Monday 4 October
Conference 2010: sessions, keynotes and events
Delegate registration desk: 09:00 - 18:30
Manchester museum study tours: 10:00 - 12:00
Conference sessions: 13:00 - 18:15
1000-1200
Site visits and study tours
An opportunity to visit Manchester’s many museums in tours organised especially for delegates. With insights from museum staff, this is a perfect opportunity for those who have never visited the city before to discover what the museums have to offer, and for return visitors it is a chance to see the most recent developments.
People’s History Museum
Join staff on a tour of the highly acclaimed and newly-reopened museum and hear about the recent refurbishment and upcoming plans. Take the opportunity to see Carried Away, a photographic exhibition that takes a sideways look at protest over the past 100 years. The exhibition covers many issues including unemployment, anti-fascism, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the miners’ strike.
Imperial War Museum North
This is a chance to visit the award-winning museum situated in the ever-changing and expanding quays in Salford and Trafford. There will be tours from museum staff and a chance to see the special exhibition All Aboard: Stories of the War at Sea, an interactive look at how wars are fought afloat, how the community on a warship works and how it is supported from the land.
Manchester Art Gallery
Situated in the heart of the city, the gallery remains one of its key attractions. Staff will guide delegates around the collections and offer an insight into its workings. Two tours take place at each museum starting at 1000 and at 1100. Delegates should arrive for their tour(s) of choice just before the hour.
1100-1200
Get connected: a networking and orientation session for firsttime delegates
Manchester Art Gallery
If it’s your first time at the MA conference and you want to learn the ropes, or you haven’t attended for a few years and need a refresher on making the most of the experience, this session is for you.
Come along and meet your fellow delegates, get the inside track on the opportunities on offer and some top networking tips and leave with new friends.
1130-1215
Chair briefing session
Exchange 4
If you are chairing a conference session come along for tips and advice on how to make delegates feel welcome and involved – and how to get the most from speakers and panellists.
1300-1400
Opening address
Vaughan Allen
Exchange Auditorium
Vaughan Allen asks what the Manchester attitude and the city’s way of doing things can teach museums and galleries about new approaches and new philosophies.
He looks at how relevant museums are to a public living through recession and promises to question some sacred cows.
Vaughan Allen is the chief executive of CityCo, Manchester’s city centre management company, which has a brief to promote the entire city centre as a visitor attraction.
A journalist by training, he entered the museum world in 1996 with a one-year contract at the Royal Armouries.
He took over as chief executive of Urbis in Manchester in 2005, where he turned around a failing organisation, built a national reputation for innovative and challenging exhibitions on popular culture and launched a multi-award-winning community programme.
Chair:
Sharon Heal, Head of publications, MA
The opening address is followed by a preview of the conference themes from the theme coordinators.
Working in partnership
Jim Forrester, Director, Imperial War Museum North
Showing off
Maria Balshaw, Director, Whitworth Art Gallery
Whose museum is it anyway?
Caitlin Griffiths, Head of workforce development and events, MA
1400-1515
Concurrent sessions
Capital gains: beyond the golden age of lottery projects
Exchange Auditorium
Be careful what you wish for might be the rueful lesson from the glory years of lottery capital investment. Even as the public enjoy the museums that have been improved and created in this period, many struggle to deal with the economic and environmental impact of buildings developed in boom times. This session takes a critical look at the tensions of living with a large capital project in an era that demands frugality in energy costs and carbon impact. It also explores if today’s ‘grand projects’ are thinking about the long game.
Chair:
Maria Balshaw, Director, Whitworth Art Gallery
Speakers:
Gordon Watson, Chief executive, Lakeland Arts Trust
Stuart McKnight, Architect, McInnes, Usher, McKnight Architects
Julia Twomlow, Director, Leach Pottery, Studio & Museum
Jack Doherty, Lead potter, Leach Pottery, Studio & Museum
Ultimate participation
Charter 3
What is the point of participation?
Is the total handover of power unlikely given museums’ responsibilities to collections?
This session addresses some of the fundamental questions of working closely with audiences.
Why do we co-create and what else could we do together? Are we ambitious enough, do we aim for excellent end results or is it the process that matters?
