WMMD Newsletter October 2018Contents:
West Midlands Museum Development Update'Open to All' Mental Health Access AuditThe 2018/19 ‘Open to All’ Mental Health Access Audit programme is now open for applications. The programme will consider how we can improve access to our collections for people with specific areas of need relating to mental wellbeing. West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) is offering eight museums, galleries or heritage sites the opportunity to work with experienced consultants Cara Sutherland and Debbie Shipton to explore your current approach to wellbeing and mental health engagement, and to identify areas for development. The programme includes an engaging and inspirational training day to increase your knowledge, understanding and confidence in this area, a visit to your venue and a final report which includes a summary of findings and an individual action plan. Interested? Simply complete the application form and return by 5pm, Thursday 18 October. If you have any questions please email Sarah Griffiths. Coming soon...West Midlands Museum Development Self-Assessment ToolThe Museum Development Self-Assessment Tool is designed to help highlight and celebrate your current best practice, to prioritise areas of working over the next 12 months and to provide a benchmark for your future work. Through multiple choice and open questions you will build a picture of your organisation. Following completion of the Self-Assessment Tool you will receive a bespoke advisory report with a summary of your results and suggestions of sources of support in your highlighted areas of need. The information generated will be used by WMMD to create targeted support programmes to address need. We ask that you repeat the diagnostic annually, so it will also allow you to see how your museum has evolved, highlighting development and potential areas for growth in the future. We will also share anonymised information nationally to inform wider sector support for museums. Are you Getting the Most from Accreditation?The new Accreditation Returns Schedule will be published very shortly. You will be able to see when your museum or gallery will be invited to make its next return. The revised Accreditation Standard will go live in early November and we will let you know when this has happened. WMMD is holding two workshops to help you with all things Accreditation. A summary of each is shown below, full details and booking information can be found in the WMMD Events section 23 October - Get the Most from Accreditation -Audience Development in Action10am-4pm, Coventry Transport Museum, Coventry CV1 1JDEffective audience development will help your organisation reach new visitors and keep regular visitors coming back time and again. Speakers at this practical workshop will share their experience of preparing for and attracting a wide range of audiences. 16 November - Get the Most from Accreditation - Collections10.30am-3.30pm, The Cider Museum, Hereford HR4 0EF
Snapshot Skills Survey 2018Please take this opportunity to tell us about the skills you have and those you’d like to gain, improve and share. The results of this ten question tick box survey will help us shape our programme and track development within the museum and gallery sector. The survey will close 31 October. WMMD Resourceswww.mdwm.org.uk/resources has a wide range of presentations, handouts and guides covering Audiences, Collections, Resilience, Workforce and Young People drawn from our programme and workshops. The resources are available to Accredited museums and those officially Working Towards Accreditation. If you would like to access these resources please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk for a password. Remember to check back regularly for new content. West Midlands Museum Development EventsAll WMMD events are free23 October - Get the Most from Accreditation -Audience Development in Action10am-4pm, Coventry Transport Museum, Hales Street, Coventry CV1 1JDEffective audience development will help your organisation reach new visitors and keep regular visitors coming back time and again. Speakers at this practical workshop will share their experience of preparing for and attracting a wide range of audiences. Ann Johnson, Wave-length CIC, has visited dozens of museums in the region to assess physical and social barriers to visiting as part of our Access Audience programme. She will lead participants through the process to create an Action Plan, based on her findings, which has achievable and measurable actions to grow your audience. Ann will cover:
Jon Sleigh, Learning Officer, Birmingham Museums Trust, has used innovative, low cost and adaptable approaches to engaging remote audiences with the collections and exhibitions. Hear more, share your own successes and be inspired to engage new audiences on and off site. Francis Ranford, Culture and Creative Director, Culture Coventry, will introduce their human centred design approach to audience engagement during a walking tour of the museum. This is a free event with refreshments and lunch provided. 24 October - Volunteers in the Workplace - Talking about Mental Health10am-1pm, Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery, The Square, Shrewsbury SY1 1LHEncouraging volunteers to talk about mental well-being, the support they might need and managing challenging situations.The first of three workshops looking at volunteers in the workforce. In response to feedback, we are offering a half day training opportunity led by Ann Johnson, Managing Director of Wave-length CIC. Sharing personal examples and case studies, together with some small group activities, Ann will explore the following topics:
You will look at the challenges within your museum and how these might be overcome as well as considering the different approaches to help start those difficult conversations. This is a free event with refreshments. 8 November - Introduction to Trusteeship9.45am-4.30pm, Belgrade Theatre, Belgrade Square, Corporation Street, Coventry CV1 1GSThis training is suitable for existing trustees, those interested in becoming a trustee and anyone wishing to better understand the role of trustees within their own museum. Becoming a trustee can be an opportunity to:
Delegates will better understand the role of a trustee and how to perform their duty to the highest standard. This session will be delivered by Inclusive Boards, Inclusive Boards was set up to support organisations in efforts to develop more diverse boards, inclusive organisations, and stronger governance structures and have worked with some of the largest charities in the UK, including Amnesty International, the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) and British Red Cross. Lunch and refreshments provided. 16 November - Get the Most from Accreditation - Collections10.30am-3.30pm, The Cider Museum, Hereford HR4 0EFJoin us at Hereford Cider Museum to:
Annette French, Accreditation Manager, Arts Council England will introduce the key changes to the Accreditation Standard, including a Q&A session. Janet Ulph, Professor of Commercial Law, University of Leicester specialises in museums and the law. Her presentation will focus on loans and orphan collections, both issues relevant to most museums. Sarah Brown, Outreach Officer, Collections Trust will consider the role of an up to date procedural manual in day to day operations and succession planning, and how Spectrum supports Accreditation. Tim Heathcote, Shropshire Museum Service will talk through the service's recent rationalisation project, its aims, challenges and benefits. Please make the most of the opportunity and come armed with your own questions for our speakers. Lunch and refreshments will be provided at this free event. 29 November - Every Object Tells a Story: Developing Confidence in Talking about Our Collections10am–4pm, Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum, Royal Pump Rooms, Leamington Spa CV32 4AAWe use our collections to tell stories every day but how confident are we in speaking publicly about our wonderful resources to different audiences? This session will be led by collaborative theatre maker, project coordinator and writer Tom England. It aims to support museum staff and volunteers to build their confidence in talking about objects, enabling museums to effectively tell their part of the region's collections story. FULLY BOOKEDPlease email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk if you wish to join the waiting list for this event. 10 January 2019 – Collections Knowledge Café: Marking and Labelling10am – 4pm, Coventry Transport Museum, Millennium Place, Hales Street, Coventry CV1 1JDBack by popular demand! If you missed this last time round don’t worry, this is your chance.Sarah Brown from the Collections Trust will be running this practical workshop which supports museum staff and volunteers to label and mark objects in their collections. This workshop will introduce the different equipment, materials and techniques used for marking objects. The session will also include hands-on activities to put knowledge into practice. There is a limit of two delegates per museum. Priority will be given to those who did not attend the first course in May and to non-NPO museums. Refreshments and lunch are included at this free event for Accredited museums and those officially Working Towards Accreditation. 16 January 2019 – Make the Most of Meeting and Event Hire10am-4.30pm, Hilton Garden Inn, 1 Brunswick Square, Birmingham B1 2HWWhether hiring out a small space or catering for large conferences, income from room hire and events is an important source of income for many museums. Amy Kirkland, Welcome to Excellence, will share the practical steps museums and galleries can take to maximise bookings and income by introducing the principles of good event management which apply to museums small and large. This is a repeat of last year’s ‘Win More Conferences’ event, here is what delegates had to say: ‘It was so useful, relevant and practical and took our situation into account’ Free event with lunch and refreshments provided. Open to staff, trustees and volunteers of Accredited Museums and those officially Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands. Only a few places left! Other Events15 October - How to Set up, Survive and Thrive as a Freelancer in the Cultural Sector9.30am-4.30pm - NCVO, 8 All Saints Street, London N1 9RLJoin this practical and inspiring training workshop designed to kick-start and sustain a flourishing freelance or consultancy business. The day is jam-packed with proven approaches, ideas and tools to get started, market yourself, find work, win work, manage your
