Hey ho for Rowley
Further to your recent article (Museums Journal November 2006, p6), Shrewsbury Museums Service is pleased to report that the threat of the premature disposal of Rowley's House has been withdrawn.
In response to a great deal of professional and public concern Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council decided to withdraw the building from sale and allow the museums service to continue to occupy the premises until it is ready to move to its planned new home in the redeveloped music hall complex.
The council has committed significant funding and resources to the redevelopment, in support of a bid to be submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund in June. It is also in discussions with a range of other funders and hopes to open the new museum and visitor centre in late 2010 or early 2011.
Rowley's House is currently closed to the public while staff concentrate on an accelerated programme of research and documentation of the collections. The building will reopen from 14 July-9 September and the museums service will use this opportunity to show people what it has been doing while 'dark' and to undertake a further consultation with locals and visitors. There is also a varied programme of education, off-site and outreach work planned.
Mary White, manager, Shrewsbury Museums Service
Jobs, not Diversify entrants, are the issue
I was disappointed to read yet more moaning about the Diversify traineeship package (Museums Journal March 2007, p15). Could we get it off our chests now, so that the letters page may be used for other important issues (council cuts, the threat to our collections)?
I can understand how the traineeship will bring out the green-eyed monster in some because it is a great opportunity. I would like to remind some that positive-action trainees are not guaranteed full-time work. Yes, the experience puts us in a good position, but we enter a competitive job market like everyone else.
I was particularly taken aback by Tehmina Goskar's comments about being successful on 'the merit of my work, not the colour of my skin'. I think I was successful because of my academic achievements, three years experience of working in a museum and gallery (part voluntary) and my enthusiasm for the industry.
I did not tick just one box. Those who are frustrated about that elusive first job should be focusing their understandable frustration on entry-level recruitment and not using the Diversify traineeship as a scapegoat.
Rebecca Watkin, curatorial trainee, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston
A diorama to die for
I read Jane Insley's piece on dioramas (Museums Journal November 2006, p33) with great interest. Staying in Prague with Czech friends in 1993, my heart sank when they suggested visiting a diorama. But at the Lipany Pavilion to our surprise we found that we were at the centre of a life-size diorama.
All around us on the inside walls of the pavilion the Battle of Lipany of 1434 was raging. The perspective was stunning, only the odd damp patch gave the game away. 'Sculptural' installations in front of the paintings enhanced the experience and included a fighting wagon of the Taborites and heaps of abandoned weapons.
In 1993 the curator lamented that tourist attractions were now judged on visitor numbers and he was unsure whether it would remain open. Does anyone know if it is?
Jo Mattingly, Cornwall
What seeking closure can involve
Peter Stott's letter (Museums Journal February 2007, p15) niggled at me. The reports of museums under threat of closure or being closed are a cause for concern, but doesn't mean that our sector is in decay.
For the majority of museums that have gone through this experience the individuals concerned have found themselves, through no fault of their own, in the middle of political wrangling and cost-cutting exercises.
When Worthing Museum and Art Gallery was threatened with closure it was a bolt from the blue - here was a very successful museum service led by dedicated staff - yet when the borough council was faced with the need to make cuts, the museum was at the top of the accountants' list.
As the manager at the time it was a massive learning curve. How do you plan for closing a museum? How long would it take to dismantle the galleries? What do you do with the collections? How many staff will you need to retain and how long for? The list is endless.
While planning for possible closure I also had to find savings in case the elected members had a change of heart. This gave us the opportunity to review our work and it reaffirmed that we were providing an excellent service, but also that we had the skills to take difficult decisions to take the museum service forward. In the end we were lucky and stayed open, although at the cost of one person's job.
As for Peter's 'collective grieving' - sorry, that wasn't what we were asking for when we let the rest of the profession know what was happening at Worthing; we wanted (and got) support, advice and practical help. The profession is not 'in denial' - I think I'm rather lucky to be in a sector that has a very realistic attitude towards the problems thrown at it.
Ann Wise, manager, Warner Textile Archive, Braintree, Essex
Squeeze councils until their CPA squeaks
Your leader (Museums Journal February 2007, p4) describing the pressures facing local government museums and galleries is an all too familiar scenario, and one I am sure is recognised by many colleagues. However, I feel that we need something a bit more robust than a New Year's resolution.
The Demos report by John Holden on the changing local cultural climate identified a series of recommendations, ranging from a call for more research about the sector to making culture a statutory requirement.
