Issue Six – July 2008
Renaissance Research Programme
Curating for the Future Conference
The Whitworth Art Gallery, ‘Museum Nights’ part of Museums & Galleries Month – Joel C Fildes
Do Museums Matter?
“ Adam Naylor-Whalley
Do museums matter?
MLA research
Keswick Museum & Art Gallery
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When any information can be gathered in a moment of seconds across the internet, what function do the great repositories of accumulated information that are museums have? Where is their point of difference, and do they matter at all? Vaughan Allen, Chief Executive, Urbis
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As part of Museums & Galleries Month, more than 70 delegates congregated in Manchester for the Do Museums Matter? debate.
Well, we believe they do matter – and that is why Renaissance North West is increasingly supporting regional museums and galleries. Over the coming months, we are making arrangements to respond to the changes at MLA North West, and, where appropriate, to take on responsibilities for museum development. The national Renaissance Review will make recommendations later this year, which we expect will refine the relationship between Renaissance North West and regional museums. In this interim period, Renaissance North West has contracted consultants to deliver advice for museums in Cumbria and Merseyside, who are applying for the Accreditation Standard. Our work on collections review is progressing, and our successful Unleash the Power of Your Collections grants return – a ‘one-stop shop’ to support increased access to regional collections. We know how important it is to have good communications to help the sector keep abreast of changes, so we are trying to keep an on-line presence when the MLA North West website is taken off-line at the end of July. We are exploring a range of solutions with MLA and the North West Federation of Museums & Galleries. As President of the Museums Association, I am delighted that the North West is hosting the Museums Association’s conference and exhibition as part of Liverpool 08, and that Renaissance North West is offering free places for regional museum staff to attend this important event. Details on how to obtain a free seat are listed in this newsletter. See you there. Virginia Tandy, Director, Manchester City Galleries, (Hub Lead)
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Culture and sport are the glue that holds communities together. Local teams, theatres, festivals and galleries are all sources of interest, entertainment, income, and above all, local pride... They can contribute substantially to the local economy, to improving people’s health and wellbeing and to the strength and safety of communities in general.
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Andy Burnham MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport
Museums, libraries and archives have the potential to help shape prosperous communities and improve quality of life in local areas.
MLA sees community engagement as the key activity for the sector, to help more people get actively involved in their neighbourhoods and to influence decisions about their neighbourhoods and public services. Across the country, the Renaissance programme has invested significant resources in community engagement activities – from audience development to consultation with priority groups – to inform interpretation and service development. Understanding the impact of this work will be the focus of a major research and evaluation exercise. MLA and the nine regional Hubs are commissioning joint evaluation of Renaissance-funded community engagement initiatives, to capture the progress and impact of these activities and measure the effectiveness of the organisational development work that delivers them. As a leading partner for research at MLA, Renaissance North West will have a central role in developing this common evaluation framework. MLA has launched on-line support that offers advice and guidance on how to contribute to communities through: # managing performance # identifying improvement needs # providing appropriate support. Visit: www.mla.gov.uk/policy/improvement Javier Stanziola, Head of Research & Evidence, MLA
Harris Museum & Art Gallery
What are we doing? Norwyn
This year we have commissioned six pieces of research: # The Manchester Museums Consortium MAGPIE
Why are we doing it?
education programme, based at Manchester Children’s Services, is being evaluated by The University of Warwick. # The Family Learning programmes at the Hub museums. The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) is carrying out this evaluation.
We invest in research to inform the development and implementation of the Renaissance programme. It is an opportunity to question usual working methods so that we can develop responsive museums that audiences will engage with. Research can help this process by injecting new ideas and perspectives into the mix. Claire Wood
Knowledge about museum visitors is critical, because it informs the development of appropriate programmes and lets us know if we are meeting our audience targets. Only hard and fast evidence of impact can help us convince funders that museums are good value for money. We want to find out about what isn’t working as well. In one programme that was evaluated, the partnership aspect did not work well, and we now have useful information about what is needed for effective partnerships.
Manchester Art Gallery # The Pathways and Progression secondary
schools programme in Greater Manchester is being evaluated by Hayton Associates. # Outside In is an anthropological investigation of the culture of four Hub venues by the University of Manchester and Nadine Andrews. # The View of the Child examines how children learn in museums and galleries. This research is led by Cape UK and The University of Leeds. # Attitudes to museums in Preston are being researched by Lisa Baxter.
Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery
The research will form the basis of workshops and events throughout the coming year. In addition, on-going visitor research is telling us more about our audiences – who they are, why they visit, are they satisfied with their visit and will they come again? We are also equipping staff at museums with evaluation skills, so that they can assess key projects themselves. This benefits colleagues who have to report regularly on the progress of their work.
Adam Naylor-Whalley
Renaissance North West Research Programme
Since its inception in 2004, Renaissance North West has invested in research and evaluation to help develop museums in the region. Renaissance North West is recognised nationally for its lead in using research as a development tool. Renaissance is an ambitious programme that sets out to transform museums – research and evaluation is helping us learn what needs to change, and how.
www.mla.gov.uk
How are we using the research?
PROFILE: ANDREW PALMER
We involve our colleagues throughout the evaluation process, so that museums can learn from the research – otherwise the learning stays in the heads of the researchers. This is why groups of staff meet regularly to discuss the emerging findings and plan how to use the research in their work.
Strategic Audience Development Consultant
People’s History Museum
For example, the evaluation of the MAGPIE museum education programme is being used to inform the next stages of the programme and to inform similar programmes elsewhere in the region. The findings from the Family Learning research are being used to design new programmes and to refine existing ones. It is also being used to guide the development of partnerships with external agencies that have an interest in family learning. Last October, our research contributed to the case made nationally at the Comprehensive Spending Review for funding the Renaissance programme until at least 2011. We continue to use the evidence to make a compelling case for the value of Renaissance in the North West. We produce publications to share findings: # A PDF document about how the Manchester Museums Consortium
developed the ‘Pathways & Progression’ programme for secondary school pupils. # An advocacy leaflet developed in partnership with Manchester Children’s Services about how teachers can work with museums and galleries to improve pupil’s literacy. # The research report that demonstrates the impact of the MAGPIE programme and how working with museums and galleries raises children’s attainment at Key Stage 2. # A PDF document that outlines how museums and galleries in the North West and the South West are working in partnership with early years practitioners and the impact that this work has on the learning and development of young children. There is a forthcoming resource about using museums to improve the teaching of literacy. You can obtain copies of the publications by contacting us – call 0161 235 8825. Contact Myna Trustram if you would like to discuss any aspect of research and evaluation: m.trustram@manchester.gov.uk 0161 235 8849
Renaissance is all about harnessing change to share and celebrate outstanding museums and galleries with local, regional, national and international visitors. This works best when we are forging purposeful partnerships across departments, between museums and with other stakeholder organisations. Our audience development strategies are much more than just marketing and communication tools. They reflect how museums are gaining knowledge, forming partnerships and developing new ways of thinking and working. I have been working with five museums in Preston to develop a joined-up offer in response to what families want from a fun, free day out. We’ve fused the family learning and audience development agendas into a single, innovative initiative. The original idea came from the venues themselves, so my work with Renaissance North West is like a catalyst. It’s still early days but the Preston Museums Group is working together exceptionally well. Our collective mix of expertise and new research into the motivations and needs of our current (and potential) audiences is a challenging, scary and exciting combination. It’s what drives our audience development programmes. In Preston, our audiences are responding and growing, but we’re nowhere near capacity yet and it’s our audience insight that will help us continue to thrive. Visit: www.prestonhandsongang.com to see the great visitor offer we’re creating. Andrew Palmer works with Alex Saint as joint Strategic Audience Development consultants for Renaissance North West.
www.mla.gov.uk
Curating for the Future Conference 8 & 9 September 2008, University of Manchester The Curating for the Future Conference is for everyone working in museums and galleries. Renaissance North West, The University of Manchester and the North West Federation of Museums & Galleries have developed the programme based on feedback you have given us at other events. The conference is a unique opportunity to reflect on what it is that makes museums matter to you.
Programme Keynote speakers Sandy Nairne Director, National Portrait Gallery Keith Khan Head of Culture, 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games
Workshop topics and facilitators Bringing museums closer to visitors. Andrew McIntyre, Director, Morris Hargreaves McIntyre
Inspirational keynote speakers will discuss: # do museums have a global responsibility?
Championing diversity. Roshi Naidoo, Co-editor, Politics of Heritage: Legacies of Race
# how to advocate to stakeholders # who decides the relevance and who tells the story?
You will also have the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions that will examine broad sectoral challenges, such as:
What is forever? Collections care vs. access. Irit Narkiss, Conservator & Helena Tomlin, Curator of Learning, The Manchester Museum
# organisational change
The role of senior managers in 21st century museums. Paulette Francis-Green, Consultant, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
# diversity # how long we keep collections and how we use them # building relationships with our visitors
Meaning-making and identity: How museums and galleries combat social exclusion. Andrew Newman, Director, International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, University of Newcastle
# reflecting on different types of cultural knowledge.
There will be a discussion that will reflect on the roles and responsibilities of advocacy.
