At a time when uncertainty and fear are felt on a personal, communal, and global scale, museums have the potential to provide reliable spaces of resilience, critical dialogue, and transformative action. Join MESC on May 19, 2025 as we explore how museum educators can adapt to a changing landscape, take action, and inspire communities to do the same. We will come together to share ideas around the accountability of museum education and educators in the current time, and explore how we can support each other in adapting to an unpredictable future, and organize as a field to take meaningful action.     

Come together with fellow educators in this unique one-day event where MESC highlights innovators in the field of museum education and provides a community for educators to share ideas and connect.

Through keynotes, breakout sessions, and poster presentations, we’ll examine the evolving responsibilities of museum educators, share strategies for adapting to change, and build networks of support to sustain impactful work

Admission includes breakfast, lunch, and access to keynotes, breakout rooms, poster sessions, and museum exhibits.

We can’t wait to see you at the 2025 Annual Institute! 

PRICING

Early Bird Member $50 (Regular $75) Early Bird Non-Member $100 (Regular $125)

Early Bird Pricing Ends April 18th

Are you interested in enhancing your skills in engaging people with memory loss and their loved ones in museum galleries and beyond? Join us April 28th at 11 AM (PST) for an insightful virtual conversation with Francesca Rosenberg, Director, Access Programs and Initiatives at MoMA, as they explore innovative programs offered in museums nationwide and share practical tips and tools for making your museum more inclusive and welcoming to all.

Francesca Rosenberg, Director, Access Programs and Initiatives

In her 30 years with the Museum of Modern Art, Francesca and her team have won national and international respect for MoMA’s efforts to make the Museum accessible to all.  Most recently, MoMA received awards from the Alzheimer’s Association, the American Association of Museums, Museums and the Web, Ashoka’s Zero Project for social impact and scalability, and the Hearing Loss Association of America. Francesca is a founding member of the Museum, Arts, and Culture Access Consortium (MAC). She is a former Board member of Studio in a School and DOROT and serves on the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center advisory council. Francesca has contributed to countless scholarly publications and co-authored Meet Me: Making Art Accessible to People with Dementia and Making Art Accessible to Blind and Visually Impaired Individuals.

This program will be recorded and shared with registrants 1-2 weeks after. 

REGISTER HERE

Join us on Thursday, Feb 27, at 3 PM for our second iteration of BIPOC Space for Museum Educators! ✨ This BIPOC space session is open to members and non-members! This session will provide the opportunity to gather in a supportive and inclusive space, connect, share experiences, and uplift one another. This session will focus on maintaining forward momentum and holding space to gather, process, heal, feel, and encourage one another as we journey forward.

This is a Virtual Event.

Register Here.

MESC Features | La Plaza de Cultura y Artes PST ART Community Hub

Date: Saturday, Oct 12
Time: 10 AM - 12 PM
Tickets: Members $10, Non-Members $20 REGISTER HERE

Location: La Plaza De Cultura Y Artes 501 N Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Join us at LA Plaza's PST ART Community Hub for a behind-the-scenes tour, conversation, and a culinary workshop with the Garden School Foundation.

REGISTER HERE

Visit the Event Page for the most up to date information

CENTERING DIVERSE VOICES, SHAPING EQUITY

MONDAY, JUNE 17TH 9AM-3PM

The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Come together with fellow educators in this unique one-day event where MESC highlights outstanding people in the field of museum education and provides a community for educators. Hear keynotes and join breakout rooms centered around diverse voices and shaping equity within the field of museum education.

Admission includes breakfast, lunch, and access to keynotes, breakout rooms, and museum exhibits.

You don’t want to miss all that the 2024 Annual Institute has in store!