finances, handle client relationships and look after your health and wellbeing. 22 - 23 October - Sharing Works of ArtTate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TGFacilitated by Tate Registrars, the workshops will be delivered across two days and aims to explore a deeper understanding of the principles of collection management and how to bring judgement to their application. The workshops will be a forum for discussing the sharing of collections in all ways imaginable; through lending and borrowing, acquiring, transfers between collections, sharing ownership and making collections accessible through documentation. These workshops are open to staff and volunteers from museums, galleries and other publicly-accessible venues that are able to (or have the potential to) borrow, lend or acquire art works. Workshop participants will be eligible to apply for bursaries to cover the costs of strategic loans from Tate’s National Collection of British Art. To apply for a place please email RSVPsharingart@tate.org.uk and provide the following details:
Upcoming Workshop Programme dates:
The workshop programme and associated bursaries form part of The Ferryman Partnership Programme inspired by the recent acquisition of William Stott of Oldham’s Le Passeur (The Ferryman) 1881 for Tate’s National Collection of British Art. The programme is supported by National Lottery players through the Heritage Lottery Fund, the John Ellerman Foundation and Art Fund. 23 October - Heritage Alliance: Heritage Debate 'Diversifying Heritage in the 21st Century'6pm-9.30pm, The Adelphi Suite, The Waldorf Hilton, London WC2B 4DDThis year's debate will be centred around the challenge ‘how do we get more diverse audiences to connect with heritage?’ Attendees will hear from a range of speakers who will discuss class, disability, LGBTI+, BAME, women and youth in relation to the sector, exploring ways we can greater achieve better inclusion in terms of workforce diversity, public engagement and the narrative of collections/material culture and locations. AIM members can buy tickets at Heritage Alliance member rates. For more information and to book click here. 29 October - Manager's Guide to Apprenticeships11am-3pm, Arts Council England, Granville Street, Birmingham B1 2LHCreative & Cultural Skills have introduced a training session to support managers who are new to apprenticeships. The session walks those who are new to managing apprentices, or those who wish to brush up on the dos and don’ts, through the following:
To book, click here. Please note that whilst the content of this training is relevant for anyone who is new to employing and/or managing apprentices, the session includes content that is more focused on how to support new entrants through apprenticeships, rather than using apprenticeships to up-skill existing staff. Refreshments will be available but lunch is not provided. Delegates are encouraged to bring a lunch with them for timekeeping purposes. 5 November - Messing About At The Museum: Radical And Serious!11am-4.15pm, Chester Zoo CH2 1LQThe Happy Museum’s Playful Places network is pleased to announce details of it's next workshop which will take place at Chester Zoo. If you are interested in finding ideas and support to provide better opportunities for play at your venue, then this event is for you. For more information and to book click here. 8-10 November - Dissent: Inspiring Hope - Embracing ChangeMuseums Association Conference, Belfast WaterfrontFor more information about the conference or to book, click here. 13 November - Association For Heritage Interpretation: Heritage Interpretation (Applied) Course10am-4.30pm, The Clifton Pavilion, Bristol Zoo Gardens BS8 3HAIf you want to develop your understanding and application of interpretive good practice, then this course is for you! Led by Sarah Oswald, a creative coach with over 20 years’ experience in heritage interpretation this course is designed to give participants a thorough understanding of the practice of heritage interpretation and how to apply it to their sites, collection or interests. Click here for more information and to book. 14 November - Communications, Changing Perceptions and Audience Development10am-12.30pm, Worcester Guildhall WR1 2EYDo you want to market your arts or cultural organisation better? Communicate with audiences differently? Worcestershire Arts Partnership’s CPD session will inspire you. Amanda Adams, Head of Communications at Bristol Old Vic will talk about her experiences of developing a new Communications Strategy and changing audience perceptions. Helen Large from Museums Worcestershire will focus on their marketing strategy and provide tips and tools for you to take away. It’s only £10 to attend and includes a practical workshop, refreshments and free wi-fi. To see the full range of courses available click here. 15 November - Midlands Exhibitions Network Meet and Greet2pm, National Memorial Arboretum DE13 7ARThe Midlands Exhibition Network has been set up to connect exhibitions professionals in the Midlands and to create channels for informal discussion about upcoming programmes and best practice. 