WMMD Newsletter July 2018Contents:
West Midlands Museum Development UpdateSmall Grants Scheme closing soonWould you like up to £3,000 to support your audience development project?Applications must be submitted by 9am, Monday 16 JulyThe Small Grant Scheme is part of the West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) Programme, funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and underpinned by ACE’s 10 year strategic framework ‘Great Arts and Culture for Everyone’. The Small Grant Scheme can support projects to help museums in the West Midlands increase access to and engagement with their collections. All projects should show that they seek to develop and respond to audience development opportunities; improving the services on offer, strengthening sustainability and building resilience. Grants will support museums who demonstrate how they use their collections and planning to reflect the diversity of their audiences. They need to show evidence of how the ‘Creative Case for Diversity’ is at the heart of everything they do, from consulting with diverse and underrepresented groups to diversifying their programmes, collections and exhibitions. Perhaps you might like to consider a project that builds on WMMD activity that your museum has participated in eg Access Audit, Diversity Champions, Arts and Culture Education Audit, Mystery Shopper etc. It may be that one of our workshops such as Start with the Story, Open to Interpretation or Visual Awareness has inspired your project. Please read the guidance and contact your Museum Development Officer before completing the application form (pdf version available on request). Applications must be submitted by: 9am, Monday 16 July. Successful applicants notified: Monday 30 July. Expert EyeSupporting the development of Specialist Collections Knowledge in the West MidlandsApplication deadline Friday 13 JulyDo you have an area of your collection which could benefit from some specialist curatorial advice? The Expert Eye programme is designed to help museum staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of underused elements of their collections. The programme is designed to support knowledge sharing across the organisation, improve documentation records and interpretation and to enrich engagement with visitors. Since 2015 West Midlands Museum Development has supported eight museums in the region and collections have included ceramics, ethnography, archaeology, archives and agriculture. Interested? If you have an area in your collection which you feel would benefit from some expert identification and advice please complete the application form below. Successful museums will be partnered with a subject specialist. The specialist will work with a member of your team at your site for an agreed period to review the collection. The museum is then asked to host a sharing event so that the information about the collection can be disseminated to staff and volunteers. This programme supports Section 2 (Collections) of the Museum Accreditation Standard, with particular reference to 2.5 and 2.6. The deadline for applications is Friday 13 July and all projects (including Sharing Events) must be completed no later than 28 February 2019. Coming Soon!All New Mystery Shopper Programme 2018Do you want to see your museum through the eyes of your visitors and hear from a variety of voices? Are you looking for support to develop how your museum welcomes all visitors? Then watch this space as details of our 2018 Mystery Shopper programme will be available soon and places are limited! The Mystery Shopper programme will support Section 3 (Users and their Experiences) of the Museum Accreditation Standard. Diversity Champions Training Programme 2018/2019Applications will open soon for managers or decision makers working in museums and heritage venues to take part in this short professional training programme. There are clear legal, moral and commercial benefits to signing up to the Diversity Champions scheme. Reference to the ‘Creative Case for Diversity’ is now a key principle for ACE funding while developing an Equality Action Plan will ensure that you are conforming with all legislation to achieve equality, access and opportunity for all. West Midlands Volunteer Awards 2018Thank you to all the museums who have submitted nominations for this year's Volunteer Awards. The shortlist of nominees will be announced next Wednesday 18 July. Good luck all! WMMD Resourceswww.mdwm.org.uk/resources has over 50 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 free19 September - Collections Knowledge Café: A Practical Guide to Caring for Costume and Textile Collections10am–4pm, Museums Worcestershire Collections Store, Hartlebury, WorcestershireThis hands-on day will be led by curators from Museums Worcestershire and is designed to share practical skills. The session will support museum staff and volunteers working with historic costume who are interested in learning more about handling, packing and caring for costume and textile collections. Please note that places are limited for this event and that we will only accept one delegate per museum initially. This event is aimed at Accredited Museums and those officially Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands. Refreshments will be provided but delegates will need to bring their own packed lunch. Save the Date29 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. Other Events12 July - Heritage Lottery Fund Online Chat12.30pm - 1.30pm, OnlineAre you involved in the fundraising activities of your organisation and looking to build long-term financial sustainability? Join Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an Online Community live chat when they'll be discussing what heritage and charitable organisations need to do to become more resilient and diversify income. 19 - 20 July - A True Reflection? Displays, Stories and Exhibitions19 July - Beamish: The Living Museum of the North, 20 July - The Great North Museum: HancockSocial History Curators Group (SHCG) Conference. This year’s conference includes interactive workshops, tours and presentations on a wide range of themes including interpretation and community engagement. Conference is a great opportunity to hear about experiences and learning from a range of institutions across the country, to take part in valuable knowledge building workshops, and to have the opportunity to network with others in the sector at a friendly and relaxed conference. For a full programme, list of speakers, and details of how to book, please visit here. 3 September - Museums and Digital Memory: From Creation and Curation to Digital Preservation9.30am - 5pm, British Museum, London WC1B 3DGBooking is now open for the British Museum’s 2018 National Programmes Conference, Museums and digital memory: from creation and curation to digital preservation. The conference will focus on the theme of ‘digital’ with an emphasis on preservation. The day will explore both the exciting outward-facing side of digital technology in museums, and the back-of-house side that can often get overlooked – if we’re memory institutions, how are we ensuring that we retain all the digital memory that we’re creating? Tickets are free, but must be reserved online via Eventbrite. A limited number of travel bursaries are also available for delegates for whom travel costs would be prohibitive. 8-10 November - Dissent: Inspiring Hope - Embracing ChangeMuseums Association Conference, Belfast WaterfrontTwo keynote speakers have been announced:
