Call for Abstracts
Edited Book: Small Museums and Art Galleries in Canada
Editor: Matthew Ryan Smith, PhD

Drawing upon critical frameworks in contemporary museology, curatorial studies, critical pedagogy, participatory action research, and community engagement, this edited collection brings together a diverse and interdisciplinary group of contributors. The editor is particularly interested in addressing a broad—and at times conflicting—range of programming strategies, attitudes, philosophies, aesthetic approaches, and institutional histories related to the function, role, daily operations, and future trajectories of small museums and art galleries in Canada.

The editor seeks theoretically grounded chapters and case studies or critical stories that articulate theory through museological praxis. This approach is especially valuable for those working in small cultural institutions, whose continued existence depends on adaptable strategies and sustainable outcomes rooted in everyday realities.

Topics may include (but are not limited to):
- Radical deconstructions of local histories, archives, and collections
- Unsettling funding models, grant writing practices, and institutional competition
- Accessibility, community-centered programming, and inclusivity
- Decolonial initiatives, Indigenous consultation, and cultural protocols
- Utilizing volunteers and negotiating board governance
- De/accessioning policies and procedures
- IBPOC and 2SLGBTQI+ communities and advocacy
- Rural and reserve-based small museums and art galleries
- Online programming, social media, and digital engagement
- Cultivating audiences and mandated demographic targets
- Burnout, staff turnover, and mental health challenges
- Micromuseology, mini museums, and nomadic exhibitions
- Censorship, editorial control, and controversy
- Implementing policies from regulatory bodies (e.g., AAM, ICOM, ICMS)
- Critical aesthetics and curatorial design
- COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic recovery
- Climate change, carbon emissions, and environmental risk
- Activating small or esoteric collections
- Aging infrastructure, limited physical storage, and capital building projects
- Museological futurisms

Abstract deadline: January 1, 2026
Questions or queries: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For the full CFP, please visit: https://www.matthewryansmith.com/call-for-papers