American Museum of Natural History president Ellen Futter and cyborg Foundation co-founder Neil Harbisson are among the names scheduled to speak at this November’s MuseumNext conference in New York.

Starting on Monday 14 November, the two-day conference, which looks at the future of museums, returns to the US for the second time after a successful debut in Indianapolis in 2016.

Following a welcome from MuseumNext founder Jim Richardson, Melissa Chiu, director of Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden will deliver the opening talk, which will be followed by a roundtable session addressing changes in audiences, shifting storylines, and the need for “next narratives”.

Ellen Futter will also speak during the first day’s session, discussing how to redefine the role of museums in a time of urgent need.

In what promises to be must-see, Neil Harbisson – who co-created the Cyborg Foundation to help humans become cyborgs, promote the use of cybernetics as part of the human body and to defend cyborg rights – is set to speak about his work as a contemporary artist and as a cyborg activist.

Mike Murawski, director of Education & Public Programs for the Portland Art Museum, and founding editor of ArtMuseumTeaching.com will kick-off day two of the event, dicussing the urgency of empathy and social impact in museums.

After a full two days of talks, Tony Butler, executive director of Derby Museums Trust will conclude the second day’s talks, before an evening event to wrap up the conference.

For more information on MuseumNext and for th full line-up of speakers, click here.

For more on the recent MuseumNext conference in Dublin, Ireland, see the Q2 edition of Attractions Management, available now.