News

This page brings together current updates and a curated archive of favorite past features from my work in museums and civic engagement.

Adam Rozan Named J. Donald Feagin Visiting Artist Fellow at the University of Tulsa

This fall, I’m joining the University of Tulsa as the J. Donald Feagin Visiting Artist Fellow, working with the Arts, Culture & Entertainment (ACE) Management program.

During the fellowship, I’m developing The Route 66: Lost, Found Office, a participatory art project opening this November at Mother Road Market in Tulsa. The project explores what people lose and find throughout their lives through stories and objects connected to Route 66 and the people who live, work, and travel along it.

As part of the project, I’m inviting people from across all eight Route 66 states to participate. What have you lost along Route 66? What have you found? It might be an object, a person, a relationship, a memory, a place, or something entirely unexpected.

Share your story or object and learn more about the project: https://sites.utulsa.edu/route66lostfound/

A large Tulsa Route 66 shield painted on the grass beside a railway caboose

Texas Association of Museums Keynote: Museums and Public Service

This past April, I had the honor of giving the keynote at the Texas Association of Museums Annual Meeting in McAllen, Texas. At the center of my talk was a question I’ve been thinking about for years: What does it mean for a museum to truly serve its community?

Museums are deeply connected to the places and people around them. They are educators and employers, destinations and gathering places, civic organizations and community resources. Those connections are easy to list. The harder work is understanding what our communities actually need from us, and where a museum can be useful. That requires asking questions, listening, building relationships, and recognizing the knowledge and resources that already exist within our communities.

The pandemic made many of these connections more visible. Museums donated supplies to hospitals, provided childcare for essential workers, opened their spaces, and found other ways to respond to immediate community needs. These weren’t departures from museum work. They demonstrated what museums can be when we begin with service and ask what role our institutions can play in the lives of the people around us.

There isn’t one answer or one model. No two museums should serve their communities in exactly the same way. Our institutions can learn from one another while remaining rooted in the particular needs, challenges, opportunities, and people of the places we serve. Without our communities, our museums would not exist. And for museums, public service is paramount.

Thank you again to the Texas Association of Museums for the invitation, and to everyone I met in McAllen for the conversations, questions, generosity, and warm welcome. I’m grateful to have been part of it.

AI was used to help summarize the original keynote for this post.

Adam Rozan speaking into a microphone at the Texas Association of Museums Annual Meeting

How a Chatbot Is Helping Museums Wish About the Future

I’m thrilled this work is featured by the American Alliance of Museums. I helped spark and shape the collaboration with Cory Garfin and Devon VanHouten-Maldonado to build the Wish Wall Coach bot and explore how a chatbot can help scale Wish Walls and support museums in inviting the public to imagine the future. I’m especially grateful to Cory and Devon (and Caroline Klibanoff at Made By Us) for their partnership and excited to see this idea gaining traction.

Read the American Alliance of Museums blog post.

Keynote Announcement!

I'm excited to share that I will be giving the Keynote at the Upcoming Texas Association of Museums Conference this Coming April. More soon.

https://www.texasmuseums.org/

Now Serving as Wish Wall Coach

Join me throughout 2026 for a monthly information session on Wish Walls, hosted by Made By Us as part of our national Civic Season (June 19 to July 4) effort.

According to our Wish Wall Chat Bot on the Wish Wall information page, a Wish Wall is “a collaborative art project that collects and displays the hopes and dreams of a community, creating a powerful and inspiring display of collective aspirations.”

Join an upcoming session:

Thursday, January 22, 1 to 2 pm EST
Thursday, February 19, 1 to 2 pm EST
Thursday, March 19, 1 to 2 pm EST
Thursday, April 16, 11 to 12 pm EST

Wish-Walls-Info-Session-LinkedIn-Carousel-1-819x1024.png

New guidelines from the International Audience Engagement Network!

I’m thrilled to announce the launch of our newest International Audience Engagement Network guidelines. It’s a privilege to work alongside such inspiring museum colleagues to shape the future of audience engagement.

Read the International Audience Engagement Network guidelines.

This past Civic Season (Juneteenth/June 19 to July 4, 2025)

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PBS NewsHour visited the museum to cover Civic Season and youth engagement's impact. I had the privilege of speaking with them for the story.

Watch the PBS NewsHour segment.

Smithsonian Magazine’s coverage of the 2025 Smithsonian Education Awards

This is where I received the Education Achievement Award.

Read the Smithsonian Magazine article.

Adam Rozan ’01 honored with Smithsonian Education Achievement Award

My work for the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., was recognized for significant contributions to education outreach and for helping Smithsonian colleagues stay informed on relevant topics and timely data.

Read the Elon University article.

2023 Blooloop 50 & Power 10 Recognition

Read the Smithsonian Magazine article.