Chair:
Jocelyn Dodd, Director, Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, University of Leicester
Speakers:
Louise Govier, Visitor experience and communities manager, Mottisfont, National Trust
Tara Jane Herbert, Artistic director, Dance United
Bernadette Lynch, Museum writer, researcher and consultant, Change Management and Associates
Creating a Republic of Museums
Charter 2
Are partnerships just a current fundraising fad?
Dwindling resources and changes to the funding and practice of museums mean that it is more important than ever to re-evaluate partnerships both within and outside the sector.
This session looks at whether it is possible to create a Republic of Museums where we work together to achieve our own goals rather than those directed by the government.
Chair:
Tim Desmond, Chief executive, Galleries of Justice and National Centre for Citizenship and the Law
Speakers:
Richard Clark, Chief executive, The Mighty Creatives
Nicola Burley, Head of museum, Galleries of Justice Museum
Neville Stankley, Senior lecturer in museums and heritage management, Nottingham Trent University
Dr Frankenstein’s guide to building the museum professional of the future
Charter 1
Explore the role of social entrepreneurship in museums and get hands-on to help Dr Frankenstein build the museum worker of the future.
Hear how museums are experiencing sustainable growth by developing new partnerships and services that meet community need and discuss the skills required to succeed in this environment.
No previous surgical experience required.
Chair:
Dr Frankenstein, Mad scientist and fictional character
Speakers:
Craig Dearden-Phillips, Social entrepreneur and author
Tony Butler, Director, Museum of East Anglian Life
Keith Merrin, Director, Woodhorn Museum and Archives
Claire Antrobus, Non-executive director, The Hepworth Wakefield
Hold the front page
Exchange 1
Following the success of last year’s sessions that included a passionate debate around the proposed sale of artworks by Southampton City Council and the Banksy vs. Bristol Museum phenomenon, Hold the front page is back.
The Museums Journal team brings you an up-to-the-minute debate on a topical subject.
Bang to rights?
Exchange 2
Can museums and galleries reduce the risk of criminals re-offending?
Join a broad range of practitioners to discuss the role of museums and galleries in working with the criminal justice system.
Explore the strategy underpinning this work and discuss the practical opportunities and challenges involved in working with young offenders’ institutions and prisons.
Chair:
Nikki Crane, Freelance arts consultant
Speakers:
Tim Robertson, Chief executive, Koestler Trust
Emma Rehm, Outreach officer, National Gallery
Pollie Shorthouse, Learning & access manager, Galleries of Justice and National Centre for Citizenship and the Law
Engaging audiences with science
Exchange 4
Science is important to the UK economy and the way that we live our lives.
This session presents three initiatives taking place in science museums and centres to engage the public, young people and primary schoolchildren. Feed in your experience and questions and learn how museums can play a key role in enhancing public engagement in science.
Chair:
Penny Fidler, Chief executive, The Association for Science and Discovery Centres
Speakers:
Katy McDonald, Acting informal learning manager, At-Bristol
Nick Winterbotham, Chief executive officer, Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
Mark Rowlands, PhD student, Institute of education, Manchester Metropolitan University
1545-1645
Concurrent sessions
Sack the curator
Exchange Auditorium
Putting together outstanding museum collections is what curators are trained to do, so is it possible to place the public in this role and let them select the items?
This session looks at the audiences’ role in shaping collections, whether this is through proactive donation or contributing to defining a museum collecting strategy.
How actively should and can a museum engage the public in these decisions and what are the benefits and the pitfalls of letting the public decide?
Chair:
Caitlin Griffiths, Head of workforce development and events, MA
Speakers:
Jack Latimer, Creator, My Brighton and Hove internet museum
Kylea Little, Curator of contemporary collecting, Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums Sam Groves, Visitor studies curator, Riverside project, Glasgow Museums
Why it’s good to share
Charter 3
How do you make the most of the expertise on your doorstep?
The SHARE scheme in the east of England is partnership work on the frontline.
This session explores how the scheme has created a bank of targeted training, support and advice that all museums can tap into.
