WMMD Newsletter March 2018Contents:
West Midlands Museum Development UpdateSolve to Evolve ConferenceThe West Midlands Museum Development team is looking forward to welcoming all our delegates and speakers to our conference next Thursday.Funded by Arts Council England, it will be a jam packed day focusing on overcoming challenges to make organisations more resilient and appealing to audiences. There are only NINE places left so there is still an opportunity to grab your place before bookings close on Thursday 8 March at 12 noon. New for 2018 - we will be live streaming the morning sessions from the conference. So if you are unable to attend Solve to Evolve you will be still be able to see Gordon Seabright, Graham Garnett and Sarah Maltby. Details of how to access this live or to catch up later will be sent next week. Delegates - if you haven't done so already please return your 'Solution Station' forms as soon as possible so we can do our best to accommodate your choices. Annual Museum Data Survey 2016-2017A huge thank you to all the organisations who completed the survey last year. The report is available from the resources section of our website www.mdwm.org.uk/resources. A printed copy of the report will be sent to the participating museums shortly and copies will also be available at Solve to Evolve. The survey was created in the West Midlands to establish a baseline of data on museums in the region which will be used to analyse and report on trends over the coming years. The data provided will help us to demonstrate the social and economic importance of museums both locally and regionally to funders and stakeholders and to provide museums with data to enable them to benchmark their performance. We hope that all museums and art galleries in the West Midlands will see the benefit of the report and more will take part in the next survey for 2017-2018 this summer. If you would like to access these resources on our website please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk for a password. WMMD EventsThe new West Midlands Museum Development programme starts in April and details about the planned events and projects will be available soon. Events include Marking and Labelling on 15 May which will be held at the Cider Museum, Hereford. West Midlands Museum Development EventsAll WMMD events are free15 March - Solve to Evolve ConferenceIronbridge Gorge Museum Trust, Coalbrookdale TF8 7DQJoin the West Midlands Museum Development team for our third conference. Funded by Arts Council England (ACE), we've a jam-packed day focusing on overcoming challenges to make organisations more resilient and appealing to audiences.We are delighted to welcome our speakers:
The afternoon will feature Birmingham's Poet Laureate Matt Windle and our 'Solution Stations'. These are 15 bite-sized sessions linking to a broad range of topics including collections, audiences, resilience, equality and diversity, workforce development and children and young people. These will focus on overcoming challenges, finding solutions and sharing experiences in small groups. Full details and how to book your Solution Stations will be sent to you once your conference place is confirmed. Late afternoon will see a change of venue as we head over to Blists Hill Victorian Town for a choice of exclusive after-hours tours of the site followed by dinner and a performance from renowned storyteller Peter Chand. The day will conclude at 7.30pm. With plenty of opportunities to network, surgeries available with sector partners including ACE, HLF, Collections Trust, Accreditation, The Audience Agency and Kids in Museums this is a key date for your 2018 diary. The conference is FREE and includes refreshments, lunch and dinner. Places will be prioritised for staff, volunteers and trustees of museums and art galleries based in the West Midlands. Other Events13 March - Museums for Health and Wellbeing ConferenceThinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, BirminghamThe line-up includes speakers Emma Hanson, Head of Strategic Commissioning Adult Community Support from Kent County Council and Jane Povey, GP and Founding Director of Creative Inspiration Shropshire. Workshop sessions will explore green wellbeing, evaluation, embedding wellbeing as an organisation, working with learning disabled artists to design and deliver arts activities for children and families and much more! For more information about the conference and to book tickets click here. The new Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance will be officially launched at the conference. To find out more about the new Alliance please see here. 14 March - Symbiosis Masterclass10.30am - 3.30pm British Plastics Federation, 5-6 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London EC2A 3JEThe aim of the Symbiosos project was to create and pilot a new model of economic resilience for smaller museums by building a resource to support them in developing deeper, mutually beneficial collaborations with their relevant industries. At this free, one day event you will hear what has been learnt and what the partner museums have accomplished. You will also have the opportunity to talk individually to the Industry Consultant about the challenges your museum faces and to network with other museums on how to improve industry engagement. It is also an opportunity to preview the Symbiosis resource and to provide feedback. This is a fantastic networking opportunity to discuss an issue of vital importance to us all in these times of reduced funding. Participants will leave with more