Issue Three – October 2007
Future funding forRenaissance
Minister visits Preston
Partnerships inGreater Manchester
Diversifyingthe Workforce
Harris
Mu
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um
& A
rt Ga
llery
– C
laire
Woo
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Futu
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ance
www.mlanorthwest.org.uk
In this changing political climate, it hasbeen critical that MLA North Westmaintains its regional advocacycampaign with political figures.
We have met with MPs, elected members for culture
and other key figures and have secured several
visits to venues in the region – including David
Lammy’s recent visit to Lancashire.
MLA North West has co-ordinated a regional
advocacy group for museums, to discuss how
regional museums can be supported. We will
produce an advocacy support pack, featuring ‘killer’
If there’s one areaof public life wheregovernments shouldcut loose and showpassion, it’s in the
promotion of culture.We want ... ourmuseums and
collections to be thegreatest in the world.
James Purnell,
Secretary of State
for Culture,
Media and Sport
“
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facts, visitor profiles and comparative data about
museums in the North West. The group will report
back in the next issue of this newsletter.
The backdrop to our campaigning activity is the
Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review
– the Treasury’s process of setting departmental
expenditure and targets. The outcome of the CSR
will be announced later in the year. Everyone expects
a tight settlement, and that is why it is important that
we keep the pressure on, remind politicians of the
importance of Renaissance in the Regions and
articulate the impact museums and culture have on
individuals, communities and society.
Clare Connor, Chief Executive, MLA North West
MLA North West Regional Advocacy work
Manchester Art Gallery
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The political landscape changed dramatically in June, when
Gordon Brown became Prime Minister and appointed James
Purnell and Margaret Hodge to the Department of Culture, Media
and Sport. As MP for Stalybridge, James Purnell is one of a
significant number of regional MPs now in key Cabinet positions.
Cultural heritage was widely discussed in Westminster during the
summer, through Parliamentary Questions and the Select
Committee’s report, Caring for Collections. The report highlights
the museums sector’s contribution to the country’s educational,
social and economic welfare and argues that its value deserves
better recognition.
September’s Curating for the Future conference will help
Renaissance North West build on this groundswell of concern and
support for the region’s outstanding collections. Priorities for action
that came from the conference will strengthen the development of
our curators, so that they are best able to care for, use and interpret
these remarkable objects for the enjoyment and fascination of all.
Virginia Tandy, Director, Manchester City Galleries (Hub Lead)
www.mlanorthwest.org.uk
In June, the former Minister of Culture, David Lammy MP,visited Lancashire to explore its creative and cultural heritage.
David Lammy MPvisits Preston
He visited the Harris Museum and Art
Gallery, the National Football Museum
and Lancashire Conservation Studios
to see how they are working to engage
young people, increase visits by
schools and develop family learning.
The Minister experienced new
technology projects that students from
Archbishop Temple School have
developed to interpret works of art at
the Harris Museum and Art Gallery.
The students made Podcasts, after
researching the collections and
temporary exhibitions at the museum.
They worked alongside artists at
Bluestreak Arts and museum staff to
create scripts, producing three
podcasts that describe the stories
behind the artworks.
At the National Football Museum,
Mr Lammy met schoolgirls who had
The best Thursday morning I’ve had in a long time.What a wonderful collection. Look forward to
returning with the family. Keep inspiring.
David Lammy, MP
“ ”National Football Museum
Lancashire Conserva
tion Studios
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produced a film called One Aim,
One Game, about what football means
to them and their community. The film
is on show in the museum.
As part of the launch of the new
Lancashire Conservation Studios,
Mr Lammy handled objects from the
Portable Antiquities Scheme and while
he was examining natural history
specimens, conservation staff learned
that his father was a taxidermist.
Mr Lammy also participated in one of
the Introduction to Collections Care
training sessions that Renaissance ran
earlier this year.
for Culture, Media & Sport
8 MPs in Gordon Brown’s cabinet
including James Purnell Secretary of Statehave constituencies in the North West
Mr. Lammy examines a
Roman vessel made of
bronze in the shape of
a cockerel that was
found and documented
by the Portable
Antiquities Scheme.
www.mlanorthwest.org.uk
If you are seekingto develop culturally diverse
organisations, you need to beculturally diverse.