Program Itinerary

9 AM: Doors Open

9 AM - 10 AM: Breakfast & Networking

10 AM - 10:30 AM: Land Acknowledgement & Welcome

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM: Keynote Panel

11:35 AM - 11:45 AM: Bio Break

11:45 AM - 12:15 PM: Keynote Debrief Sessions

12:30 PM - 2 PM: Lunch, Activities & Open Galleries

2 PM - 3 PM: Breakout Sessions

3 PM - 3:15 PM: Goodbye

3:30 PM: Open Galleries

4 PM: Happy Hour

Keynote Speakers

Join Chelo Montoya (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and Helen Alonzo Hurtado (Las Fotos Project) as they reflect on the equity and advocacy work they’ve done in museum education and arts nonprofits. They will discuss internal initiatives addressing equity for staff, external goals in creating welcoming spaces for visitors, and the pivotal role of centering diverse voices in nurturing an inclusive field.

Resident Artist - Activity Lead

Queer Latinx interdisciplinary artist and educator Danila Cervantes is based in Los Angeles, CA. They grew up on the border bouncing between Calexico and Mexicali in Baja California, Mexico. Its vast desert and mixed cultural landscape have always inspired their artwork. Personal myths and Mexican folk tales spark colorful imagery that they translate into illustrations and animations of tender creatures adapting to natures cycles of life, death, and rebirth. They graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design where they studied film and animation. Their creative background and experience in visual arts inform their approach to education, fostering curiosity and love for creativity. With a deep belief in the power of art to heal and transform, they strive to create meaningful experiences that empower individuals to explore their artistic potential and embrace joy through self-expression. They work as a teaching artist with various nonprofit arts organizations across LA such as Barnsdall Junior Art Center, Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) and Craft Contemporary.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT! or APPLY TO VOLUNTEER!

JOIN! Take advantage of Early Bird Member Pricing and join or renew today!

ANNUAL SPONSOR Want to support MESC and be reach this diverse audience of Museum Educators? Considering becoming an Annual Sponsor

Visit the Event Page for the most up to date information

#MESC Morning Network

ENGAGING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN MUSEUMS

Featuring Dr. Veronica Alvarez

Monday, April 22, 2024 | 10:00 - 11:30 AM | Online

REGISTER HERE

Are you interested in acquiring or strengthening your skills in engaging English Language Learners in museum galleries and beyond? If so, join us as Dr. Veronica Alvarez shares tips & strategies for inclusive teaching!

Born in Michoacán, Mexico, Dr. Veronica Alvarez is an educator, historian, and arts advocate. Veronica has worked with students of all ages, teaching subjects such as Spanish, ancient Greek and Roman history, and inclusive pedagogy. Currently, she is the Wallis Annenberg Executive Director of Community Arts Partnership with a special appointment in the Critical Studies Department at CalArts. Prior to CalArts, she was in the museum field for over 20 years, working at the Getty and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Veronica has served as an education consultant for other entities such as the UCLA’s Fowler Museum and Chicano Studies Research Center, LMU's Family of Schools, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the LA County Office of Education, where she led arts integration and ELL professional development for teachers from 70 school districts. Veronica has served in the US Department of State as an English Specialist in Serbia and the State Department of Cultural Affairs in Chiapas, Mexico. Veronica received her doctorate from LMU’s Educational Leadership for Social Justice Program. Her dissertation focused on the use of art for English acquisition.

Not a Member? To Become a Member Register Here.

Visit our MESC Shop for exclusive SWAG and supplies before this event!

Attendance of a MESC event is consent to photography/recording and its release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction.

#MESCommunity events are for MESC Members Only. To become a member register here.

Where: Virtual REGISTER HERE!

When: December 12th, 12-1pm

Cost: Free for Members

Join us for a virtual book club on December 12th at 12pm. This month’s books are Your Brain on Art by Susan Magasmen and The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel.

MESCommunity’s Book Club is first and foremost a chance to socialize with other members around our love of art - so, don’t worry if you haven’t finished the books!

Visit our MESC Shop for exclusive SWAG and supplies before this event!

When: Thursday, November 30, 2023, 5 – 7 pm

Where: Craft Contemporary, 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036

Cost: $10 Member | $20 Non-Member REGISTER HERE!

Not a Member? To Become a Member Register Here.

Join Billie Rae Vinson, Director of School and Family Programs at Craft Contemporary, for a mock school tour including gallery activities and a crafting experience in our workshop. Participants will explore the ways that artists Carolyn Castaño and Linda Sibio use their art to speak out about social and environmental issues that are important to them. In the workshop, we’ll create appliqued protest banners, discuss teaching strategies, and share ideas about how to engage students with museum exhibitions and works on view.

