Open Forum

As many of us prepare to step away from the office for some much needed time off to reflect and recharge after a tumultuous year, I want to remind you that Exhibition's call for papers will be open through January 7, 2026.

This issue, we are looking for exhibition projects that help "Cut Through the Noise" of our present moment. Topics for this call could include:

• The design of intentional spaces that foster specific visitor outcomes, such as reflection or a call to action, or that encourage visitors to process challenging content
• How to interpret and present hot-button or potentially divisive content in ways that cut through polarizing points of view to reveal facts and nuance
• How to encourage productive dialogue or empathy
• Exhibitions that have explicitly engaged with the current media landscape in thought-provoking and informative ways
• Exhibitions as places of reprieve, connection, or even joy, and, conversely, exhibitions as sites of debate and questioning
• Lessons learned from times when exhibitions themselves have become the focus of online noise-and differentiating between noise and meaningful critique
• Exhibitions as resistance to groupthink, polarization, and division
• Rest (both intellectual and physical) as an intentional interpretive and design strategy
• Low-tech interactive solutions that engage without relying on screens.

Published by American Alliance of Museums, Exhibition is the journal of exhibition theory and practice for museum professionals. Visit our website to read the full call and to get helpful hints on how to submit a winning proposal. Our review panel looks forward to hearing from you!