Chair:
Vanessa Trevelyan, Head, Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service
Speakers:
Simon Floyd, Workforce development officer, Renaissance East of England
Karen Perkins, Director of museums, Luton Culture
Jenny Oxley, Curator, Welwyn Hatfield Museums Service
New media art
Charter 2
New media art presents an exciting range of challenges and possibilities for museums and galleries.
This session focuses on how to commission, interpret and disseminate new media art, with input from leading experts in the field.
Chair:
Beryl Graham, Professor of new media art, University of Sunderland
Speakers:
Laura Sillars, Programmes director, Foundation for Art and Creative Technology
Kathryn Lambert, Creative director, Folly
Lindsay Taylor, Exhibitions officer, Harris Museum and Art Gallery
Tim Wilcox, Principal manager: exhibitions, Manchester Art Gallery
You’re kidding! What’s the point of children’s museums?
Charter 1
2013 will see the opening of the USA’s National Children’s Museum in Washington DC.
Plans for a new children’s museums in London have also been put forward.
But should we be creating museums aimed at one age range?
Or is combining adult and child experiences, and must touch with don’t touch, too great a challenge for traditional museums?
This session explores the role of children’s museums, whether they can reach audiences that other museums can’t and asks: is a children’s museum really a museum at all?
Chair:
Dea Birkett, Director, Kids in Museums
Speakers:
Leigh-Anne Stradeski, Director, Eureka!
Rhian Harris, Director, V&A Museum of Childhood
Rip it up and start again: sustainable displays and exhibitions
Exchange 1
This session looks at how museums, curators, designers and contractors are responding to the need to develop more sustainable exhibitions.
Hear insights on how this can be achieved and be challenged to be more rigorous in drawing up exhibition briefs.
Find out about the display materials, techniques and tools needed to develop sustainable exhibitions.
Chair:
Sara Hilton, Head, Heritage Lottery Fund, North West
Speakers:
Rachel Madan, Director, Greener Museums
Mike Sarna, Head of interpretation, Natural History Museum
Dominic Sore, Construction and project manager, Patton
Nicola Walker, Head of collection, care & access, Manchester Museum and Whitworth Art Gallery
Our Sporting Life: reaching new audiences through sport
Exchange 2
How can sport be used as a catalyst to reach new audiences?
Case studies from the National Football Museum, WheelPower’s focus on Britain’s contribution to Paralympic sport, and the Our Sporting Life initiative highlight how Britain’s sporting culture can be linked to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
Chair:
Julie Summers, Writer and broadcaster, vice-chair of the Mountain Heritage Trust
Speakers:
Paul Mainds, Chief executive, River and Rowing Museum
Kevin Moore, Director, National Football Museum
Martin McElhatton, Chief executive, WheelPower
1700-1745
Annual general meeting
Exchange Auditorium
Members can find out about the MA’s activities over the past year and its plans for the year ahead.
1745-1800
Presidential address
Exchange Auditorium
The museum sector is facing a ‘perfect storm’ – government and local authority cutbacks, uncertainty about the future of Renaissance in the Regions and the demise of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).
This all suggests that the time has come for substantial downsizing and retrenchment.
However, at the same time the coalition government is looking to the museum sector to play a significant part in the Big Society.
How should we be responding? Despite the challenges we are currently facing the sector is in a strong position to determine its own future.
As well as looking at the threats and opportunities museums are facing, the MA’s new president will explore how the association is changing to meet the challenges and provide support for museums and the people who work in them.
Vanessa Trevelyan
Vanessa Trevelyan started her museum career as a volunteer at Strangers’ Hall in Norwich looking after social history collections and, having come full-circle, is now the head of Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service.
In between she has looked after toys and children’s costume at the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, part of the V&A, before becoming manager of the Purchase Grant Fund for the regions.
She then spent ten years supporting all types of museums with the South East Museums Service and then the Museums and Galleries Commision, where she was responsible for the Museum Registration Scheme.
She was until last year the convenor of the MA’s Ethics Committee.
1815-2100
Networking reception
People’s History Museum
All delegates and exhibitors are invited to join the new MA president and staff for drinks at the People’s History Museum.
This free event offers an opportunity for everyone to get together, network and celebrate the newly redeveloped and extended museum.