The ticket price includes museum entry and light refreshments. 

Check out Craft Contemporary’s Visit page for information on parking and accessibility. Head to the School Programs page to learn more about school visits at the museum

Visit our MESC Shop for exclusive SWAG and supplies before this event!

Join The Museum of Contemporary Art, The California Art Education Association, and The Museum Educators of Southern California for an Open House on October 12th from 4:30-6:30pm at MOCA Grand.

Enter into community with teachers and educators from across SoCal! Learn more about Prop 28, network with museum reps from all over the LA area, explore the galleries, and win prizes. Enjoy free parking and 20% off at the MOCA Store while you’re there!
 

This program is FREE, but RSVP is required.

If you are interested in representing your institution by tabling at this event, please reach out to akoehler@mesconline.org. Spots are limited!

Are you looking to fill your calendar with fun and engaging events for the Fall? Or do you have a fun and engaging event you would like to share with fellow MESC members? Join us Monday, October 2 from 12:30-1:30pm as we connect and share over zoom. Bring your lunch and your programs! 

Link to Register for Members Coming Soon!

If you have an event you would like to share at this lunchtime show and tell, don’t forget key information to share with us all: date, time, location, & website (if applicable).

2023 Annual Institute

SUSTAINING EDUCATORS IN AN EVOLVING MUSEUM SPACE

Join us at the 2023 MESC Annual Institute as we explore ways to address this lack of institutional support and ways of building more empathy and compassion within the workplace.

Educators have pivoted in the face of the pandemic and social justice issues to offer more inclusive and equitable programming, yet many museum educators continue to feel burnt out and unsupported by their institutions.

JUNE 5, 2023
@ USC PACIFIC ASIA MUSEUM

TICKETS: https://museumeducatorsofsoutherncalifornia38.wildapricot.org/event-5185243

Join MESC in highlighting the innovative work of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes as they discuss their unique volunteer docent program, Les Navegantes. This in-person event will feature a conversation with Alondra Virrey, Public Engagement Manager, as well as time for docent and volunteer managers to network while sharing the challenges and successes of their own institutions. Tour of LA Plaza and optional happy hour near historic Olvera Street to follow!

April 14, 2023
1:30-3:30pm
Free for MESC members
$20 for non-members
Register here

#MESCFeatures: Playing with Pay

February 3rd, 2023 | 3pm-4:20pm PST

Zoom

$10 Members | $20 Non-Members

Register here

#MESCFeatures: Playing with Pay is a session that will cover topics regarding limiting beliefs, and the urgency of pay transparency. In this workshop, facilitated by Onyx Montes, attendees will use practical examples to become familiarized with strategies to negotiate and become better advocates for themselves. Participants will become better acquainted with resources to learn about a healthy relationship with money including pay transparency. Join us for this relevant and personalized workshop, ending with a Q&A in which participants can bring their specific examples to the learning community.

Onyx Montes is a museum worker, social media manager, and pay transparency advocate based in Chicago. Onyx moved by herself to the U.S. from Mexico, at the age of 17 and studied art history at the University of Washington in Seattle. She's the first person in her family to graduate from college. She has a Masters degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago's Museum and Exhibition Studies program, and is part of the inaugural Arts & Culture Leaders of Color Fellowship of Americans For The Arts and part of the 2022 NALAC Leadership Institute.

Onyx has worked as a museum educator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago. She has taught art history workshops for incarcerated women at two penitentiaries in Mexico. She recently collaborated with the nonprofit GirlForward, teaching workshops on women in art history and creative expression through zine-making. Onyx was also a video co-producer for the 2021 Frida Kahlo: Timeless exhibition at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art. In 2021 Onyx launched a state-wide collaboration with public libraries in the state of Illinois giving pay transparency and negotiation workshops.

Community Check-Ins
November 29 | 3:00PM–4:15PM PT
Online (Zoom)
Cost: FREE, register here!
To register, please input the email you use to log into the membership database.