The discussion and panel Who is responsible for advocacy and how can it be done effectively? Alec Coles, Director, Tyne & Wear Museums Sharon MacDonald, Professor of Social Anthropology, The University of Manchester Roy Clare, Chief Executive, MLA Dr Elizabeth MacKenzie, Vice-President, British Association of Friends of Museums Jim Forrester, Director, Imperial War Museum North For more information and to book a place contact: Jennie Crawford j.crawford@manchester.gov.uk 0161 235 8810
Steve Devine
The Manchester Museum
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Museums matter because they can do extraordinary things... they are about human interactions as well as objects. Lubaina Himid, Artist
www.mla.gov.uk
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Events & Training
Adam Naylor-Whalley
7 July Working with Adult Learners Imperial War Museum North. Contact Suzanne Spicer, s.spicer@mosi.org.uk 17 July Working with Costume FREE Lancashire Conservation Studios, Preston. Contact Kaye Tetlow, kaye.tetlow@mus.lancscc.gov.uk 23 July Documentation Strategies FREE Warrington Business School (TBC). Contact MLA North West: adminpost@mlanorthwest.org.uk or 01925 625050
Jennie Crawford, Renaissance North West Communications & Events Officer 0161 235 8810 j.crawford@manchester.gov.uk
28 July Emergency Planning Workshop FREE Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle. Contact Kaye Tetlow as above 12 September Working with Archaeological Collections: Care, Storage & Display FREE Lancashire Conservation Studios, Preston. Contact Kaye Tetlow as above 19 September Copyright and the Web FREE Warrington Business School. Contact MLA North West as above 23 September Storytelling: a Technique for Developing Global Audiences FREE Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery, Carlisle. Contact MLA North West as above 30 September Working with Photographic Collections: Identification & Care FREE Lancashire Conservation Studios, Preston. Contact Kaye Tetlow as above 21 October Interpretation Planning &Strategies FREE Warrington Business School. Contact MLA North West as above 27 October Emergency Planning Workshop FREE Lancashire Conservation Studios, Preston. Contact Kaye Tetlow as above
Katie Athey, Renaissance North West Project Support Officer 0161 235 8825 k.athey@manchester.gov.uk
Don’t miss your chance to attend the MA Conference & Exhibition for FREE
Tullie House Museum & Art Gallery
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I thought I would lose out on training and skills development courses when I moved from the West Midlands to the North West, but I have found the events offered by Renaissance North West to be of great benefit as well as highly engaging.
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Contact the Renaissance North West Team
Laura Wigg, Collections Access & Development Officer, Stockport Heritage Services
Emma Anderson, Renaissance North West Manager 0161 235 8822 e.anderson@manchester.gov.uk Myna Trustram, Renaissance North West Research Manager 0161 235 8849 m.trustram@manchester.gov.uk
Jane Fletcher, Renaissance North West Education Development Manager 01228 618767 / 07854 921522 janef@carlisle.gov.uk Alex Saint & Andrew Palmer, Renaissance North West Strategic Audience Development Consultants alex@alexsaint.com / andrew@palmersquared.co.uk Carli Douglas, Collections for the Future Development Officer: Roman Heritage 0161 306 1772 / 07867 528370 carli.douglas@manchester.ac.uk Kaye Tetlow, Collections Liaison Officer 01772 530223 / 07500 065537 kaye.tetlow@mus.lancscc.gov.uk Paul Fraser Webb, Collections Review & Accreditation Advice Consultant 07855 064425 paul@paul-fraser-webb.co.uk Catriona West, Collections Access Development & Accreditation Advice Consultant 07731 890427 catriona.west@btinternet.com
Renaissance North West and the North West Federation of Museums & Galleries are sponsoring free places at this year’s Museums Association Conference & Exhibition. The event is taking place on the 6, 7 and 8 October 2008 in Liverpool. These free places are for colleagues: # employed at a museum or gallery in the North West # who have never attended the MA conference # who will attend all three days of the conference and have permission from their line manager. Places are limited. To register your interest, please send your name, job title and organisation, together with proof of permission from your line manager to: Jennie Crawford, j.crawford@manchester.gov.uk, 0161 235 8810 The deadline for registering your interest is 1 August 2008. For more information about the event visit: www.museumsassociation.org
www.mla.gov.uk