Raj Patel,
director of the Asdal Institute
The Museums Libraries and Archives
Council is supporting the regional
Hubs to develop a more diverse
workforce. Renaissance North West
has commissioned Raj Patel, a
consultant who specialises in equality
and diversity, to work with each Hub
venue to help with this work.
Each Hub venue has identified a
Workforce Diversity Champion. These
individuals are working together and
leading an audit of the workforce at
each organisation to determine its
profile in terms of ethnicity and
disability. Some of the venues are
focusing solely on diversifying the
workforce, while others are also
looking at audiences and collections
in terms of diversity. The champions
are preparing a workforce diversity
plan for their venue, which will be
implemented from March 2008.
The plans will cover issues such
as career advice, recruitment,
staff development, governance
and leadership.
In a career spanning more than
10 years in heritage organisations,
I have worked in virtually every type
of museum and with a huge variety
of collections. I joined MLA North
West in March last year, as
Development Officer (Standards)
with the principle role of delivering
the Museum Accreditation
Scheme. Other duties include
overseeing other standards, such
as Designation, and digital, web-
based projects, such as MICHAEL.
Accreditation covers a broad range
of requirements for a museum, and
I have been involved in providing
Profile: Paul Fraser Webb, Development Officer (Standards)based at MLA North West in Warrington
DIV
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Cla
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Contact: Myna Trustram,
“”
advice and support on every
aspect of museum management.
However, since disposals have
become such a hot topic in the
region, this is an area where I
have been heavily involved in
providing advice.
One of the most rewarding
aspects of my job is getting
applications to the Accreditation
Panel, and seeing the award of
Full Accreditation. The most recent
museums that we have welcomed
into the scheme are the five that
make up Tameside’s Museum
Service in Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester Museums
Forum Membership:
Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust
Bolton Museum & Archive Service
Salford Museum & Art Gallery
Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery
Tameside Museums Service
Stockport Heritage Services
Bury Art Gallery Museum & Archive
Touchstones Rochdale
Gallery Oldham
Manchester Jewish Museum
The Lowry
The Greater Manchester Museums Forum meetsto discuss sector change and share experiencesand common pressures. The Forum hasdeveloped partnership projects and exhibitions,and is currently working on data collection todevelop some useful benchmarking tools.
Renaissance supports museums in Greater Manchester,
Preston and Cumbria, to increase their capacity to develop
education, audience development and marketing initiatives,
and their impact in terms of regional economic strategies.
The Greater Manchester Museums Forum gives Renaissance
a vital opportunity to connect with local authority museums
and galleries and support the delivery of services for users.
www.mlanorthwest.org.uk
Cla
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oodStockport Story Museum
Audience Development:Members of the Forum are working to widen visitor
participation and engage more with the communities they
serve. Alex Saint, Strategic Audience Development Consultant
for Renaissance, is supporting museum staff by helping them
broker relationships with ‘hard to reach’ audiences.
A Heritage Network is being created through the Community
Curators Project at Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust. With
support from Renaissance, communities throughout the
borough will benefit from:
� financial and advisory support for their own projects
� training and skills development.
Gallery Oldham and Tameside Museums Service are
developing links with local Bangladeshi and Pakistani
communities. They are using Millscapes, a major exhibition
that focuses on regional collections, to explore future
engagement between the communities and the venues.
Evaluation of each of these schemes will focus on the internal
impact of such work, specifically looking at the challenges,
benefits and risks in developing meaningful and genuine
community partnerships, and the commitment to organisational
change, values and processes that may be required.
