A sustainable and ethical garden that offers an alternative to the cut flower industry is one of six new projects to receive a Happy Museum award in the second phase of the funding scheme.
The Happy Museum looks at how museums in the UK can build links between sustainability, happiness and wellbeing to leave a legacy of long-term cultural change within their organisations and communities. The latest round of awards has been made as part of a wider programme funded by Arts Council England’s Renaissance strategic support fund.
The Garden Museum in London has received £6,050 to create a cutting garden using volunteers from schools and local groups, and map brownfield sites available for cultivation across the capital.
Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury has received £11,625 to create a paper apothecary promoting dialogue with the community at the centre of its refurbished museum and library. At Reading Museum, a £9,900 award will enable local residents to explore the hidden heritage of their areas and instil a more positive sense of place.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, has received £9,000 for a sound project at Anne Hathaway’s 15th century cottage while Chiltern Open Air Museum has received £9,177 to tap into the building and agricultural skills of local elders and volunteers.
Finally, Imperial War Museum North in Salford has received the largest grant of £14,250 to promotes civic engagement through experimental object handling activities.
Tony Butler, director of the Museum of East Anglian Life and director of the Happy Museum, said “We recognise many museums already appreciate their position in their community and many combine this with scholarship, stewardship, learning and a desire for greater participation.
“What the Happy Museum Project is trying to do is to show that the context is now different. Museums have a real opportunity to imagine a positive future where we might consume less, be more mindful of our relationship with a natural environment, and create a kinder, gentler but no less interesting world.”
The new round of funding brings the total number of Happy Museum projects to 12. A two-day symposium is planned for February 2013 while open workshops next spring will create an opportunity for the wider museum community to find out more about the ideas and thinking behind the project.
A peer-mentoring programme will build and develop the learning and agency of the community of practice.
The Happy Museum looks at how museums in the UK can build links between sustainability, happiness and wellbeing to leave a legacy of long-term cultural change within their organisations and communities. The latest round of awards has been made as part of a wider programme funded by Arts Council England’s Renaissance strategic support fund.
The Garden Museum in London has received £6,050 to create a cutting garden using volunteers from schools and local groups, and map brownfield sites available for cultivation across the capital.
Beaney House of Art and Knowledge in Canterbury has received £11,625 to create a paper apothecary promoting dialogue with the community at the centre of its refurbished museum and library. At Reading Museum, a £9,900 award will enable local residents to explore the hidden heritage of their areas and instil a more positive sense of place.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, has received £9,000 for a sound project at Anne Hathaway’s 15th century cottage while Chiltern Open Air Museum has received £9,177 to tap into the building and agricultural skills of local elders and volunteers.
Finally, Imperial War Museum North in Salford has received the largest grant of £14,250 to promotes civic engagement through experimental object handling activities.
Tony Butler, director of the Museum of East Anglian Life and director of the Happy Museum, said “We recognise many museums already appreciate their position in their community and many combine this with scholarship, stewardship, learning and a desire for greater participation.
“What the Happy Museum Project is trying to do is to show that the context is now different. Museums have a real opportunity to imagine a positive future where we might consume less, be more mindful of our relationship with a natural environment, and create a kinder, gentler but no less interesting world.”
The new round of funding brings the total number of Happy Museum projects to 12. A two-day symposium is planned for February 2013 while open workshops next spring will create an opportunity for the wider museum community to find out more about the ideas and thinking behind the project.
A peer-mentoring programme will build and develop the learning and agency of the community of practice.