To download a conference guide, please click here (pdf)
Delegate registration desk: 09:00 - 18:30
Manchester museum study tours: 10:00 - 12:00
Conference sessions: 13:00 - 18:15
1000-1200
Site visits and study tours
An opportunity to visit Manchester’s many museums in tours organised especially for delegates. With insights from museum staff, this is a perfect opportunity for those who have never visited the city before to discover what the museums have to offer, and for return visitors it is a chance to see the most recent developments.
People’s History Museum
Join staff on a tour of the highly acclaimed and newly-reopened museum and hear about the recent refurbishment and upcoming plans. Take the opportunity to see Carried Away, a photographic exhibition that takes a sideways look at protest over the past 100 years. The exhibition covers many issues including unemployment, anti-fascism, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the miners’ strike.
Imperial War Museum North
This is a chance to visit the award-winning museum situated in the ever-changing and expanding quays in Salford and Trafford. There will be tours from museum staff and a chance to see the special exhibition All Aboard: Stories of the War at Sea, an interactive look at how wars are fought afloat, how the community on a warship works and how it is supported from the land.
Manchester Art Gallery
Situated in the heart of the city, the gallery remains one of its key attractions. Staff will guide delegates around the collections and offer an insight into its workings. Two tours take place at each museum starting at 1000 and at 1100. Delegates should arrive for their tour(s) of choice just before the hour.
1100-1200
Get connected: a networking and orientation session for firsttime delegates
Manchester Art Gallery
If it’s your first time at the MA conference and you want to learn the ropes, or you haven’t attended for a few years and need a refresher on making the most of the experience, this session is for you.
Come along and meet your fellow delegates, get the inside track on the opportunities on offer and some top networking tips and leave with new friends.
1130-1215
Chair briefing session
Exchange 4
If you are chairing a conference session come along for tips and advice on how to make delegates feel welcome and involved – and how to get the most from speakers and panellists.
1300-1400
Opening address
Vaughan Allen
Exchange Auditorium
Vaughan Allen asks what the Manchester attitude and the city’s way of doing things can teach museums and galleries about new approaches and new philosophies.
He looks at how relevant museums are to a public living through recession and promises to question some sacred cows.
Vaughan Allen is the chief executive of CityCo, Manchester’s city centre management company, which has a brief to promote the entire city centre as a visitor attraction.
A journalist by training, he entered the museum world in 1996 with a one-year contract at the Royal Armouries.
He took over as chief executive of Urbis in Manchester in 2005, where he turned around a failing organisation, built a national reputation for innovative and challenging exhibitions on popular culture and launched a multi-award-winning community programme.
Chair:
Sharon Heal, Head of publications, MA
The opening address is followed by a preview of the conference themes from the theme coordinators.
Working in partnership
Jim Forrester, Director, Imperial War Museum North
Showing off
Maria Balshaw, Director, Whitworth Art Gallery
Whose museum is it anyway?
Caitlin Griffiths, Head of workforce development and events, MA
1400-1515
Concurrent sessions
Capital gains: beyond the golden age of lottery projects
Exchange Auditorium
Be careful what you wish for might be the rueful lesson from the glory years of lottery capital investment. Even as the public enjoy the museums that have been improved and created in this period, many struggle to deal with the economic and environmental impact of buildings developed in boom times. This session takes a critical look at the tensions of living with a large capital project in an era that demands frugality in energy costs and carbon impact. It also explores if today’s ‘grand projects’ are thinking about the long game.
Chair:
Maria Balshaw, Director, Whitworth Art Gallery
Speakers:
Gordon Watson, Chief executive, Lakeland Arts Trust
Stuart McKnight, Architect, McInnes, Usher, McKnight Architects
Julia Twomlow, Director, Leach Pottery, Studio & Museum
Jack Doherty, Lead potter, Leach Pottery, Studio & Museum
Ultimate participation
Charter 3
What is the point of participation?
Is the total handover of power unlikely given museums’ responsibilities to collections?
This session addresses some of the fundamental questions of working closely with audiences.
Why do we co-create and what else could we do together? Are we ambitious enough, do we aim for excellent end results or is it the process that matters?
