the annual meeting. She has worked tirelessly for more than a year to bring together all of the organizations, individuals, and materials that will make the meeting a success. In addition to those duties, Tina will also present at the meeting in the session “Educator’s Talk: Insights for Museum Educator,” alongside other museum educators from across the southeast. The panel will discuss challenges, priorities, and effective strategies for collaborations between teaching partners and museums, offering insight into how museum-based programs can better align with educational needs.
Academic Director Dr. Andrew Gurstelle will present in two sessions. In “Reactivating Permanent Collections and Expanding Audiences,” he will partner with WFU colleagues at Reynolda House, University Art Galleries & Collections, and Special Collections and Archives, who will each discuss how new strategies and perspectives can turn permanent collections into tools for inclusion and audience expansion. Andrew will specifically discuss how the Lam Museum is inviting cultural connection and exploration by sharing its collection with residents of senior living communities. He will also present in the session “Research in Focus: Object Studies Across the Southeast,” highlighting his project with a student researching a figure from the Democratic Republic of the Congo known as nkisi nkondi.
Assistant Director Sara Cromwell and Collections Manager Stormy Harrell will both volunteer at the meeting, helping to stuff tote bags that attendees will receive on arrival and staffing the registration desk.
Having SEMC2026 in Winston-Salem also provides the opportunity for other museum professionals to visit the Lam. The Museum will be featured on a special Wake Forest University walking tour. Attendees will also visit Hanes Art Gallery, Hearn Plaza, and Wait Chapel.
“At SEMC2026, we will celebrate where we have been while focusing on where we are going. We will gather for meaningful conversations, explore new ideas, experience incredible museums and cultural sites, reconnect with long-term colleagues, and welcome new voices into the SEMC community,” said Zinnia Willits, Executive Director of SEMC.