Funded in part by a grant from Legacy Foundation, Lake County’s community foundation.

Speaker Sponsors

Karen Brozyinski

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The Calumet Heritage Conference returns to an in-person event!

Join us at the Field Museum as we celebrate the Calumet Voices, National Stories exhibit, and explore this year’s theme: Showcasing Calumet Communities: Collaborative Directions for Museums and Heritage Areas.

The exhibit displays the objects and specimens of 15 regional museums and historical societies who collaborated to tell the nationally significant story of the Calumet Heritage Area. Heritage Areas excel at coordinating local efforts to tell and connect these place-based stories for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. The Calumet Heritage Area is now underway. What other stories in the Calumet region should be told? How else can people be brought into the conversation? How can we ensure that local voices and visions are built into plans for regional resilience? How can we make the most of this opportunity to bring together the power of museums and heritage areas?

Lisa Lee, Executive Director of the National Public Housing Museum, provides inspiration and framing for these questions in her keynote talk. Panels will discuss issues such as endangered historic sites, new approaches to preserving and reusing buildings, and expanded opportunities for museums to engage their local communities and new publics around discussions of cultural heritage, natural resources, and environmental and social justice. 
 
The conference also includes a tour of the Calumet Voices/National Stories and Restoring Earth exhibits.
 
When: October 7, 2023 | 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. 
Where: The Field Museum | 1400 S DuSable Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL Admission: $50 per person | $30 per student 
If you’re a student who would like to apply to receive complimentary admission, please fill out the form below.
Parking: Parking and transportation is not included with your ticket. For more information visit the Field Museum website.

Stay tuned for more details, including a rough itinerary of the day, and this year’s speakers and panelists.

More information: This program is a joint effort by the Calumet Heritage Area, Calumet Heritage Partnership, The Field Museum, and the Calumet Voices/National Stories exhibit. The Calumet Voices, National Stories exhibition is proud to support this important program to shine a national spotlight on museum practice and architectural innovation in the Calumet region. The exhibition showcases the region’s natural, industrial, and cultural heritage thorough partnerships with 15 local Calumet museums and history centers. Visit Calumet Voices, National Stories at the Field Museum through December 2, 2023. 

Use the form below to make your lunch selections for this year’s Calumet Heritage Conference. Each meal comes with a side of creamy potato salad, fresh fruit salad, and a dessert bar.

24th Calumet Heritage Conference

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