Build your community of practice and connect with like-minded folks who are eager to build coalitions and strategize together. Exclusive for MESC members, this community check-in, discussion-based program will allow for intimate breakout discussions for a variety of professional affiliations. 

Tap into your MESC network to crowdsource resources, share opportunities, generate questions, suggest answers, and build community. 

Are you a K-12 programmer who is curious about how others are conducting field trips in this stage of the pandemic? Are you a Part-Time Educator eager to connect with others? Do you design Public Programs or manage Docent Programs and would like to build best practices with colleagues? We will create space for discussions centering around these topics:

• K-12 and Youth/ Family Programming

• Public Programs

• Docent Management

• Teen Programmers

• Part-Time and/or Emerging Educators

You'll let us know which group you'd like to join on the RSVP form. 

This program is FREE, but is only available for current MESC members. Become a member here!

Register here

Cost: FREE!

Join MESC, The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and The California Arts Educators Association (CAEA) for Fall for Teachers: Teacher Open House, a chance for K-12 teachers to enter into community and conversation with educators from across Southern California. Free MOCA tours, gallery explorations of The Geffen Contemporary, snacks, conversational meeting spaces, and free parking! Museum educators are invited to bring information regarding their institutions’ education programs to share with interested teachers starting at 2:30pm. Keep the community-building going in Little Tokyo for a no-host happy hour after the event. 

Send any questions to info@mesconline.org by October 14.

Location: Zoom

Register here

Cost: FREE!

Join us for the first virtual Museum Studies Program Fair focused on museum-related undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs in the Southern California region. 

The Museum Educators of Southern California and the Vincent Price Art Museum collaborated to present Museum Studies Program Fair with virtual sessions, including: academic program informational sessions, a panel discussion with local museum professionals, and personal statement writing workshop. Learn about museum-related college and university programs, such as: East Los Angeles College Museum Studies Certificate Program, University of Santa Barbara Museum Studies Program, UCLA Visual and Performing Arts Education Program, USC Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere Masters Program, and more. Prospective and current college students are invited to join one or all sessions.

This event is made possible with the generous support of the Museum Educators of Southern California, the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College, the Vincent Price Art Museum Foundation, and the Bank of America Foundation. 

Live video captions will be available. Please email info@mesconline.org with additional accommodation requests no later than Tuesday, October 4th. For more information about this event, please visit: mesconline.org.

Location: In Person, Behind the Resnick Gallery at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

Register Here

Cost: Free for MESC members | $20 non-members

Join us for a morning of networking and art exploration at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Hear from LACMA’s Director of Youth and Family Programs, Rebecca Horta, as she discusses her career journey. Then connect with colleagues in an intimate outdoor setting. Stay afterward to enjoy the museum! 

This program includes refreshments, free admission to LACMA, and free parking at the Pritzker Parking Garage! Limited capacity. Click here for more information about visiting LACMA, including directions and current COVID policies. 

Rebecca Horta

In April 2022, Rebecca Horta joined LACMA as the Director of Youth & Family Programs. As a former Getty Marrow intern, her passion lies in accessibility and inclusion, career mentorship, and supporting women of color in the arts. Most recently she was an Arts Manager with the City of Los Angeles and held positions at the Ontario Museum of History & Art and the Museum of Latin American Art, where she oversaw programming for all ages, school tours and workshops,  and the development of community festivals. Rebecca received her MA in Museum Studies from John F. Kennedy University and a BA in Art History from Occidental College.

#MESCommunity (Members Only)
Explore Crossroads at the USC Pacific Asia Museum

August 12  |  10:00AM – 11:30AM PT
In person
USC Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles Ave.,
Pasadena, CA 91101
Cost: FREE, Register Here (to register, please input the email you use to log into the membership database)

Join USC Pacific Asia Museum's Education and Engagement Manager, Valentina Quezada, for an intimate look at the museum’s interactive gallery about the Silk Road. Together with museum curator, Rebecca Hall, PhD., she will discuss the interdepartmental collaboration involved in bringing the project to life. Enjoy light refreshments and free admission to the museum!

