Mainstage Host:
Black Trustee Alliance is thrilled to open registration for our 2025 Convening, to be held on May 1-3, 2025 in Los Angeles.
The BTA Convening is an annual invitation-only summit designed to equip Black trustees with the resources to bring meaningful and lasting change to their institutions. The Convening offers a space for Black trustees to speak candidly about challenges they are facing, exchange knowledge with peers and leaders in the field, and build relationships that strengthen their collective impact. Our 2025 Convening is guided by one central theme– Audacious Reimaginings: The New Advocacy Playbook.
Program Highlights
Thursday, May 1 | Day 1
Convening Welcome Reception
6:00 PM | Welcome Reception Join leading voices from across Los Angeles for a toast to a year of BTA community accomplishments hosted by Jeffrey Deitch in celebration of the recent Los Angeles shows for Nina Chanel Abney and Tschabalala Self.
Friday, May 2 | Day 2
Mainstage Day at Getty
Our signature day of thought leadership and strategic dialogue
Nikole Hannah-Jones
New York Times, Creator of The 1619 Project
Troy Carter
Founder and CEO of Venice Music
Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean
Musician, Entrepreneur and Collector
Morning Program
9:00 AM | Opening Remarks, following a light breakfast on the patio, from Katherine E. Fleming (President and CEO, J. Paul Getty Trust) and Victoria Rogers (Advisory Board Co-Chair, Black Trustee Alliance)
9:20 AM | Keynote Conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones (New York Times and Creator of The 1619 Project) and Alan Jenkins (Co-Founder, The Opportunity Agenda) – a rare opportunity to witness two transformative thinkers contextualize the course for cultural equity.
10:30 AM | Impact Agenda, presented by BTA Executive Director Diane Jean-Mary, will provide strategies and tools for museum leaders to find their frontier of impact and ensure their institutions continue to reflect the communities they serve.
10:40 AM | Ideas for Sustaining the Movement features visionary approaches from field practitioners including LeRonn P. Brooks, Ph.D. (Curator of the African American Art History Initiative, Getty Research Institute), Mia Locks (Executive Director and Co-Founder, Museums Moving Forward), Makeda Best (Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs, Oakland Museum), Sandra Jackson-Dumont (Cultural Strategist, Curator and Educator) and Kristin Sakoda (Director, LA County Department of Arts and Culture) on navigating the current challenges facing museum governance.
11:40 AM | Fireside Chat: GIANTS By Artists, for Artists, with the People featuring Grammy Award-winning music impresario and collector Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean in conversation with Troy Carter (Founder and CEO of Venice Music, LACMA Trustee). The colleagues explore the impact of the groundbreaking show and his vision of collecting following its opening at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, marking the collection’s third institutional presentation.
Afternoon Program
1:00 PM | Lunch at Getty Center on the terrace with peer trustees and institution leaders toasting peer accomplishments and reflecting on morning talks.
1:40 PM | Trustee-Only Town Hall and Breakouts provide dedicated spaces for members to engage with shifting institutional priorities and challenges facing museums across North America, commit to success strategies, and delve into the BTA Impact Agenda.
Dinner Celebration at Hauser & Wirth
7:30 PM | Dinner at Manuela, presented by Hauser & Wirth, will be a grand moment of community and connection following our work-focused day.
Saturday, May 3 | Day 3
Art Around Los Angeles
9:30 AM | Art Across LA Join Naima Keith (Vice President of Education and Public Programs, LACMA), Jason Foster (President & CEO, Destination Crenshaw) and Cameron Shaw (Executive Director of CAAM) for exclusive tours of projects that reflect a commitment to building bridges to Los Angeles’ Black audiences.
Registration
Tickets for BTA’s 2025 Convening Close April 21!
EARLY BIRD RATES
(Until February 28, 2025)
$595: Members
$1,100: Guests
REGULAR RATES
(Until March 1, 2025)
$695: Members
$1,200: Guests
Please note this is a private invitation-only event for Black Trustee Alliance members and invited guests. If you are interested in attending or would like to extend an invitation to a Black art trustee, academic, or civic/cultural leader in your network, please contact us at:
admin@blacktrusteealliance.org
All guests must be officially invited in advance. Tickets are non-transferrable.
FAQs
BTA is in deep dialogue with our trustees, artists, and cultural leaders on the ground, and have decided to proceed with our 2025 Convening in celebration of the fortitude and resilience of the LA arts community. Our presence in Los Angeles will be two-fold: gathering our Black trustee community for our annual summit while also supporting the vitality of our host city. We are exploring opportunities for our Convening to meaningfully support long-term recovery efforts. In the meantime, for those eager to contribute to rapid-response recovery, we encourage you to consider the following resources:
By popular demand, we are pleased to extend invitations to one guest per BTA member, at the Guest Rate of $1,000. When considering a guest, keep in mind that the BTA Convening is a working summit dedicated to the impact and progress of Black voices in the arts. All attendees are expected to participate in alignment with this mission. Guest tickets grant access to the entire Convening experience, with the exception of the Black trustee-only member salon sessions.
If you are an art professional who has not received a direct invitation, please email admin@blacktrusteealliance.org noting your interest in attending and experience amplifying Black voices in the arts. Should we be able to accommodate your attendance, you will receive an invitation to purchase your ticket.
The BTA Convening is a three-day elevated conference experience that includes guest speakers, arts excursions, meals, ground transportation, and more. The true cost per attendee is $1,700. Member tickets are subsidized by the generous support of our philanthropic funders and Convening sponsors.
Business casual/creative attire is suitable throughout the Convening program, including our receptions and dinners.
Please stay tuned for our partner hotels with group discount rates, coming soon.
BTA will provide ground transportation to and from Convening venues and partner hotels.
For questions or sponsorship opportunities, please contact:
admin@blacktrusteealliance.org