|
Welcome to the latest edition of the Staffordshire Museum Network newsletter.
Best wishes,
Helen
Museum Development Officer
Staffordshire Archives & Heritage Service
Helen.johnson@staffordshire.gov.uk
@StaffsMDO
New Covid Secure guidance launched by Space for Learning
This guidance has been compiled by members of the Space for Learning: Covid Secure working group and individual task & finish groups, with support from the Clore Duffield Foundation, Engage, GEM and the Theatre Education Forum.
The guidance aims to help learning services and freelancers understand how to work safely during the Covid-19 pandemic, and provide a practical framework to think about what is needed to continue – or restart – learning services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The guidance will be updated as new information becomes available.
View and download the guidance here
Space for Learning was originally published in 2004 by a consortium including the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Clore Duffield Foundation, Arts Council England, the Department for Education & Skills, the Department of Culture, Media & Sport and others. In 2015 some of the original partners came together with other agencies to produce a new and updated version, with online case studies and additional material.
In 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Clore Duffield Foundation, Group for Education in Museums (GEM), Engage (the network for gallery education), and the Theatre Education Forum (TEF) have worked together to draw up guidance on how learning spaces in museums, galleries, heritage and performing arts sites can manage the risk of transmission and be ‘Covid Secure’ when they reopen, and to consider how their programming will need to change and adapt.
The 2020 project established task & finish groups drawn from learning teams across the cultural sector to develop guidance. Updates will be made to the guidance on the website as more information, case studies and examples of best practice become available over the coming months.
Environmental Monitoring Equipment - Free to a Good Home
Tamworth Castle has a small number of Thermo-hygrographs available – free to a good home but collection only. If you are interested please contact Sarah Williams, Collections Officer Sarah-Williams@tamworth.gov.uk
Staffordshire History Festival 2020
Creative Explorers is a programme of free artist-led activities designed for children and young people to take part and have fun creating, using a variety of new & exciting methods.
National Arts Creative and Cultural Education Survey - Summary of Findings
The summary of findings from the National School Survey has been published. The purpose was to gather indicative information from schools about the potential needs and creative aspirations for their pupils from autumn 2020 onwards. It seems that schools are targeting Spring 2021 for resuming school visits to heritage / arts venues. Read the report here.
Nominations Open - Museums Change Lives Awards 2020
The Museums Change Lives Awards celebrate the achievements of museums and individuals that have made an impact on the lives of their audiences and communities, with winners to be announced at a ceremony during our online conference in November.
This year’s Museums Change Lives awards will have four categories – including a new award for the Best Lockdown Project, which will recognise the best museum responses to the coronavirus crisis.
The other awards are Best Museums Change Lives Project, Best Small Museum Project and Radical Changemaker.
You can find full details of the awards and how to apply here. The deadline for entries is 5.30pm, Friday 25 September.
Supporting Volunteers with Reopening
The Heritage Volunteer Group has some useful resources to help museums to support their volunteers as part of their reopening. Many museums will be starting to consider the remobilisation of their volunteers.
- Redeployment Framework: this document helps bring together all your thinking about each of your roles in a single resource
- Redeployment Survey: these example questions are designed to help you understand expected return rates and peoples’ concerns about returning to site
There is also a useful video to support the use of these resources.Find out more.
17 September - Copyright and Suppliers: How to get the rights you need in new digital content
11am-12noon, Heritage Digital webinar
Most heritage organisations will work with external suppliers at some point to generate new content, support their online and digital activities, as well as help manage and provide online access to their collections. Copyright issues will arise in any digital content creation, commissioning and use. Therefore knowing what rights you have, how you can protect them and make the most of your investment, will be crucial. In this webinar, you will learn about simple, practical tools and frameworks to get started on your copyright journey.
This session is most useful for anyone working in a heritage organisation who is responsible for managing suppliers/contractors or making decisions about how their organisation delivers programmes and activities. It is particularly relevant for those working with collections-based heritage. No previous knowledge of copyright is required.
Find out more
Dynamic Information for Dynamic Collections
1 & 2 October 2pm-5pm, Collections Trust Virtual Conference
This year’s Collections Trust conference explores an under-appreciated aspect of dynamic collections: dynamic information. Without information to oil the wheels, doing just about anything with collections becomes more difficult than it should be. How can we get this precious resource flowing more freely and realise the full potential of the collections we hold?
The conference will be held online over two afternoons. The event is free. Find out more
Chairing Essentials: Chairing with Confidence
1 October, 12.30pm-1.45pm, Association of Chairs webinar
We know that the role of Chair although rewarding can be challenging. Yet, many Chairs tell us that they have little time to reflect on the nature of their role and how to be effective. This webinar will provide you with an overview of the role of Chair as well as practical guidance and tools to support you to be an effective Chair.
