Call for conference papers: Regional Collections Histories on Display

 

 

Hosted by Exhibition Research Lab, Liverpool John Moores University (map) in collaboration with the University of Birmingham

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Conference date: 11 September 2026

Submission deadline: 20 May 2026

Notification of acceptance: 1 June 2026

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Overview

We invite abstracts for a one-day conference exploring how regional museums, galleries, and archives are researching, interpreting, and publicly presenting their institutional and collections histories. The event brings practitioners together to share how physical and digital initiatives launched since 2021 are reshaping public understandings of regional collections, and how this work corresponds with institutional priorities, community needs, and evolving expectations around accountability, inclusion, and public engagement.

Convened by Dr Sophie Hatchwell (University of Birmingham) and Dr Hana Leaper (Liverpool John Moores University), this conference builds on our shared programme of research into post-war art collections, regional research networks, and the public histories of museums and exhibitions. Our longstanding collaborative work includes co-convening the Post-War Painting in Regional Collections research group, and co-authoring Post-1945 Art Collections and Regional Research Networks: Collaborative Art History (Routledge, 2026). These outputs have helped shape the questions and conversations this event seeks to open out more widely, of how best to disseminate research about museum, archive, and collection histories in ways that reflect the priorities of institutions and the diverse publics they serve.

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Aims and Rationale

Regional collections have increasingly sought to make their institutional histories visible through exhibitions, displays, digital platforms, participatory programmes, and new interpretive models. These initiatives raise important questions about audiences, institutional priorities, obstacles, and the methods that shape this work. The conference provides a forum for sharing current practice, evaluating successes and challenges, and considering how research into collections histories can be made more publicly meaningful.

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Themes

– Methods for researching collections histories
– Curation and research in the civic museum: funding, labour, and collaboration
– Methods for curating collections histories
– Exhibiting collections histories: evaluating practice, obstacles, limits, and lessons learned
– Community engagement and co‑production in the civic museum
– Managing civic collections: institutional priorities and policy change
– Regional collections, post‑war histories, their audiences and publics

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Presentation Formats

– 15-20‑minute academic or practice‑based papers
– Pre‑constituted panels or roundtables
– Workshops or discussion‑led sessions

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Submission guidelines

To submit a paper, please email Dr Jonathan Hoskins (j.hoskins@ljmu.ac.uk) by 20 May 2026 with the following:

– Name, affiliation (if applicable), and contact details
– Title of your proposed paper / panel / workshop
– Abstract of up to 300 words
– Short biography of up to 100 words

Subject related queries can be sent to Dr Sophie Hatchwell (s.hatchwell@bham.ac.uk) or Dr Hana Leaper (h.m.leaper@ljmu.ac.uk)

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Image credit: Exhibition tour at The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, Midlands Art Papers 4 launch, 2019. Photograph courtesy of University of Birmingham.