Chair:
Jocelyn Dodd, Director, Research Centre for Museums and Galleries, University of Leicester
Speakers:
Louise Govier, Visitor experience and communities manager, Mottisfont, National Trust
Tara Jane Herbert, Artistic director, Dance United
Bernadette Lynch, Museum writer, researcher and consultant, Change Management and Associates
Creating a Republic of Museums
Charter 2
Are partnerships just a current fundraising fad?
Dwindling resources and changes to the funding and practice of museums mean that it is more important than ever to re-evaluate partnerships both within and outside the sector.
This session looks at whether it is possible to create a Republic of Museums where we work together to achieve our own goals rather than those directed by the government.
Chair:
Tim Desmond, Chief executive, Galleries of Justice and National Centre for Citizenship and the Law
Speakers:
Richard Clark, Chief executive, The Mighty Creatives
Nicola Burley, Head of museum, Galleries of Justice Museum
Neville Stankley, Senior lecturer in museums and heritage management, Nottingham Trent University
Dr Frankenstein’s guide to building the museum professional of the future
Charter 1
Explore the role of social entrepreneurship in museums and get hands-on to help Dr Frankenstein build the museum worker of the future.
Hear how museums are experiencing sustainable growth by developing new partnerships and services that meet community need and discuss the skills required to succeed in this environment.
No previous surgical experience required.
Chair:
Dr Frankenstein, Mad scientist and fictional character
Speakers:
Craig Dearden-Phillips, Social entrepreneur and author
Tony Butler, Director, Museum of East Anglian Life
Keith Merrin, Director, Woodhorn Museum and Archives
Claire Antrobus, Non-executive director, The Hepworth Wakefield
Hold the front page
Exchange 1
Following the success of last year’s sessions that included a passionate debate around the proposed sale of artworks by Southampton City Council and the Banksy vs. Bristol Museum phenomenon, Hold the front page is back.
The Museums Journal team brings you an up-to-the-minute debate on a topical subject.
Bang to rights?
Exchange 2
Can museums and galleries reduce the risk of criminals re-offending?
Join a broad range of practitioners to discuss the role of museums and galleries in working with the criminal justice system.
Explore the strategy underpinning this work and discuss the practical opportunities and challenges involved in working with young offenders’ institutions and prisons.
Chair:
Nikki Crane, Freelance arts consultant
Speakers:
Tim Robertson, Chief executive, Koestler Trust
Emma Rehm, Outreach officer, National Gallery
Pollie Shorthouse, Learning & access manager, Galleries of Justice and National Centre for Citizenship and the Law
Engaging audiences with science
Exchange 4
Science is important to the UK economy and the way that we live our lives.
This session presents three initiatives taking place in science museums and centres to engage the public, young people and primary schoolchildren. Feed in your experience and questions and learn how museums can play a key role in enhancing public engagement in science.
Chair:
Penny Fidler, Chief executive, The Association for Science and Discovery Centres
Speakers:
Katy McDonald, Acting informal learning manager, At-Bristol
Nick Winterbotham, Chief executive officer, Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
Mark Rowlands, PhD student, Institute of education, Manchester Metropolitan University
1545-1645
Concurrent sessions
Sack the curator
Exchange Auditorium
Putting together outstanding museum collections is what curators are trained to do, so is it possible to place the public in this role and let them select the items?
This session looks at the audiences’ role in shaping collections, whether this is through proactive donation or contributing to defining a museum collecting strategy.
How actively should and can a museum engage the public in these decisions and what are the benefits and the pitfalls of letting the public decide?
Chair:
Caitlin Griffiths, Head of workforce development and events, MA
Speakers:
Jack Latimer, Creator, My Brighton and Hove internet museum
Kylea Little, Curator of contemporary collecting, Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums Sam Groves, Visitor studies curator, Riverside project, Glasgow Museums
Why it’s good to share
Charter 3
How do you make the most of the expertise on your doorstep?
The SHARE scheme in the east of England is partnership work on the frontline.
This session explores how the scheme has created a bank of targeted training, support and advice that all museums can tap into.