confidence in how to effect change in their organisations. Lunch will be provided and there is funding available to cover travel costs. Please contact dbeasley@aub.ac.uk for further details. For more information and to book click here. 15 March - Association of Volunteer Managers’ Conference 201810.30am - 4.30pm The Whitworth, Manchester M15 6ERWe all know the great impact volunteering makes, but how do we measure the benefits? Can we quantify the health and wellbeing advantages of a particular volunteer programme? This event will address various aspects of the volunteer journey from the volunteer managers perspective, with a particular focus on measuring the health and wellbeing benefits for everyone involved: the volunteers; the programme managers and volunteer leaders; the organisation; the end users and clients. Hear the results of some key work into volunteer motivation and behaviour, including: assessing the volunteering habits of certain groups; attracting and working with younger volunteers and families; two different assesments of wellbeing. For more information and to book click here. 20 March - Future of Museums: Collections10.30am - 5pm, Wellcome Collection, LondonCollections lie at the heart of museums, and provide a unique opportunity to engage, inform and inspire audiences in a way that can have a positive impact on society as a whole. The potential to use collections in exciting and socially-impactful ways is huge, but museums continue to be held back by several long-standing challenges including a lack of space to store material and a lack of skills, funds and resources to manage, care and interpret artefacts. This conference, part of the Museums Association’s Future of Museum’s series, will offer an opportunity to debate these issues and discuss what the future holds for our collections and how they can be used to engage audiences and change people’s lives. For more information and to book click here. 23 March - Money and Medals Network ConferenceBritish MuseumTo mark three years of funding from Arts Council England and to celebrate the work conducted so far, the Money and Medals Network (MMN) will be holding a conference. The content of the day will cover the work of MMN over the past three years, outlining its key achievements and demonstrating to a wider audience how the Network has been active all over the UK with the collections mapping project and the provision of training. It will represent an opportunity to learn more about MMN and the approaches that are being taken to different aspects of numismatics by a number of key participating institutions. It will also be a chance to meet colleagues from other UK public institutions to share knowledge and ideas about museum numismatic collections. In addition, there will be a chance for delegates to see the British Museum’s exhibition about the Money and Medals Network which will be on display in Room 69a from 22 March until 30 September 2018. This conference is open to anyone working or volunteering with numismatic collections in UK museums. Attendance is free, but booking is essential. Lunch will be provided and a limited number of travel bursaries are available. Book here. 27 March - Collecting Birmingham End of Project Symposium12 noon - 5.30pm Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery B3 3DHAn afternoon knowledge sharing event and celebration where artists, activists, community workers, and curators explore issues around material culture, power and untold stories. This event marks the close of Collecting Birmingham a unique project that has, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, significantly developed the relevance and accessibility of Birmingham’s collections. During this three year project local communities were consulted on the objects and histories that the museum should acquire, giving these communities direct influence on the acquisition of objects. The afternoon will feature discussion and performance from people who have made, given and curated objects now held in museums. The event will bring together speakers from Birmingham’s diverse communities, with case studies from across the UK. The seminar will be followed by an evening reception (finishing at 7.30pm) including a very special in conversation with Vanley Burke, and an opportunity to see the latest display of his work along side the wider Collecting Birmingham Exhibition. For more information and to book click here. NewsArts Council National Lottery Project GrantsArts Council want to support exciting and diverse work that brings great art and culture to people across the country. The new Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants is their funding programme for arts, museums and libraries projects. 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. To find out more about the Project Grants and how to apply visit the Arts Council website. Questions before during or after making an application? Contact enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk or telephone 0161 934 4317. Emcees Awards 2018 - Call for nominationsNominations are invited for the third annual Emcees awards. The Awards were set up by =mc and the National Arts Fundraising School to recognise and celebrate the incredible efforts and achievements of those working in the arts and culture fundraising sector. Past winners of the Emcees include both large and small organisations, from The Courtyard Centre for the Arts through to English National Ballet, St. Barbe Museum & Art Gallery to Scottish Opera. Nominations in seven categories are invited.
