Talca will bring together museum professionals from Chile and Latin America for the 17th Chilean Museum Conference

From October 5 to 7, ICOM Chile and ICOFOM LAC will host an event in the Maule Region that will address the main challenges facing contemporary museums, featuring lectures, thematic roundtables, regional case studies, and opportunities for reflection on the future of museology in Chile and the region.

For three days, the city of Talca will become a gathering place for professionals, researchers, museum staff, and organizations involved in heritage and culture, as it hosts the 17th Chilean Museum Conference, one of the longest-running events in the country’s museum sector.

The event will take place on October 5, 6, and 7, 2026, at the Autonomous University of Chile’s Talca campus, under the theme “Museums in Fragmented Territories: Practices, Debates, and Futures from Chile, Latin America, and the Caribbean.”

Organized by ICOM Chile, this edition will also have a special Latin American focus thanks to the joint hosting of the 34th ICOFOM LAC Conference, which will strengthen the exchange of ideas and experiences among professionals from Chile and other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Chilean Museum Conference has a long history dating back to 1977, when it was launched by Grete Mostny, a key figure in the development of national museology. In its 2026 edition, the conference invites participants to reflect on the role museums play in societies undergoing social, cultural, territorial, and technological transformations, with a special focus on the responses that institutions and communities are developing based on the diverse realities of the country and the region.

The program includes keynote lectures, panel discussions, professional dialogues, opportunities for exchange, and regional activities, addressing topics such as contemporary Chilean museology; communications, audiences, and digital environments; education and outreach; conservation and restoration; social museology; and initiatives developed at the local level.

The opening ceremony will feature representatives from ICOM Chile, ICOFOM LAC, the Autonomous University of Chile, the Maule Museum Network, and regional authorities, along with a cultural program.

Among its activities, two keynote lectures stand out. The first will be delivered by Héctor Valverde Martínez, a member of the ICOFOM Board of Directors, who will present “From Digital Mediation to Algorithmic Mediation of Heritage,” a reflection on the transformations that contemporary technologies are bringing about in the relationship between heritage, museums, and society. The second will be presented by Daniela Carvajal (Ecuador), with the lecture “Maintaining Connections in the Face of Fragmentation: Museums, the Commons, and Research.”

The conference in Talca also aims to strengthen the exchange and collaboration within the museum community beyond Santiago, recognizing the work carried out by museums, organizations, and professionals in different regions.

For this reason, the program will combine academic activities with opportunities for community engagement and heritage tours, allowing participants to explore cultural experiences and sites in Talca and the Maule Region. The closing day of the event will also feature activities related to the O’Higginiano Museum and the Talca Museum of Fine Arts.

As part of the conference, there will also be an awards ceremony for the fifth edition of the Grete Mostny Award for Best Practices in Museology, an award established by ICOM Chile to recognize initiatives that contribute to strengthening museums and their relationship with society.

The 2026 edition of the award is being held under the theme “Museums Uniting a Divided World: Experiences and Reflections from Chilean Museums,” highlighting initiatives that foster dialogue, inclusion, understanding, and social cohesion through museums and their communities.

The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, October 7, as part of the official program of the Museum Days.

The 17th Chilean Museum Conference is free and open to anyone interested, regardless of whether they are an ICOM member. Registration, the full program, and information on how to participate are available through ICOM Chile’s official channels and on the website www.icomchile.com

17th Chilean Museum Conference 2026
October 5, 6, and 7, 2026
Autonomous University of Chile, Talca Campus
Main Auditorium of the Central Campus, Av. 5 Poniente 1670, Talca
Free and open to the public

Website: https://icomchile.com/jornadas-museologicas-2026/

More information:
www.icomchile.com
Instagram: @icomchile