There are some recomendations on which the Museums Association (MA) can make a difference, in particular the issue of Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) weighting for cultural performance in local government. A CPA with the right weighting would make axing the local museum or implementing swingeing cuts a painful exercise.
At the moment if an authority has no museum, it is not marked down, therefore there is currently no CPA incentive to keep a museum or gallery open. The MA and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council could lobby government and the Audit Commission more effectively than they are at the moment.
Improving the weighting of CPA would be effective and would require no legislation. When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I find it helpful to make sure they are achievable as well as aspirational.
Stephen Lowy, deputy head of collections and principal community curator, Hampshire Museums
Middlesbrough's deserving case
Caroline Worthington takes a broadly consistent swipe at both the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art's (Mima) new building and its opening exhibition (Museums Journal March 2007, p41). She raises the question of the suitability of investing £19.2m in a modern art museum in Middlesbrough (it actually cost £14.2m).
She considers the decision taken by Middlesbrough Council to build a museum of modern art in the town to be 'incredible'. What I find wholly intolerable is the view that it might be deemed incredible to provide access to a museum of modern art to any town, irrespective of its previous activity. The good people of Middlesbrough are as deserving as any and if there hasn't been a history of provision, then all the better.
The review also observes that Mima's collection was notable by its absence. The onus is on all museums and galleries to use their collections in dynamic and exciting ways. For Mima this means treating the collection as a flexible resource.
It did have a small presence in our opening show, but will occupy the entire gallery for the second hang and have a different representation the hang after that. The curatorial team will continue to ensure that the collection is presented and re-presented to maximum effect.
The work of Mima's education team was also called into question. The events programme didn't begin at the exhibitions launch, it began months before the gallery even opened, and one might have hoped that this was obvious by the exhibition devoted to the fruits of those drawing-related activities in one of our project spaces.
As for opportunities to get involved, the specially designed activity cubes have been incredibly popular as have the For You to Do drawing guides.
It was the Northern Rock Foundation who has generously supported our acquisitions programme (not the Northern Rock Building Society) and to date they seem very happy with our efforts.
A more scientific analysis of the visitors' book has demonstrated that 77 per cent of comments were positive. The sadness is that this is what the Museums Journal calls a peer review and in such circumstances a fledgling institution such as Mima, whilst never looking for or expecting an easy ride, might hope for an even break.
Godfrey Worsdale, director, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
Further to your recent article (Museums Journal November 2006, p6), Shrewsbury Museums Service is pleased to report that the threat of the premature disposal of Rowley's House has been withdrawn.
In response to a great deal of professional and public concern Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council decided to withdraw the building from sale and allow the museums service to continue to occupy the premises until it is ready to move to its planned new home in the redeveloped music hall complex.
The council has committed significant funding and resources to the redevelopment, in support of a bid to be submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund in June. It is also in discussions with a range of other funders and hopes to open the new museum and visitor centre in late 2010 or early 2011.
Rowley's House is currently closed to the public while staff concentrate on an accelerated programme of research and documentation of the collections. The building will reopen from 14 July-9 September and the museums service will use this opportunity to show people what it has been doing while 'dark' and to undertake a further consultation with locals and visitors. There is also a varied programme of education, off-site and outreach work planned.
Mary White, manager, Shrewsbury Museums Service
Jobs, not Diversify entrants, are the issue
I was disappointed to read yet more moaning about the Diversify traineeship package (Museums Journal March 2007, p15). Could we get it off our chests now, so that the letters page may be used for other important issues (council cuts, the threat to our collections)?
I can understand how the traineeship will bring out the green-eyed monster in some because it is a great opportunity. I would like to remind some that positive-action trainees are not guaranteed full-time work. Yes, the experience puts us in a good position, but we enter a competitive job market like everyone else.
I was particularly taken aback by Tehmina Goskar's comments about being successful on 'the merit of my work, not the colour of my skin'. I think I was successful because of my academic achievements, three years experience of working in a museum and gallery (part voluntary) and my enthusiasm for the industry.
I did not tick just one box. Those who are frustrated about that elusive first job should be focusing their understandable frustration on entry-level recruitment and not using the Diversify traineeship as a scapegoat.
Rebecca Watkin, curatorial trainee, Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston
A diorama to die for
I read Jane Insley's piece on dioramas (Museums Journal November 2006, p33) with great interest. Staying in Prague with Czech friends in 1993, my heart sank when they suggested visiting a diorama. But at the Lipany Pavilion to our surprise we found that we were at the centre of a life-size diorama.