For more information and to nominate click here. The deadline for entries is 5pm, Friday 16 March. Waterworks Museum Hereford to receive Engineering Heritage AwardThe Waterworks Museum - Hereford is to receive an Engineering Heritage Award (EHA) from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) for their Worth Mackenzie triple-expansion steam engine of 1895. Over the past 30 years IMechE has granted 115 EHAs to celebrate the essential contribution of mechanical engineering to our past and present. To celebrate the presentation of this prestigious award on Sunday 18 March the Trustees are offering free entry to the museum with all engines and pumps working (in-steam). The Museum will be open between 12 - 4pm. The IMechE presentation will be made at 2pm. Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy Launch Free Online Fundraising TrainingThanks to investment from Arts Council England, Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy has launched free access to the largest collection of online fundraising training anywhere in the world. Registration is now open for a range of free e-learning courses for staff, practitioners and Trustees in the cultural and heritage sectors so you can learn at your own pace and courses include a 1.5 hour course for Trustees: Trustee Leadership in Fundraising and Income Generation which starts 12 March. Heritage Volunteering Group Volunteer Manager of the Year AwardThe Heritage Volunteering Group is here to help you unlock the power of volunteering through collaboration and sharing best practice. Through it's Volunteer Manager of the Year Award they celebrate and share innovative and outstanding examples of volunteer leadership within our sector. For more information and to nominate click here. Nominations close Friday 23 March. Heritage Lottery Fund Consultation: Strategic Funding Framework 2019-2024Using money raised by National Lottery players the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) invests in the full breadth of the UK’s heritage to make a lasting difference for heritage and people. HLF's online consultation about their next Strategic Funding Framework for 2019-2024 is open. Find out more and complete the consultation questionnaire. HLF want the new strategy to benefit from and reflect the expertise and experience of the widest possible range of stakeholders across the heritage sector and beyond. The consultation will provide the opportunity to share your thoughts on their strategic direction and proposals. The findings will help HLF to set their priorities for how the National Lottery Good Causes income is used for the period from 2019 to 2024. Diversity in Arts and CultureArts Council England has published it's annual report on diversity in the Arts Council and their funded organisations. This year it shows that in comparison with the wider working age population, people from a black and minority ethnic background and disabled people are under-represented across the arts and culture workforce and leadership. Women are also under-represented in certain leadership roles. The full report can be found here. Kids in Museums have announced 2018 dates for: Teen Twitter Takeover – Friday 3 August Takeover Day – Friday 23 November Click on the links above to find out more and how your museum can become involved... Subject Specialist NetworksThe new Subject Specialist Networks website can be found at https://subjectspecialistnetworks.org.uk/. OpportunitiesBritish Association of Friends of Museums Travel Award Bursary 2018British Association of Friends of Museums (BAFM) is an independent organisation established in 1973 for friends, volunteers and supporters in museums, galleries and heritage sites representing more than 200,000 friends and volunteers across the UK. BAFM is again offering its bi-annual Travel Award. The winner may be either totally committed volunteers of any age (who devote many hours supporting their museum or gallery) or a young professional who is starting their career in the museum world. For more details, including how to apply please visit their website. Deadline for submissions: 30 April Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grants 2018 deadlinesThis funding scheme through Art Fund is open to curators and other professionals working with public collections. It aims to help individuals realise their curatorial ambitions, through offering grants for collections-based research and curatorial development opportunities. £75,000 is available annually. Over 320 museum professionals have been helped with 294 projects since the programme launched in 2012. Full details of the grants, how to apply and previous awards can be found here. Small grant applications can be made at any point throughout the year, while applications over £1,500 are considered at committee meetings three times a year. The remaining deadlines for 2018 are as follows: Application deadline Date of meeting 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. Resourceswww.mdwm.org.uk/resources has a wide range of resources drawn from our programme and workshops which can be accessed by 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. Keep up to date with the Leicester University Museum Studies jobs desk site here. Images © Lee Allen Photography Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, Breaking Boundaries Conference, Leamington Spa Museum and Art Gallery, Oak House Museum, Lapworth Museum of Geology 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. |