Alex is also working with Stockport Heritage Services,
Touchstones Rochdale and Gallery Oldham to pilot the
effectiveness of a low-cost visitor research programme,
which offers a potentially viable solution to all small,
under-resourced museums to capture data and even
establish a regional benchmark. continued on back page
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Gallery Oldham
Hall i’ th’ Wood, Bolton
In the last year Renaissance has invested
in Greater Manchestermore than £100K in museums & galleries
Partnerships inGreater Manchester
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Emma Anderson, North West Hub Manager0161 235 8822 [email protected]
Myna Trustram, North West Hub Research Manager0161 235 8849 [email protected]
Jennie Crawford, North West Hub Communications & Events Officer0161 235 8810 [email protected]
Katie Athey, North West Hub Support Officer0161 235 8825 [email protected]
Jane Fletcher, North West Hub Education Development Manager01228 618767 / 07854 921522 [email protected]
Alex Saint & Andrew Palmer, North West Hub Strategic AudienceDevelopment [email protected] / [email protected]
Catriona West, Development Officer (Renaissance)01925 625056 [email protected]
Paul Fraser Webb, Development Officer (Standards)01925 625054 [email protected]
Carli Douglas, Collections for the Future Development Officer: Roman Heritage0161 306 1772 / 07867 528370 [email protected]
Kaye Tetlow, Collections Liaison Officer01772 534 07068 [email protected]
Cont
act u
sEvents and Training9 October (PM only) Sustainability: Long-
term Secondary Projects FREE Imperial War
Museum North, Manchester. Contact: Poppy
Bowers, [email protected]
10 October (PM only) Basic Introduction to
Collections Care FREE
National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port.
Contact: Diane Rushbrook
15 October Demystifying ILFA FREE
Portland Basin Museum, Ashton-under-Lyne.
Contact: Suzanne Spicer, [email protected],
or visit www.gem.org.uk
9 November (AM only) Project Management
FREE National Museums Liverpool.
Contact: Diane Rushbrook as above
9 November Dynamic Rationalisation FREE
Manchester Art Gallery. Contact: Jennie
Crawford [email protected]
13 November Funding FREE in partnership
with Museums Association, Lancashire
Conservation Studios, Preston.
Contact: Diane Rushbrook as above
22 November Reaching the Unreachable?
Working with Hard to Reach Audiences
Ashton Town Hall. Contact: Emma Varnam
[email protected] or visit
www.nwfed.org.uk
6 December Creating the Best Visitor
Experience Grosvenor Museum, Chester.
Contact: Emma Varnam as above,
www.nwfed.org.uk
7 December Copyright Essentials FREE
Queen St Mill Textile Museum, Burnley.
Contact: Diane Rushbrook as above
14 December Documentation for
Accreditation FREE, Tullie House Museum
and Art Gallery, Carlisle.
Contact: Diane Rushbrook as above
2008
9 January Managing Volunteers FREE in
partnership with Museums Association,
MLA North West office, Warrington.
Contact: Diane Rushbrook as above
6 February the Museums Association, in
partnership with Renaissance North West and
MLA North West, is holding an event about
‘Front of House’ at Manchester Art Gallery
(www.museumsassociation.org). Renaissance
North West is sponsoring 10 FREE places for
visitor services staff working at museums and
galleries in the region.
For more information contact: Jennie Crawford
For more information visit:
www.mlanorthwest.org.uk/trainingandevents/events
Last year, Renaissance commissioned
research that highlights museums’
potential for supporting vocational learning
for secondary school pupils. The report is
now being used to inform work with
secondary school audiences at museums
and galleries in Greater Manchester.
Pathways and Progression: working withsecondary schools in Greater Manchester
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Turnpike Gallery, Leigh
continued from previous page
Year 9 Art and Design students are
designing a Creative Careers magazine
for their peers, with the support of
Tameside Museums Service and
Galleries Service, Manchester
Metropolitan University, creative
career professionals and their local
library service.
Salford Museum & Art Gallery has
developed Firm Foundations, a
project that will give pupils ‘hands-on’
experience in heritage construction
techniques at Ordsall Hall and
Victoria Baths.
Bolton Museum & Art Gallery and the
Imperial War Museum North are giving
students a taste of the museums
profession, by equipping them with
curatorial and archivist skills so they
can research and document objects
relating to World War I.
At the end of this initiative, Renaissance
will develop a toolkit for museums and
galleries that will be published on the
MLA North West website.
For an electronic copy of the Pathways
report and information about all
regional partnerships visit the
Renaissance North West pages at
www.mlanorthwest.org.uk