Opinion
Museums need to make the loans process easier
Over the past five years of work on collections at the Museums Association (MA), I’ve championed increased loans between museums and to other public venues as one of the primary means of improving use of collections. But even compared with disposal, loans has been a tricky subject on which to find agreement and to see …
Letters
Over 50s need not apply… I feel that I have to make some kind of comment regarding what seems to be the current trend in recruitment across the museum and gallery sector. I was made redundant in November 2010 from my post as curator of a small accredited independent Scottish museum, after seven years of …
Quality of experience and engagement is key
Estelle Morris’s review of Arts Council England’s (ACE) ten-year strategy Achieving Great Art for Everyone (AGAFE) and its five goals provide useful food for thought for the museum sector and ACE. For the sector, it’s an opportunity to reappraise its own recent priorities and what they should be for the future. For ACE, it is …
Is getting rid of an old tractor any different to disposing of art work?
I recently attended the Canadian Museums Association’s annual conference. As in the UK, the Canadian museum sector is discussing what they call the D-word, although they call it de-accessioning, not disposal. My experience in Canada has made me think again about our attitude to disposal and the UK Museums Association’s (MA) ethical framework. Recent and …
Investing in training and skills makes sense
So how does it feel to work in the museums and heritage sector in the middle of some of the most savage government cuts in a generation? I wouldn’t mind guessing that, for many of you, it looks pretty damn bleak. Jobs and funding slashed, museums shut down and volunteers set to fill what were …
Letters
I was there: the significance of community history We were very interested to read Louise Gray’s article on museums and festivals and echo the benefits of targeting these events for engaging those harder-to-reach audiences. In Leeds, we too have a large music festival and see this as a great opportunity for engagement, but have taken …