For more information about this webinar click here
Future Chairing Essentials webinars can be found here
Creating Family Friendly Interactions in the New Normal 30 September and 1 October (Webinar, 10.30 - 12.30)
Ensuring interactions are friendly between front facing museum roles and families has never been more important. In this virtual training for front facing museum staff and volunteers you will:
- learn why family visitors are an important part of your visitor profile
- gain an understanding of the key concerns families have about visiting museums post-lockdown
- together come up with ways to tackle common scenarios involving family visitors and Covid-19 restrictions
- explore how you can use playful and safe ways to interact with families in a way that is relevant to your site
Delivered over two half day sessions (two hours with a short break), the virtual sessions will be delivered with consultant Sarah Shaw, former National Family Interpretation Manager for English Heritage. In this role she implemented a family friendly training and development programme for all front facing staff and volunteers across the organisation. Take a look at the schedule here
Who should attend?These training webinars are suitable for those working in front facing roles and interacting with families on a regular basis in your museum.
Booking informationPlaces are limited to one per organisation on a first come, first served basis. Museums must be based in the East or West Midlands. Book here
Interpreting, Curating and Combating the Climate Emergency - 1 & 2 October 2020
This SWFed online conference will focus on the different ways the museums and heritage sector can respond to the challenges posed by climate change and COVID-19. Sessions will explore and discuss how museums and heritage sites can contribute to increasing public awareness and civic engagement, and how we can develop sustainable and safe practices which will mitigate and adapt to the climate emergency, and to the coronavirus. The event will provide inspiration and practical examples to take away and apply to your own work and the organisations you work with. Find out more.
Connected to Culture LIVE: Audiences now and in the future
8 October, 2pm-2.45pm, Digital Culture Network Webinar
A panel of researchers and cultural leaders will discuss how organisations have seized the opportunity to digitally reach new and existing audiences, and what the current and future implications of changes in audience behaviours and consumption patterns may mean for the arts. Find out more
World Turned Upside Down: Exploring the Future of Museums
Museums Association virtual conference 2-6 November
The past year has redefined how we connect to our communities, care for collections and support our staff, freelancers and volunteers. This year’s Museums Association Conference will explore these changes and discuss how the sector can rise to the challenges we face.
The pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the Climate Crisis have had a massive impact on society and created a critical moment for us to reflect on the future and purpose of museums.
The conference is free to all the Museums Association's individual, institutional and commercial members.
Find out more
This year’s conference will:
- Respond to new realities of the coronavirus pandemic and investigate how we can emerge from the crisis with the tools to meet the needs of our communities
- Examine the decolonisation of museums and the role the sector has in helping to address the racism, injustice and discrimination that blight our societies
- Investigate what we need to do to create inclusive, participatory and sustainable museums
- Develop the skills to advocate and effectively make the case for investment in museums
- Draw inspiration from the global museum community as we share ideas and best practice from across the globe
- Provide a platform for networks and alliances of peers to discuss and deal with the challenges ahead
- Equip attendees with the practical skills and confidence to navigate this world turned upside down
National Lottery Project Grants are Back!
This is Arts Council England’s (ACE) fund open to all individual artists, community and cultural organisations to support arts, museums and libraries projects. And it’s all made possible thanks to funding from National Lottery players.
The portal is open for applications now, with a budget of £59.8 million available until April 2021.
ACE has made some improvements so the fund can be more responsive to the needs of smaller independent organisations and individual practitioners during Covid-19. These changes include:
- For now, you no longer need 10% match funding. Finding match funding in these circumstances would be particularly challenging. So, if you don’t have the full 10% ACE usually expect, or any match funding at all, you’ll still be able to apply.
- Museums can now apply to National Lottery Project Grants for Subject Specialist Network activity.
- ACE will also accept applications from a wider range of applicants for any activity that benefits at least one Accredited museum, its collections and its visitors.
To find out more about project grants for museums take a look at the updated Museums information sheet.
Full information about the National Lottery Project Grants can be found here, including the Guidance to apply for projects under £15k, Guidance for projects over 15k and the new supplementary guidance.
 WMMD Coffee and Chatter
Keep up to date with museums from across the Region at the weekly West Midlands Museum Development Coffee and Chatter at 10.30am every Thursday. Find out more here
Collections Trust Coffee Time
11am-11.45am, Every Wednesday
Join the Collections Trust's weekly online get-together to chat about a museum topic over your elevenses.
For more information and for joining instructions click here.
Heritage Volunteering Group Online Forum3pm, Tuesdays fortnightly
Heritage Volunteering Group (HVG) is running informal catch ups, ask the expert sessions and masterclasses fortnightly. Events are open to all members.
West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD)
FREE Courses and Opportunities for Accredited Museums and those officially listed as Working Towards Accreditation
Sign up to the West Midlands Museum Development Newsletter for news, funding and opportunities across the Region. To subscribe email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk or visit the website
Other Resources
- Association of Independent Museums AIM
- Arts Council England ACE
- British Council BC
- Collections Trust CT
- Culture Hive CH
- Culture 24 Museum Crush
- Group for Education in Museums GEM
- International Council for Museums ICOM
- Museum Association MA
- Touring Exhibition Group TEG
- Institute for Conservation: Conservation Register ICON
- Social History Curators Group SHCG
- Subject Specialist Networks Directory
|
