The Twenty-fourth Annual Excellence in Exhibition Competition recognizes outstanding achievement in the exhibition format from all types of museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and any other types of noncommercial institutions offering exhibitions to the public. The competition is the joint project of the following AAM Professional Networks (PNs): Curators Committee (CurCom), the National Association for Museum Exhibition (NAME), the Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation (CARE) and the Education Committee (EdCom).

Entry Requirements and Entry Form (pdf)

Eligibility  

Any non-commercial institution offering exhibitions to the public may participate. Exhibitions may have been designed by a commercial firm for a non-commercial institution. Each institution that enters must have a team member that is a  member of AAM. The exhibition must have opened to the public between Nov. 30, 2009 and Nov. 30, 2011. To be eligible, exhibitions may not have previously won this competition. Exhibitions may only be submitted once to the competition.

Entry Fees

A $75 fee is required for each exhibition entered. Make checks payable to the AAM Committee for Audience Research and Evaluation. For multiple entries, submit one check for the full amount.

Notification and Awards
Each winning exhibition will be featured in a program session at the 2012 AAM Annual Meeting in Minneapolis Saint Paul and a representative from each winning institution will be asked to do a short presentation. Winners will also receive national recognition in Museum and in Exhibitionist.

Competition Policies

The PN sponsors are not responsible for lost or damaged entries. All entry materials become the property of the SPCs and cannot be returned. Entrants agree to allow AAM and PN sponsors to use photographs of winning exhibitions, at no charge, in AAM publications. Entrants warrant that they have the right to allow such use. Institutions will be credited in any published reference to winning entries. All materials (including the overall exhibition budget) will be displayed during the Marketplace of Ideas at the 2012 AAM Annual Meeting in Minneapolis Saint Paul.