29 November - Being an Effective Chair11am–3pm, BVSC Conference Rooms, Birmingham, 138 Digbeth, Birmingham B5 6DRAre you Chair or Vice Chair of an independent museum or heritage charity? Are you looking to be more effective in your role?At AIM, they know that the role of Chair although rewarding can be lonely. In a smaller organisation, there is often little resource to support the Chair and limited time to reflect on the nature of the role. AIM has worked with the Association of Chairs to bring AIM members a workshop to provide you with practical guidance and tools to help you be more effective in your role. The workshop has been developed with the complexities of chairing a smaller organisation (with an annual income of under £1 million) in mind; such as operating with limited resources and individuals often having both operational and governance roles. This workshop is being run by AIM in partnership with the Association of Chairs, as part of their Beacon Programme. Some places are reserved for Chairs and Vice Chairs of heritage charities, who will have the opportunity to work together and share insights with Chairs and Vice Chairs from the broader charity sector. By the end of this workshop, you will:
Lunch will be provided. Places cost £20 each and travel bursaries to support the cost of travel are available from the Association of Chairs when booking for the event. To book onto the workshop, you will first need to register with the Beacon Programme. The Beacon Programme is aimed at Chairs and Vice Chairs of smaller charities in England with an annual income of under £1 million. Registration is simple and free: you can register here. Book on to the workshop here. 11 December - GEM Advanced Workshop: The Learning Curve9.30am-4pm, Bramall Hall, Stockport SK7 3NXHow leading a learning museum can transform your businessThe workshop is for anyone in the heritage and cultural sector who is interested in transformational leadership and learning as an organisation. It is best suited to those in leadership positions, like directors, CEOs, trustees and managers. GEM encourages attending with a learning officer (or equivalent) from your organisation, in order to share insights and pool resources to move forward holistically, following the workshop. The workshop has been devised and led by Nick Winterbotham, a former director and chief executive of many prestigious museums. The fee for GEM members is £145, or £220 for a pair from the same organisation. The fee for non-members is £180, or £270 for a pair from the same organisation. A pair can attend at the member’s discount if one person in the pair is a personal GEM member, or if their organisation has an institutional membership. For more information and to book your place, please click here. NewsMuseum Collections 2030The Museums Association (MA) has launched Collections 2030, a major new research project that seeks to understand the current state of museum collections in the UK, and – in collaboration with the sector – identify how to make the most of museum collections over the course of the next decade. The MA has published a discussion paper and a series of research questions and is looking for responses from across the sector. Following this consultation, a final paper with recommendations will be published. The MA particularly welcomes institutional responses and would encourage museums to set up a meeting of relevant people within their museum or stakeholder group to discuss the questions and ideas in the discussion paper and formulate a joint response. Respondents don’t have to work in a museum to participate. The MA welcomes submissions from freelancers, policy-makers, funders, communities, members of the public and other stakeholders. Please consider how your own experience of museums relates to the questions. The deadline for submissions is 23 November. Arts Council England: Consulting On The Next Ten YearsAfter gathering and analysing a wide range of evidence, and holding conversations with the public and with stakeholders, ACE has identified a series of proposed outcomes that they believe they should aim to achieve by 2030. They are now running a new consultation to gain feedback on their proposed outcomes and AIM actively encourages their members in England to complete the survey here. The new Industrial Heritage Networks (IHNs) website is live!The new site is https://industrialheritagenetworks.com/ and IHN West Midlands has its own page there. You can subscribe to stay connected and to receive regular updates about the IHNs activities. The next network meeting is on 27 November at the Birmingham Museums Trust Museum Collections Centre (25 Dollman Street, Birmingham) and will include a workshop on Trello. If you'd like to attend contact Joanna Turska, Industrial Heritage Support Officer. #ThanksToYou National Lottery CelebrationWould you like to join the December campaign to thank National Lottery players for the support they have given heritage – and your organisation – through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) funding