WMMD Newsletter March 2017Contents:
West Midlands Museum Development UpdateBreaking BoundariesIt's only ONE WEEK until the Ironbridge annual conference! Have you booked your place yet? It's taking place on 16 and 17 March 2017. The conference will encourage delegates to build resilience by thinking beyond traditional boundaries in relation to collections, physical space, audiences and the workforce. Go to the WMMD events section below for more information and to book your place. WMMD EventsWe'll be announcing our programme of events for April 2017 to March 2018 soon so look out for our announcements. Volunteer PortalThe regional Volunteer Portal will soon go live on mdwm.org.uk. The portal will offer Accredited museums and those officially Working Towards Accreditation the opportunity to advertise for volunteers. Please complete the Organisation Form below if you would like to register your museum. You don't need to have any current opportunities, we will populate the portal first with the names of museums that will be using it in the future when opportunities arise. ResourcesAccredited museums and those officially Working Towards are now able to access a wide range of resources drawn from our programme and workshops. See www.mdwm.org.uk/resources If you would like to access these resources please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk for a password. Ready to Borrow Capital Grant Scheme 2017West Midlands Museum Development is launching the new round of the Ready to Borrow Capital Grants Scheme on behalf of Arts Council England (ACE).Ready to Borrow is a national programme of funding for the museum sector. It is designed to enable Accredited museums to build their long term resilience by improving their capacity to manage significant collection loans from National and Major Partner Museums. Funding is available for capital projects which support Accredited museums to improve their infrastructure in order to meet the collections care standards and security requirements of lenders.* Suitable projects could include improving on-site security, purchasing new display cases or installing new lighting or environmental monitoring and control equipment. The funding will support museums in the West Midlands towards meeting the Government Indemnity Standard (GIS). A total pot of around £180,000 is available for grants of up to £50,000 for projects delivered by March 2019. A bursary will be available to support museums wishing to attend the Touring Exhibitions Group Preparing to Borrow workshop in Nottingham in May. For more details contact Helen Johnson. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 14 June 2017. *It is not essential to have a formal loan arrangement with a National or Major Partner Museum before applying, but a sound idea of which items you would like to borrow and what you must do to meet the lender’s conditions will be a definite advantage. West Midlands Museum Development EventsAll West Midlands Museum Development events are free16 and 17 March - Breaking Boundaries ConferenceIronbridge Gorge Museum Trust, Coalbrookdale, TF8 7DQDay one
Day two
Funded through Ironbridge's Major Partner Museum and Museum Development programmes, this free two day conference will share best practice from a range of museums. We hope that you can invest the time to join us on both days. However you may choose to come for the day that best suits your needs. Please note conference agenda may be subject to change. Other EventsV&A Professional Development Programme: 2017Bookings Now Open!The V&A Professional Development programme for Spring/Summer 2017 is now available to view online with details of courses available on the V&A website. The full course booklet is also available to download here (PDF). 16 March - Scrap Metal and How to Avoid It!10.30pm to 4.30pm, British Motor Museum, CV35 0BJAn Introduction to Caring for Industrial and Transport CollectionsSupported by Arts Council England Museum Resilience funding, the British Motor Museum is running a study day for museum professionals and volunteers caring for industrial and transport collections. The course will cover issues around collecting, conservation and storage and is the first of a series of events run by the museum. The free event is suitable for those new to the industrial and transport sector or those with limited experience of working with industrial and transport collections and will include practical exercises and discussion. For full details click here. Refreshments will be provided and bursaries are available to cover travel costs for delegates attending the event. Early booking is advised to avoid disappointment as places for the study day are strictly limited. To book a place, please email Julie Tant, Resilience Project Coordinator or call 01926 927840. 