The call for proposals for the 2027 ACA Conference is now open!

We invite you to join us in Winnipeg from June 14–17, 2027, as we explore this year's conference theme:

Interwoven: Archives in Relationships

ACA 2027 centres relationships as a foundation of archival theory, method, and practice. Archives make connections and build relationships with many communities, through our collections, services, and with allied professions. 

Our work is interwoven; it is not performed in isolation. By centering and valuing relationships, we make space for new voices who continue to transform the field. We must weave with care, paying deliberate attention to the threads that connect us to each other, the stories we tell, and the communities we serve.

This theme also aspires to answer the call of the Reconciliation Framework Objective 1: “to build Relationships of Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, and Responsibility.”As we approach the 5-year anniversary of the Reconciliation Framework, we encourage you to consider how archives are rooted in relationships--the nature of which depend on our time, care and efforts.

The Conference Program Team invites you to submit proposals that consider archival relationships across three interconnected threads: 

Stewardship in Solidarity is about putting people and relationships first. This means listening to and honouring experiences different from our own, including those of colleagues, donors, users, and community members. Proposals following this thread may address questions such as:

• In a field where we are tasked with caring for the records of other communities, what does it mean to be active allies in our practice?

• How do we steward relationships and build trust with communities historically excluded from archival spaces, processes, and professions?

• How do these relationships keep us accountable over time?

• How can we build reciprocal relationships in solidarity with our colleagues in libraries, museums and community knowledge networks? What can we learn about archives from those who would not consider themselves archivists?

Anti-colonial approaches delve into the historical and present relationships archives have to colonialism and the power dynamic created in those relationships. Proposals following this thread may address questions such as:

• How does the Reconciliation Framework promote decolonial/anti-colonial sensibilities in your archival work? How can we keep the Framework "evergreen" and sustainable?

• How do we engage with Indigenous-led frameworks to reconcile colonial inheritances in our archival holdings and practices?

• How do we challenge the Eurocentric foundations of 20th century archival theory? 

• How do anti-colonial approaches in archives challenge structural oppression and discrimination such as ableism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and sexism?

• How are exclusionary practices disrupted when we break down barriers to participation?

Relationship-centred archives encourage us to understand and reconceptualize the relationships that underpin our work, collections, and engagements. Proposals following this thread may address questions such as:

•  How does relationship-centered practice shape archival standards, institutions, individual archivists, and our collective future? 

• Where do you see relationships functioning within archival theory and through archival institutions? 

• How do relationships underpin advocacy for our institutions and our profession, to secure the resources we need for this work? 

None of these threads stands alone. We invite proposals that take up one thread or several, and that show their work: how relationship, in practice, becomes the basis for real transformation.

SUBMITTING PROPOSALS: 

We invite proposals from across and beyond the archives sphere for this year's conference. This includes those of all levels and areas of experience, friends and colleagues in allied professions, and those practicing in community.

We encourage proposals that share case studies or personal experiences about how you have incorporated the Reconciliation Framework or other relationship-centred approaches in your own work. 

The 2027 Conference Program Team invites contributions in a variety of formats including: 

• Traditional session: formal presentation of papers; approximately 20 minutes per speaker, with questions to follow as time allows. 

• Panel discussion: abbreviated presentation of papers; approximately 10-15 minutes per speaker, with discussion to follow. 

• Roundtable: brief 5 to 7-minute presentations with open discussion 

• Storytelling session 

• Other: please share your ideas – be creative!

Please use the following form: https://archivists_ca.formstack.com/forms/2027_conference_submission_form_copy 

Submissions are due November 15, 2026

Please note that the call for student papers (Emerging Voices), posters, and workshops will come in November.

Stay tuned to our website for more details.