Chair:
Vanessa Trevelyan, Head, Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service
Speakers:
Simon Floyd, Workforce development officer, Renaissance East of England
Karen Perkins, Director of museums, Luton Culture
Jenny Oxley, Curator, Welwyn Hatfield Museums Service
New media art
Charter 2
New media art presents an exciting range of challenges and possibilities for museums and galleries.
This session focuses on how to commission, interpret and disseminate new media art, with input from leading experts in the field.
Chair:
Beryl Graham, Professor of new media art, University of Sunderland
Speakers:
Laura Sillars, Programmes director, Foundation for Art and Creative Technology
Kathryn Lambert, Creative director, Folly
Lindsay Taylor, Exhibitions officer, Harris Museum and Art Gallery
Tim Wilcox, Principal manager: exhibitions, Manchester Art Gallery
You’re kidding! What’s the point of children’s museums?
Charter 1
2013 will see the opening of the USA’s National Children’s Museum in Washington DC.
Plans for a new children’s museums in London have also been put forward.
But should we be creating museums aimed at one age range?
Or is combining adult and child experiences, and must touch with don’t touch, too great a challenge for traditional museums?
This session explores the role of children’s museums, whether they can reach audiences that other museums can’t and asks: is a children’s museum really a museum at all?
Chair:
Dea Birkett, Director, Kids in Museums
Speakers:
Leigh-Anne Stradeski, Director, Eureka!
Rhian Harris, Director, V&A Museum of Childhood
Rip it up and start again: sustainable displays and exhibitions
Exchange 1
This session looks at how museums, curators, designers and contractors are responding to the need to develop more sustainable exhibitions.
Hear insights on how this can be achieved and be challenged to be more rigorous in drawing up exhibition briefs.
Find out about the display materials, techniques and tools needed to develop sustainable exhibitions.
Chair:
Sara Hilton, Head, Heritage Lottery Fund, North West
Speakers:
Rachel Madan, Director, Greener Museums
Mike Sarna, Head of interpretation, Natural History Museum
Dominic Sore, Construction and project manager, Patton
Nicola Walker, Head of collection, care & access, Manchester Museum and Whitworth Art Gallery
Our Sporting Life: reaching new audiences through sport
Exchange 2
How can sport be used as a catalyst to reach new audiences?
Case studies from the National Football Museum, WheelPower’s focus on Britain’s contribution to Paralympic sport, and the Our Sporting Life initiative highlight how Britain’s sporting culture can be linked to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
Chair:
Julie Summers, Writer and broadcaster, vice-chair of the Mountain Heritage Trust
Speakers:
Paul Mainds, Chief executive, River and Rowing Museum
Kevin Moore, Director, National Football Museum
Martin McElhatton, Chief executive, WheelPower
1700-1745
Annual general meeting
Exchange Auditorium
Members can find out about the MA’s activities over the past year and its plans for the year ahead.
1745-1800
Presidential address
Exchange Auditorium
The museum sector is facing a ‘perfect storm’ – government and local authority cutbacks, uncertainty about the future of Renaissance in the Regions and the demise of the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA).
This all suggests that the time has come for substantial downsizing and retrenchment.
However, at the same time the coalition government is looking to the museum sector to play a significant part in the Big Society.
How should we be responding? Despite the challenges we are currently facing the sector is in a strong position to determine its own future.
As well as looking at the threats and opportunities museums are facing, the MA’s new president will explore how the association is changing to meet the challenges and provide support for museums and the people who work in them.
Vanessa Trevelyan
Vanessa Trevelyan started her museum career as a volunteer at Strangers’ Hall in Norwich looking after social history collections and, having come full-circle, is now the head of Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service.
In between she has looked after toys and children’s costume at the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, part of the V&A, before becoming manager of the Purchase Grant Fund for the regions.
She then spent ten years supporting all types of museums with the South East Museums Service and then the Museums and Galleries Commision, where she was responsible for the Museum Registration Scheme.
She was until last year the convenor of the MA’s Ethics Committee.
1815-2100
Networking reception
People’s History Museum
All delegates and exhibitors are invited to join the new MA president and staff for drinks at the People’s History Museum.
This free event offers an opportunity for everyone to get together, network and celebrate the newly redeveloped and extended museum.
To download a conference guide, please click here (pdf)