over the years? For a week, beginning Monday 3 December, HLF will again be taking part in the #ThanksToYou National Lottery celebration. The idea is simple: anyone who visits HLF-supported heritage attractions with a National Lottery ticket during all or part of that week gets free entry, or something else special in return. The aim is to thank players for their support when they play the National Lottery, and raise awareness of all the wonderful projects that have been funded as a result. To find out more click here. Data Protection and DocumentationThe Collection Trust's object entry, object exit and transfer of title forms, which help museums follow best practice and meet Spectrum standards, have been revised to take account of the 2018 changes to data protection law. A key change is that those signing the forms now indicate that they have been made aware of the museum's privacy notice. You can read more about the revisions here. You can continue to use previous versions of these forms, but your procedures need to ensure that those signing them have been shown your privacy notice. Bursaries for AnimationAnimat18 is a year long national touring programme supported by ACE, British Film Institute and The British Council.
Interested organisations need to register and the activity has to take place before the end of November. For more information and to apply click here. Family Friendly Museum 2018 AnnouncedLeeds City Museum has been named Family Friendly Museum of the Year 2018. Baby-friendly curator talks, signposted selfie points, ‘Dadstastic’ Days, and excellent facilities are just some of the things that helped Leeds to win. Kids in Museums awards the prize annually to one museum that has made outstanding efforts to welcome children and families and respond to their feedback. The charity received over 550 nominations from both families and museums, which were whittled down to a shortlist of 11 by an expert panel. Undercover family judges then visited and assessed each shortlisted museum against the Kids in Museums Manifesto, with their experiences deciding the winner. GEM Intermediate CPD CoursesGEM has developed a series of intermediate courses aimed at supporting the professional development of mid-career heritage professionals. These courses address core competencies identified by GEM, and help to raise professional standards in the sector. Subject Specialist NetworksThe new Subject Specialist Networks website can be found at https://subjectspecialistnetworks.org.uk/. OpportunitiesJohn Ellerman Foundation: Museums and Galleries FundFunding aimed at small to medium-sized museums and galleries outside of London particularly in areas such as the West Midlands where fewer grants have been made.Museums and galleries are a means by which people engage with arts and heritage. Many regional institutions hold important collections which have the power to inspire creativity, motivate artistic expression and stimulate local regeneration. The Fund aims to help strengthen regional museums and galleries in the UK. The John Ellerman Foundation wants to help organisations enhance and sustain curatorial development to attract a broader public. They have earmarked around £0.5m to be awarded through the Fund in 2019. While the average grant size is ca. £86k higher amounts will be considered for exceptional projects. The focus is on visual and decorative arts and social and natural history collections. The
In line with their general policy, organisations with an income between £100,000 For more information and to apply, click here. Association for Industrial Archaeology Restoration GrantsGrants up to £20,000 are available for the restoration of important industrial buildings, structures, machinery, vehicles and vessels within the UK. Grants can be made to not for profit organisations such as trusts, charities and CICs and are for capital funding only. Applications will usually relate to a single, tangible structure or artefact and the grant is to be used as partnership funding, the applicant being in the process of or having already raised matching funding from their own resources, fund raising, or other grant award. More information about the grants can be found here. Applications should be submitted on no more than 4 sides of A4 paper and cover all the areas outlined in the Guidelines. The closing date for applications: 31 March 2019 Tampon Tax FundThe Tampon Tax Fund allocates funds generated from the VAT on sanitary products to projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 are available for a duration of up to 12 months. They are for UK based organisations with a local or community reach that meet one or more of the Tampon Tax Community Fund objectives. The programme aims to fund small-scale interventions, which will make a considerable difference to the lives and happiness of women and girls by raising the aspirations of girls and women and combating the influences that affect their confidence. Fund objectives:
To find out more and to apply click here. Developing Your Creative PracticeDeveloping your Creative Practice (DYCP) is ACE's fund for individuals who want to develop their work. It is aimed at artists, writers, producers, museum curators, choreographers or other creative people. If you’re a small group who regularly work together, you can apply too, but this fund is not for organisations. ACE can make awards of between £2,000 and £10,000. If you need any extra money for Access Support you can include this too. To learn more and to apply click here. Closing date for applications: 14 November 2018 and 21 February 2019 Beecroft BequestThe Beecroft Bequest is a fund administered by the Museums Association, for the purchase of pre-19th century works of art. Under the terms of the will of the late Walter G Beecroft, the residue of his estate was bequeathed to the Museums Association as a foundation for the fund. Grants of up to £10,000 are available to Museums Association institutional members for the acquisition of pre-19th century works of art. Applications are considered on a case by case basis. The application process is very simple, and they are always happy to answer any questions you may have prior to submission. For more information, please click here. Paul Hamlyn Foundation - Teacher Development FundThe purpose of the Teacher Development Fund is to support delivery of effective arts-based teaching and learning opportunities in the primary classroom, and to embed learning through the arts in the curriculum. It aims to do this through supporting teachers and school leaders to develop the necessary skills, knowledge, confidence and experience. Each year they make around five grants of up to £150,000 to partnerships of arts and cultural organisations and up to ten schools, who will work together for two academic years. Applications are now open for projects beginning in September 2019. For more information and to apply click here. Closing deadline: 12pm, Wednesday 5 December 2018 Want to Make your Collection more Accessible?Arts Council National Lottery Projects Grants scheme is open and waiting for your applications!Arts Council England (ACE) want to support exciting and diverse work that brings great art and culture to people across the country through their new funding programme. Accredited museums can apply for grants that help people engage with their collections or their work. The grants typically range from £1,000 to £100,000. If you have a project in mind which will help to make your collections more accessible download their handy guide or look at the Project Grants page on the ACE website. If you have questions before, during or after making an application contact ACE by email enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk or telephone 0161 934 4317. Headley Fellowships with Art FundThe Headley Fellowships encourage the development of UK collections expertise, and intends to give curators – especially those based in smaller or regional museums – the time and resource to work with focused areas of their collections, deepening expertise within their museum and sharing specialist knowledge both with the public and across the sector. The programme is open to mid-career and senior curators, and those with curatorial responsibility, and practically will give curators time away from their day-to-day responsibilities to embark on a bespoke period of research and development. Headley Fellowships with Art Fund aim to encourage the production of ambitious and high-quality museum projects which have collections at their core, while investing in museums across the UK and their curators, helping them to realise exceptional ideas for communicating with a spectrum of audiences. Full details on the aims and scope of the scheme can be found at https://www.artfund.org/headley. Closing date: 15 October Collections Care Skills Sharing ProgrammeDo you have a collections management skill that you could share with colleagues from other museums or are you looking for an opportunity to develop a skill in a particular area of collections care? Perhaps you would like to gain experience in collections care work or just find out more about it?The WMMD Skills Sharing Programme aims to connect staff and volunteers from across the region’s museums with opportunities to develop collections care skills through hands on practical experience. Museums are invited to get in touch with offers of potential activities that could be offered to skills seekers. Alternatively if you are looking for an opportunity to work with collections please let us know and we will try to match you up. If you have a potential skills sharing opportunity to offer, or if you are looking to develop a new collections care skill please click on the links or contact Helen Johnson for more details. Opportunities will be advertised through the WMMD updates and newsletters. Volunteer PortalThe regional Volunteer Portal offers Accredited museums and those officially Working Towards Accreditation the opportunity to advertise for volunteers. Please click below if you would like to register your museum. You don't need to have any current opportunities to register. Keep up to date with the Leicester University Museum Studies jobs desk site here. Images © Lee Allen Photography Compton Verney, Breaking Boundaries Conference, Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, The Pen Museum, Nuneaton 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. |