Opinion
Making the Grade?
Virginia Tandy, the new president of the Museums Association, tells Museums Journal what challenges she thinks the next few years will hold.
Joint practices
The work of regional arts bodies needs to be better coordinated if they are to attract more funds, argues Marjorie Allthorpe-Guyton
Laughing matter
Have you heard the one about the actor, the musician and the stand-up comic who try to make science funny? Jonathan Milton on the Dana Centre's comedy team
Ethics: Conservation
Alterations, additions and partial destruction of an artefact can tell us a lot about that object’s historical significance and social and cultural context. Conservation can reveal important information for research and audience development purposes about the object’s original conception and intended use. Should museums and galleries ever restore an object to its original state? It …
Who do we think we are?
Gordon Brown's fixation with Britishness prompted discussions by the British Library and the British Museum on an exhibition of modern Britain. Now Brown is prime minister, could a museum of modern Britain become a reality? We asked six cultural practitioners about their vision for such a venue
Letters
Human remains – Manchester’s view Quinton Carroll (Museums Journal July 2007, p14) asked if the article written by Piotr Bienkowski about the Human Remains Advisory Service reflected the policy of the Manchester Museum. I find his question a puzzling one. It is certainly not our policy to criticise individual organisations. However, as a university museum, …
Letters
Gypsy culture has not been ignored I was surprised and rather disappointed to read Jake Bowers’ article about the ‘failure of public museums to represent Gypsy-Traveller history’ (Museums Journal August 2006, p18). Bowers states that ‘in 2005 (he) investigated why public museums, libraries and archives had done so little to represent and celebrate the history …
Roundtable Debtate: Understanding slavery
With preparations already underway for next year's 200th anniversary of the British slave trade, Museums Journal organised a round table debate with leading experts in the history of slavery to discuss the challenges museums face
Talkback: November 2006
Should museums allow pagan ceremonies to be conducted on ancient human remains if the person's religion or beliefs are unknown?
Letters
Are museums ready for the new web wave? James Morrisons’ thoughtful but ultimately unsatisfying piece about online cultural projects (Museums Journal September 2006, p24) raises more questions than it answers. Morrison questions the relevance and value for public money of much of what has been done over the past ten years, but does not suggest …
Letters
Loans help to boost museum links I enjoyed Julie Nightingale’s important article about museum loans (Museums Journal August 2006, p12-15). The news of Alec Coles’s investigation of the topic for the National Museum Directors’ Conference and the Museums Association’s work on the subject is especially welcome. However, it is hoped that this work will take …