All around us on the inside walls of the pavilion the Battle of Lipany of 1434 was raging. The perspective was stunning, only the odd damp patch gave the game away. 'Sculptural' installations in front of the paintings enhanced the experience and included a fighting wagon of the Taborites and heaps of abandoned weapons.
In 1993 the curator lamented that tourist attractions were now judged on visitor numbers and he was unsure whether it would remain open. Does anyone know if it is?
Jo Mattingly, Cornwall
What seeking closure can involve
Peter Stott's letter (Museums Journal February 2007, p15) niggled at me. The reports of museums under threat of closure or being closed are a cause for concern, but doesn't mean that our sector is in decay.
For the majority of museums that have gone through this experience the individuals concerned have found themselves, through no fault of their own, in the middle of political wrangling and cost-cutting exercises.
When Worthing Museum and Art Gallery was threatened with closure it was a bolt from the blue - here was a very successful museum service led by dedicated staff - yet when the borough council was faced with the need to make cuts, the museum was at the top of the accountants' list.
As the manager at the time it was a massive learning curve. How do you plan for closing a museum? How long would it take to dismantle the galleries? What do you do with the collections? How many staff will you need to retain and how long for? The list is endless.
While planning for possible closure I also had to find savings in case the elected members had a change of heart. This gave us the opportunity to review our work and it reaffirmed that we were providing an excellent service, but also that we had the skills to take difficult decisions to take the museum service forward. In the end we were lucky and stayed open, although at the cost of one person's job.
As for Peter's 'collective grieving' - sorry, that wasn't what we were asking for when we let the rest of the profession know what was happening at Worthing; we wanted (and got) support, advice and practical help. The profession is not 'in denial' - I think I'm rather lucky to be in a sector that has a very realistic attitude towards the problems thrown at it.
Ann Wise, manager, Warner Textile Archive, Braintree, Essex
Squeeze councils until their CPA squeaks
Your leader (Museums Journal February 2007, p4) describing the pressures facing local government museums and galleries is an all too familiar scenario, and one I am sure is recognised by many colleagues. However, I feel that we need something a bit more robust than a New Year's resolution.
The Demos report by John Holden on the changing local cultural climate identified a series of recommendations, ranging from a call for more research about the sector to making culture a statutory requirement.
There are some recomendations on which the Museums Association (MA) can make a difference, in particular the issue of Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) weighting for cultural performance in local government. A CPA with the right weighting would make axing the local museum or implementing swingeing cuts a painful exercise.
At the moment if an authority has no museum, it is not marked down, therefore there is currently no CPA incentive to keep a museum or gallery open. The MA and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council could lobby government and the Audit Commission more effectively than they are at the moment.
Improving the weighting of CPA would be effective and would require no legislation. When it comes to New Year's resolutions, I find it helpful to make sure they are achievable as well as aspirational.
Stephen Lowy, deputy head of collections and principal community curator, Hampshire Museums
Middlesbrough's deserving case
Caroline Worthington takes a broadly consistent swipe at both the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art's (Mima) new building and its opening exhibition (Museums Journal March 2007, p41). She raises the question of the suitability of investing £19.2m in a modern art museum in Middlesbrough (it actually cost £14.2m).
She considers the decision taken by Middlesbrough Council to build a museum of modern art in the town to be 'incredible'. What I find wholly intolerable is the view that it might be deemed incredible to provide access to a museum of modern art to any town, irrespective of its previous activity. The good people of Middlesbrough are as deserving as any and if there hasn't been a history of provision, then all the better.
The review also observes that Mima's collection was notable by its absence. The onus is on all museums and galleries to use their collections in dynamic and exciting ways. For Mima this means treating the collection as a flexible resource.
It did have a small presence in our opening show, but will occupy the entire gallery for the second hang and have a different representation the hang after that. The curatorial team will continue to ensure that the collection is presented and re-presented to maximum effect.
The work of Mima's education team was also called into question. The events programme didn't begin at the exhibitions launch, it began months before the gallery even opened, and one might have hoped that this was obvious by the exhibition devoted to the fruits of those drawing-related activities in one of our project spaces.
As for opportunities to get involved, the specially designed activity cubes have been incredibly popular as have the For You to Do drawing guides.
It was the Northern Rock Foundation who has generously supported our acquisitions programme (not the Northern Rock Building Society) and to date they seem very happy with our efforts.
A more scientific analysis of the visitors' book has demonstrated that 77 per cent of comments were positive. The sadness is that this is what the Museums Journal calls a peer review and in such circumstances a fledgling institution such as Mima, whilst never looking for or expecting an easy ride, might hope for an even break.
Godfrey Worsdale, director, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art