20 March - Let’s Get Real: Young Audiences conference10am - 4.45pm, Weston Theatre, Museum of London, EC2Y 5HNHow can we make our digital offer relevant to children and teenagers? What do they really need and want from the cultural sector? Why is it so hard for museums, galleries, theatres, archives and the like to reach and engage these young audiences online? How can we weave digital into our offer and our practice in meaningful, useful ways that will increase and deepen engagement with them? What about teachers – how do we best support them? Join Culture24 to explore these questions and more in an affordable day of inspiration, insights and learning. You’ll hear from experts within and beyond the arts and heritage sector, including speakers from Raspberry Pi, the Holocaust Memorial Centre and Museum, the Children’s Commissioner for England, Google Arts and Culture, Digitalme, Innovation in Education, and more. You’ll learn about what works and what doesn’t; meet lots of colleagues with similar aims and challenges; and leave with practical, actionable advice to help you shape the way you think about digital in your work. Meet the speakers and find out more: www.letsgetrealconference.com The last few £60 tickets are still available here, but once these sell out the price will rise to £75. 20 March - Free arts, culture and digital Teachmeet5pm-7pm, Clore Learning Centre, Museum of London, EC2Y 5HNMixing teachers with curators and education officers from museums, galleries and arts organisations from across the UK, #TMCulture24 will bring the worlds of education, culture and arts, and digital media together, with a special focus on using digital collections - objects, artworks and the stories they tell - to support teaching and learning. This is an informal gathering where anyone can share great ideas they've trialled in their classroom or ask important questions. Education professionals from all sectors are welcome to take part. There are 70 free places for cultural professionals to join the TeachMeet (please only reserve one if you can definitely attend), Culture24 also has 100 free places available for teachers. For more information and to book click here. 24 March - Money and Medals Training Day10am-4pm, Swansea MuseumAn event organised by the Money and Medals Network, this introductory numismatic training is free to attend and will focus on subjects such as storage, display and identification of coinage. There will also be a practical workshop session on numismatic pinning techniques. For more details click here. Planning for Working with Formal EducationSpaces are available for the 2017 Arts Connect Course Planning for Working with Formal Education. This course is specifically designed for arts and cultural organisations and individuals who are interested in developing an approach to working with schools that makes the very most of what they offer in terms of arts and cultural activities, and the resources to promote their work to teachers. This course will help delegates to develop a plan for action that is bespoke to their organisation and includes new ideas to address some of the common challenges. The course is approximately three days in total and training bursaries are available. (£125 per day for non National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) and £100 a day for NPOs) The 2017 course dates are as follows:
If you are interested in booking a place please contact Susan Goodwin. 26 April - MUPI Match West MidlandsA Museum and University Partnership Initiative (MUPI) event 10am-5pm, Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, Millennium Point, B4 7XGWould you like to get involved in a museum and university partnership? Are you based in the West Midlands and keen to meet museums and academics in your region to network and develop new ideas? Then why not take part in a MUPI Match event... It is well proven that there are mutual benefits to museums and universities working together. Projects can cover a wide range of topics – from improving audience understanding to developing more effective collections knowledge or interpretation; from inspiring museum audiences with cutting edge research to developing new exhibits and exhibitions; the opportunities are endless. The interactive MUPI Match events involve bringing together museum staff, volunteers, and academics from the region to stimulate new connections, ideas, and projects. There is a fund of £5000 for participants to bid into for ‘thinking funding’ at the end of the day. This will enable people to do desk research; have conversations; travel to partner organisations; test ideas and work together to plan their potential project. For more information and to register please go here. MUPI Match events are delivered through the Museum University Partnership Initiative, funded by Arts Council England's Museum Resilience Fund and developed in partnership with the Share Academy project and Paddy McNulty Associates. 29 June - Facilitation Skills10am-4.15pm, Mac, BirminghamThis new, practical course will help you develop and deliver engaging and interactive creative sessions for children and young people. You will be introduced to a range of frameworks, and consider elements of delivery including timing, pacing and participant needs. Through exploring different creative activities, you will leave fully equipped to develop your own robust session plans and engaging materials. The day provides the opportunity to learn how best to encourage the development of the children and young people you work with. Ideal if: You are an arts educator developing and delivering creative sessions and programmes for children and young people, in creative, cultural and educational settings. You will gain:
The cost: £130 per person. This fee includes lunch, refreshments and a certificate of attendance for each delegate. Limited bursary places are available. English National Youth Arts Network members receive 10% discount on spaces. Membership is FREE – sign up here Click below to book your place, or for more information call 02380 332491 or Rachel Hall. NewsMuseums Taskforce Demands Strategic Approach to Museum Funding in EnglandThe Museums Taskforce, convened by the Museums Association (MA) to investigate opportunities and challenges to UK museums, has called for a strategic approach to museums funding in England. Revenue Generation SurveyNorthampton-based agency Arts Quarter has launched its 2017 Revenue Generation in Arts and Culture Survey and is inviting arts and cultural organisations to take part: http://www.artsquarter.co.uk/newsaq.html The survey remains open for completion until 27 March and Arts Quarter would welcome museums in the West Midlands sharing their views and aspirations around fundraising and earned revenue generation. A Special Birthday at Erasmus Darwin HousePolly De Hamel, the longest serving volunteer at Erasmus Darwin House, celebrated her 90th birthday last week. She's one of 60 volunteers who help to keep the Museum open for others to enjoy throughout the year. Polly used to live in the House before it became a Museum and has some fab stories to tell. She says "I want to be a part of the House, it's important to me, we filled it with people all the time and I have many good memories. I loved living there and I want to support it now and make it a home for others to enjoy. Volunteering for me is about making a place warm and welcoming for others". Disabled Access Day 2017Disabled Access Day returns for its third year and will take place between 10 and 12 March 2017. Due to popular demand they have extended the dates so more people can get involved and more places can be visited. Disabled Access Day began in 2015 to celebrate good access and created opportunities for people to try something new, highlighting the fantastic access that already exists in places, such as touch tours, relaxed performances, sensory experiences, level access and of course a warm welcome! Treasure20The Portable Antiquities Scheme plans to celebrate Twenty Years of Treasure through a British Museum partnership project. For details click here. Museums at Night17 May - 20 May 2017Ticket sales have begun for the Museums at Night festival. If any UK cultural or heritage organisation would like to take part by running an after-hours event during the May festival dates, please register by Friday 17 March to be included in Culture 24's next round of press releases. OpportunitiesFreezer Treatment at Ludlow Museum Resource CentreLudlow Museum Resource Centre has a large freezer that is available for use. They charge £50 per cycle. At present, there are only a few items in the freezer for the next cycle and there is the opportunity for others to treat items at a reduced rate. The £50 cost will be shared between the different parties. For those interested, the deadline is Friday 10 March for dropping off items. Please contact Abigail Cox for more information. Transformers 2017-18Applications now openThe programme, which promotes radical change in museums, will see in the region of 170 mid-career professionals participate across 3 different strands. Each strand is designed to help participants develop innovative ways of working, influence more effectively and create change for themselves, their colleagues and their organisations. If you are a mid-career professional, looking to be an agent for change in museums then you should consider applying for Transformers. Previous Transformers have self-defined ‘mid-career’ broadly, and their roles have ranged from project officers to more senior leaders. As some general guidance, you will have at least three years of working in museums, and most importantly have a desire to generate change and a commitment to professional and sector development. Find out more here or contact Katy Swift Grants for Conservation of ManuscriptsThe National Manuscripts Conservation Trust (NMCT) offers grants for the conservation and preservation of manuscripts and archives. Since the NMCT was founded in 1990 it has awarded grants of over £3m, which have enabled the conservation of hundreds of musical, literary, architectural and other vital historical documents. The grants ensure that these important collections can once more be made accessible to the public and researchers. The next deadline for the submission of applications is 1 April 2017 and the results will be announced in early July. If you want to plan ahead, the deadline after that is 1 October 2017. They welcome grant applications from non-national institutions such as county record offices, museums, university archives/special collections, cathedral archives and libraries, as well as owners of manuscripts that are exempt from capital taxation or owned by a charitable trust. Grants can cover conservation, binding and other preservation measures, including digitisation (providing it is part of a wider conservation project). The significance of the collection or items to be conserved, as well as the proposed conservation treatment, are carefully reviewed by Trustees when making their decisions. Applications must be submitted on their application form, which you can download from their website. If you have any queries about whether your project is eligible or about the application process you are most welcome to contact Mrs Nell Hoare, who manages the Trust. You can contact her either through the website or email info@nmct.co.uk. NMCT is the only grant giver solely focused on manuscript conservation and they are keen to spread the benefit of the funding that they have available, so do consider applying. Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grants ProgrammeSince the programme launched in 2012 they have helped 247 curators, scholars and researchers with 225 projects; they now have £75,000 to offer annually. The scheme is open to curators and other professionals working with public collections. Applications under £1,500 are accepted throughout the year, while applications above this level are considered at committee meetings three times a year. Full details on the programme can be found on their website. £3.5m Esmée Fairbairn Collections FundWith support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Museums Association (MA) is extending the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund for 2017-19, with £3.5m available in grants in the next three years, including a new programme of events and resources for the sector. The focus remains on developing collections to achieve social impact, but there have been a number of changes to clarify what the fund is looking for. Museums, galleries and heritage organisations from across the UK can apply for a grant of between £20,000 and £120,000 for a project lasting up to three years. The deadline for the current round is 15 March 2017. For further information, please visit here. Natural Science CuratorBirmingham Museums37 hours per week - £25,000Birmingham Museums seek an experienced and enthusiastic Curator of Natural Sciences to lead on a number of significant projects and to research and develop Birmingham’s important collection. This represents a significant opportunity to curate a Natural Science collection which is the largest and most representative of its kind in the West Midlands, covering botany, entomology, zoology and earth sciences. Upcoming projects include development of a new wildlife gallery at Thinktank science museum and a partnership programme with the Natural History Museum to display their iconic Diplodocus or ‘Dippy’, as part of a wider exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery. The ideal candidate will have expertise in researching Natural Science collections and understand the process of development of new displays. They should also be an excellent team player capable of collaborating effectively with other staff members on organisation-wide projects. For further information please read the job description. Closing date: Monday 20 March Interviews: Friday 7 April Education Development OfficerBewdley Museum24 hours per week - £25,647 pro rataThis role is an exciting opportunity to manage and develop Bewdley Museum’s educational provision. The post will involve creating learning strategies and developing educational visits, workshops and outreach programmes. For more information please email Alison Bakr, Museum Manager. Senior Exhibitions OfficerRugby Art Gallery and Museum£27,668 – £31,601Rugby Art Gallery and Museum has an exciting opportunity to welcome a person with curatorial experience to our small and friendly team. Your role would include continuing to develop the exhibition programme and working with the team to create complementing interpretation programmes. As a Cultural Hub, they have expanded their team to reflect a focus on visitor economy whilst strengthening the programme to improve the wellbeing of residents and visitors. They have a reputation for high quality contemporary art exhibitions with strong national partnerships, alongside a nationally significant British Art Collection, which this post holder would be responsible for. They are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic and committed individual to continue developing this work. For an informal discussion about this role please contact Nikki Grange, Arts, Heritage and Visitor Services Manager on 01788 533208. You can view full
details of this job via the website, where you can also apply Postal application packs can be obtained by calling 01788 533564, or by email. Closing date: 26 March 2017 Keep up to date with the Leicester University Museum Studies jobs desk site here. Images copyright Lee Allen Photography and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery What we need from you…..There are still many museum staff, volunteers and trustees within the West Midlands who do not receive our newsletter. PLEASE make sure your colleagues don’t miss out and forward this newsletter today! To sign up for our newsletter visit our website and submit your email address at the bottom of our home page or at the bottom of all our web pages.
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