This program is FREE, but is only available for current MESC members. Space is limited to 20 participants. Free parking available.

After the Annual Institute, we invite you to unwind and reflect on the day’s programs with us at our poast-AI Sip and Share!

The Pub @ Golden Road

5410 W San Fernando Rd.

Los Angeles, CA 90039

All are welcome!

EMBRACING OUR POWER: PROPELLING THE FUTURE OF MUSEUM EDUCATION

How do we use the revelations from the past few years to propel us into the new frontier of museum education? How do we transform, dismantle, and change the system to not only support educators today but also the next generation? How do we embrace our power and advocate for ourselves at our institutions by using our recent impact as leverage? How do we do this while facing burnout? In this Annual Institute, we will discuss and explore ways to move forward as a community to continue transforming our institutions, creative spaces, and the field at large.

Museums and libraries have long held the overlapping goal to collect and preserve stories, histories, and knowledge for the purpose of sharing them with their communities. Join the Los Angeles Public Library and the Museum Educators of Southern California for a moderated discussion between a panel of museum educators and librarians on how their organizations have worked together to create programming and opportunities for their visitors, and what the future of collaboration might look like.

FREE, Register Here

Have you applied to countless museum jobs but can never land an interview? Learn how to improve your skills from managers in the field of museum education.

What makes some candidates stand out from a crowd of applications? Join MESC and a panel of Museum Educators who make hiring decisions as they share insights on what they look for in candidates. Find out what mistakes to avoid and how to navigate the field to finally land that dream museum job! In addition, MESC members will have the opportunity to schedule a one-on-one coaching session for a later date with a MESC board member to help design their path forward.

Register here.

Unsure about your MESC membership status? Email mescbiz@gmail.com. Not yet a member or need to renew your membership? Join/Renew MESC today and receive a year of no/low cost professional development for $35.

Sign up here.

For the past year and a half, MESC has hosted the series, The Future of K-12 Field Trips (2020-2021), programs that brought together museum educators and K-12 administrators to discuss concerns and brainstorm strategies for how museums can best serve K-12 audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we move through the new school year, MESC invites the community to continue the conversation and share strategies, resources, or questions that museum educators are carrying with them as they reimagine their school programs. Join MESC for the third iteration of this conversation designed as an educator-led, participatory discussion. Participants will be divided into breakout groups for specific topic discussion in order to build a shared collection of resources. Captioning available upon request. If you would like captioning, please email mescbiz@gmail.com by October 18th.

 
Send any questions or topics of interest you wish to discuss during the event to mescbiz@gmail.com by Monday, October 25.

This event is FREE

Register here

Muse Series: Inspiring, Re-Imagining + Actualizing Exhibitions for Museum Exhibit Developers

September sessions: bringing politics & activism into exhibitions

SESSION 2 : Awareness Isn't Enough: Bringing Activism into Exhibitions in Meaningful Ways

• WHEN : Wednesday, September 29, 2021, 1 - 2 pm (recording available to ticket holders)

• ABOUT : Building upon Session 1, this session will explore how exhibitions incorporate calls to action into their exhibition narratives and consider the efficacy of these endeavors.

About Muse Series: An online educational series to help you up your exhibits game, spark some inspiration, and challenge you to reimagine your future exhibitions in light of the past year. Each session is designed to be a combination of inspiration and application, leaving attendees motivated and confident in incorporating session topics into their exhibition practice.

​Each online session will last 1 hour. Attendees are encouraged to participate during the live session, although session recordings will be available to ticket holders.

About the creator and host: Emma Thorne-Christy is an exhibition designer and community organizer based in Los Angeles, California. She works with museums, libraries, and cultural centers to design imaginative learning environments that challenge and inspire visitors. While working towards her M.F.A. in Museum Exhibition Design, her research focused on the intersection of museum exhibitions and community organizing. She is one of the brains behind Free the Museum Project, an initiative to activate the “museum experience” in the world around us. Her article for Museum Next in May of 2020, "In Defense of the Physical Exhibition: A plea not to 'move' exhibitions online," went viral in the wake of the closing of museums throughout the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to sign up or for more info.