For more information about the conference or to book, click here. NewsContemporary Collecting and Disposal SurveyThe University of York has launched a Contemporary Collecting and Disposal survey which is open throughout July. The survey covers the whole of the UK and everyone involved in collections development decisions relating to objects from the recent past is invited to participate. They are especially interested in hearing from social history curators. The survey does ask questions about your museum and its policies, but it is primarily interested in what you think about contemporary collecting and disposal – so multiple responses from the same museum are welcomed. The survey is the first stage of a three-stage process that includes a knowledge exchange event to be held in York in September and a report that will be available free of charge digitally and in print later this year. For more information and to take part in the survey click here. Open Up: Museums For EveryoneA new website and series of useful free resources created by the ‘Open Up: Museums for Everyone’ project have now launched. The resources and website have been made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England, MALD, Museums Galleries Scotland and National Museums Northern Ireland and were designed to help all size museums to increase the diversity of their visitors to make real and lasting change in the museum sector. Co-created with twelve pioneering museums, the new resources can be downloaded as PDFs. They include:
The Future of Civic Museums: A Think PieceThe English Civic Museums Network (ECMN) has published a new report: The Future of Civic Museums: A Think Piece. Authored by Peter Latchford of Black Radley Ltd, it was commissioned to examine the particular qualities, value and importance of civic museums, identify the current challenges they face and explore what they should do to thrive and become more relevant and resilient in the future. Latchford argues that to survive, civic museums must see themselves as part of the wider ecology that surrounds them, building a sense of place, rather than caring for collections in splendid isolation. Read the full report here. New Free Online Course - Museums as Spaces for WellbeingThe National Alliance for Museums, Health and Wellbeing has launched a free online course Museums as Spaces for Wellbeing funded by Arts Council England and Wellcome. This course is aimed at providing advice, tools and guidance on the steps to take in order to develop, deliver and evaluate health and wellbeing work within a museum, heritage or cultural organisation. It is aimed at sector professionals and anyone interested in health and wellbeing work in museum, heritage, or cultural organisations. It will be useful for those who have yet to undertake work in this area or are already doing so but would like support in certain aspects of their provision. The course has six modules which each take 1-1.5 hours to complete. They contain case study films, useful resources and recommended further reading as well as exercises so you can reflect on your own learning and apply it to your own practice. You can enrol at any time by visiting here. Guides for TrusteesThe Charity Commission have updated their Charity Trustee Welcome Pack. Designed primarily for new trustees, the pack can also be used by existing trustees to refresh knowledge and skills. Click here to more information. AIM also has a useful guide for new trustees. Click here to find out more. HLF Publishes Latest Report on Pilot Scheme into Endowment FundraisingThe final report for 2017 on the Catalyst Endowment: Heritage programme – launched in 2012 by HLF and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) – says UK heritage organisations ‘will be more resilient and less reliant on public funding after attracting £53m of private money for US-style endowment funds’. Find out more. Teen Twitter TakeoverThis year Teen Twitter Takeover will be held on Friday 3 August. The day is a brilliant opportunity for museums, heritage sites, galleries, archives and libraries across the UK to collaborate with young people. In 2017, almost 70 museum Twitter handles were taken over by more than 300 young people. Around 300,000 people saw posts by the fantastic teenage tweeters and #takeoverday was trending across the UK. Teen Twitter Takeover provides an opportunity for young people to communicate and work with their peers across the country, whilst gaining valuable experience with museums and their collections. In addition, it helps organisations to better understand their younger audiences and can act as a springboard for working with children and young people again for Takeover Day in November. Sign up using the quick and easy registration form and Kids in Museums will send you stickers for your young tweeters and a bespoke twibbon for your Twitter account. Magical MuseumsFamily Arts Campaign is working with a new marketing and PR team to make sure that as many families as possible find out about your events. The Fantastic for Families website and promotional campaign is a free year-round resource with marketing and PR benefits for your family and age-friendly events. Find out more here. Volunteer Makers Case StudiesVolunteer Makers is a unique technology platform and engagement model for volunteering that has been rolled out nationwide in a programme supported by Arts Council England and developed in collaboration with its partners. A booklet has been published crystallising what it does and sharing feedback from users. Download a PDF copy of the Volunteer Makers case studies booklet. Guidance from the Information Commissioner's OfficeDon't forget the Information Commisioner's Office has issued a helpful 12 step plan for preparing for the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which came into force on 25 May. Click here to download the guidance. Subject Specialist NetworksThe new Subject Specialist Networks website can be found at https://subjectspecialistnetworks.org.uk/. OpportunitiesWant 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 have a 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. Call for PartnersThe British Museum is looking for partners to host a new partnership touring print exhibition, The eye of a collector, which will highlight 25-30 works from a recent bequest of over 200 prints and drawings from the influential film critic Alexander Walker (1930-2003). The exhibition will focus specifically on works of art that mark a transitional moment in an artist’s career. Walker recognised that a change in direction or a breakthrough in style could often be seen in an artist’s graphic work and he purposefully collected prints and drawings that demonstrated this. If you are interested in this exhibition, please read the Tour Information document and complete the Expression of Interest form. Deadline for returning forms to Eleanor Chant is Friday 27 July. Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund 2018-20The DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund 2018-20 is now accepting applications for capital projects from eligible organisations. The bid pro-forma and guidance can be found here. For informal enquiries, please contact dcmswolfsonfund@culture.gov.uk. All applications must be submitted to dcmswolfsonfund@culture.gov.uk by 31 August. Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund 2018 Open for ApplicationsWeston Loan Programme with Art Fund has opened for its second round of applications. The programme is designed to directly fund and empower museums and galleries which are regional and/or run by local authorities, universities, or have independent Trust status, to borrow major works or collections from the UK’s national museums and galleries. Generously supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation, the programme will distribute a further £200,000 to museums and galleries across the UK for projects that enable loans of works of art and artefacts to go on display. Grants will range from £5,000 to £25,000 and can be used to cover a range of costs, including transport, insurance, conservation, installation, and activities relating to advocacy, marketing and audience development. You can find further details, including the Guidance for applicants, on the website. Here you will also find a short film on one of the projects awarded funding in the first round. The deadline for submissions is 11 September. If you have any queries or would like to discuss a potential project, please contact Penny Bull. 2018-19 ICOM UK – British Council Travel Grant Scheme open for applicationsICOM UK, with support from the British Council, is pleased to offer travel grants to support museum professionals to develop mutually beneficial international projects and partnerships for their organisations. The 2018-19 ICOM UK – British Council Travel Grant Scheme will enable recipients to undertake an international visit to meet with colleagues and share skills, expertise and experience. The Travel Grant Scheme supports museums who are starting to develop mutually beneficial international projects and partnerships. Applications will be considered for grants up to £1,500 per organisation or consortium for visits beyond greater Europe and up to £700 for visits within greater Europe. The total amount of funding available for 2018-19 is £17,000. Priority will be given to non-national museums, museums who have not previously undertaken international work, and mutually beneficial visits to countries on the Overseas Development Aid (ODA) list (see pages 4-5 of the application form). 50% of the funding in each round will be ring-fenced for visits to countries on the ODA list. Application deadline: 9am Monday 24 September 2018 Download the application form and guidelines on the ICOM UK website. Please complete one application form per organisation or consortium and email it to: You can read the Case Studies from previous Travel Grant recipients on the ICOM UK website. 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 deadline for 2018 is 17 September. Operations ManagerThe Pen Museum, BirminghamSalary: £27,500 pro rata (0.6 full time equivalent)The Pen Museum are looking for an Operations Manager to provide day to day management of operations at the Museum and oversee all facilities. The Pen Museum celebrates Birmingham's place as the centre of the world's pen trade in the 19th century. The Pen Museum is at an exciting stage in its history thanks to support from Heritage Lottery Fund and other funders. A volunteer led Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and a recent recipient of a Queens Award for Voluntary Service, they are looking for an experienced museum professional to help it move forward and grow. The successful Operations Manager candidate will play an integral part in shaping the Museums future development. The successful candidate will be a creative, enthusiastic people manager with a hands on, can do approach. They will have experience in managing volunteers and will enjoy working with them to help offer visitors the best possible experience. Full details including job description/person specification are available from Nigel Evans To arrange an informal conversation about the role, please contact Andy Munro by email or call 07985 169462. The post commences August 2018 for 12 months. Further extension to post duration is subject to adequate income streams. Closing date for applications: week ending 15 July. Museum DirectorMuseum of Royal Worcester, WorcesterSalary: £35,000 - £45,000 according to experienceThe Museum of Royal Worcester holds the largest and most comprehensive collection of Worcester Porcelain in the world. The collections include some 10,000 ceramic items, together with a large and varied archive, including pattern books, imagery source books and extensive other documentary material. Following a major HLF refurbishment of the museum, the Trustees are now seeking to appoint the post of Museum Director, the senior leadership role in the Museum, responsible to the Trustees for developing and implementing the vision and strategic direction of the organisation. The successful candidate will be educated to degree level and have extensive experience in a leadership role. Substantial experience of fundraising and a proven track record in project or programme delivery is required. Candidates will also have significant experience of managing budgets and the ability to initiate, plan and work at a strategic level. The ability to be entrepreneurial and grow the Museum in creative ways is also essential. Please click here for the job specification and person specification. To apply click here. Closing date for applications: 16 July 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 Lapworth Museum of Geology, Winners Volunteer Awards 2017, 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. |