"Searchlight Rays" by Karen Amanda Harris was part of the 2025 Bridges exhibit.

Factoring Art Into Meeting Design

Two conferences — the Joint Mathematics Meetings and Bridges — help mathematicians explore the connection between math and art.

Working in the business world, Nir Hindie kept noticing the many connections between artists and entrepreneurs.

Artful Experiences

How art deepens connection and opens participants to new ways of thinking at — and about — events across a swath of sectors.

At sessions led by the artist Adam Rosendahl, attendees write and draw directly on butcher-paper covered tables, in conversation with others.

The Art of Connecting

Adam Rosendahl’s Late Nite Art workshops use storytelling, music, and drawing to break down barriers and unleash creativity.

Blake Waravdekar, DES

Blake Waravdekar, DES, meeting coordinator at the Association of American Medical Colleges, learned early on in her career that even the most detailed plans are best executed when paired with clear decision-making and the ability to adjust in the moment.

In the ECR 2026 entrance hall, a towering sculpture of Athena, the Greek goddess of reason and wisdom, welcomed attendees; behind her, the venue’s polySTAGE, a staging installation made up of 52 LED panels, beckoned with an immersive atmosphere of ancient Greek architecture and mythological figures.

An Immersive Learning Experience for Physician Attendees

The European Congress of Radiology’s 2026 annual meeting used its venue’s built-in 3D and LED capabilities to to bring ancient Greek mythology — and the program’s “Rays of Knowledge” theme — to life.

Art plays a central role in ISTElive’s experiential sessions.

Learning as an Art Form

These educators integrate art into teaching strategies, so it’s only natural that their own continuing education program at their society’s annual conference would tap creative expression as a learning tool, too.

Fax machines were so critical in 1998 that it was hard to imagine the meetings industry surviving without them.

A Partly Cloudy Crystal Ball

As we celebrate Convene’s 40th anniversary, we’re looking back into our archive. Here’s how two contributors imagined the future at the turn of this century, writing from a world operating with 56K dial-up computer modems and a fax machine in every office.

Rachel Smith

Rachel Smith, meeting coordinator at Optica, sees onsite inconveniences as part of the adventure of event planning, an outlook that not only helps her navigate challenges more effectively but also allows her to enjoy the unpredictability that makes live events so dynamic and rewarding.

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