The Museums Association has announced the first keynote speakers for its November conference, with poet Lemn Sissay and comedian Francesca Martinez set to address this year’s delegation.

The MA conference and exhibition, which takes place in Manchester between 16 to 18 November, will welcome both Sissay and Martinez, who will speak about the theme of this year’s conference – ‘audiences; collections and workforce’.

Sissay is an associate artist at London’s Southbank Centre and the chancellor of the University of Manchester. He was the first poet commissioned to write for the 2012 London Olympics and has worked both in radio and television.

Martinez – a comedian and writer with mild cerebral palsy – took part in Exceptional & Extraordinary, a project led by the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries at the University of Leicester that used the collections in museum to look at attitudes towards difference. Martinez is also a broadcast regular, appearing on both television and radio.

The full programme for this year’s conference will be available soon with further keynotes still to be announced. For more information and to attend, click here.