Essentials of Collections Care for Non-Conservators
From minor cracks in a objects to unprecedented water leaks, there are a huge range of conservation issues that can impact a heritage institution’s collection. But without a official conservator on board, what are the measures that a non-specialist can take to mitigate damages and keep a collection secure?
This course from the Institute for Conservation will provide an overview of the key aspects of collections care, and provide relevant conservation training for those working in heritage institutions who don’t currently employ a dedicated conservator.
The Essentials of Collections Care for Non-Conservators course will take place over four sessions on Thursday 20 April, Thursday 27 April, Thursday 4 May and Thursday 11 May. The first three sessions will take place over Zoom, and the fourth will take place in-person at Birmingham Museum Collection Centre.
Essentials of Collections Care for Non-Conservators
From minor cracks in a objects to unprecedented water leaks, there are a huge range of conservation issues that can impact a heritage institution’s collection. But without a official conservator on board, what are the measures that a non-specialist can take to mitigate damages and keep a collection secure?
This course from the Institute for Conservation will provide an overview of the key aspects of collections care, and provide relevant conservation training for those working in heritage institutions who don’t currently employ a dedicated conservator.
Essentials of Collections Care for Non-Conservators
The course will take place over four sessions on Thursday 20 April, Thursday 27 April, Thursday 4 May and Thursday 11 May. The first three sessions will take place over Zoom, and the fourth will take place in-person at Birmingham Museum Collection Centre.
Grant Support for Significant Challenges – WMMD Strategic Intervention Fund 23/24
West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD)’s Strategic Intervention Fund (SIF), is here to support you to find strategic solutions and a sustainable way forward in difficult times.
This may mean:
- seeking external expertise
- exploring new ways of working or new opportunities
- reviewing practices that are no longer fit for purpose
- exploring alternative business or governance models
- advice on the best way for your organisation to respond to an emerging challenge
You can apply for up to £5,000 to help you deal with significant challenges.
For further information please download and read the guidance
Download and complete the application form
The grant fund will be considered on a rolling basis, with monthly panels scheduled from April until September 2023, to enable museums to make requests when need arises
Museums will receive a decision within a maximum of six weeks from the point of application
The SIF will support Accredited museums or those formally Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands.
National Portfolio Organisations and National museums are not eligible to apply.
Bursaries available for AMA Inclusivity & Relevance Day
West Midlands Museum Development is offering five bursaries for West Midlands museum delegates to attend the Arts Marketing Association’s (AMA) Inclusivity and Audiences Day.
Applications are open to both AMA members and non-members.
All applicants must meet the following criteria:
- You work in an Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation West Midlands museum that is not a National museum or National Portfolio Organisation.
About the Inclusivity and Audiences Day
Now in its 5th year, Inclusivity and Audiences Day champions Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) best practice from across our sector.
Taking place on Wednesday 10 May, this day-long online event offers you the opportunity to roll up your sleeves and dive into concepts and case studies that challenge and provide new perspectives.
Each of the speakers will be paired with a poet with lived experience of the topics at hand, who will help bring fresh perspectives and new ways of thinking to complex subject matter.
During the day speakers and poets will cover topics such as:
- Locating your Leadership in relationships
- Designing perspectives in human equity
- Reviewing the fine print of your strategy
Manchester Museum Sector Showcase Day
**NEW DATE**
The Sector Showcase at Manchester Museum is a special event offering professionals in the cultural sector and beyond the chance to come and visit the transformed Manchester Museum.
You’ll experience a tour of new and unique galleries, as well as familiar favourites, and hear how our 2023 programmes are supporting the museum’s civic mission and responding to the needs of our local and global communities.
You will have the opportunity to speak to colleagues in every team including Visitor, Operations, Learning, and Conservation. You may even get the chance to say hello to Murray the Museum Therapy Dog. You’ll meet some of our partners too, from environmental action charities to experts from our residential specialist college for neuro-diverse young people.
During the day, other museums from across the North West will also take to the stage to tell you about the important work they’re doing and what the future holds for museums and galleries.
It promises to be a wonderful day, bringing people together and sharing ideas.
Visit the Eventbrite page to book a free ticket
New Heritage Strategy
The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has launched its new strategy ‘Heritage 2033 – a strategy for the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s next ten years’
Building on nearly 30 years’ experience of grant-making, it has launched a bold new ten-year strategy to conserve heritage for the long-term.
NLHF aims to invest around £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
Input from thousands of stakeholders and the public shaped this strategy, resulting in a clear and simple approach for collaborative delivery and sustained impact. Find out more and read the strategy.
Revealing Hidden Histories: Telling the Difficult Stories in Our Collections
This year the team at Museums Worcestershire is working with West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) to deliver Revealing Hidden Histories 23/24.
Every collection has objects with complex or sometimes contentious stories. Your collection may include objects with huge potential that are difficult to handle or display, or that would be best interpreted with the involvement of the community that they represent.
The Revealing Hidden Histories programme is designed to help you to increase your knowledge, understanding and confidence in making these objects more accessible to your audiences.
Four museums in the West Midlands will have the opportunity to work with a collections specialist on a specific object or group of objects from their collection which have not been displayed or interpreted. You may want specialist support to help:
- increase your knowledge and understanding of underused elements in your collections. These could be objects that talk about disability, LGBQT+, colonialism or other issues not well represented in museum collections.
- or overcome barriers that prevent the telling of hidden histories eg challenging environmental conditions or managing hazardous material
- or to engage new audiences with hidden histories and offering guidance in community outreach and community co-curation
Collections specialists will work with you directly to talk through the different approaches to the object(s) and to support you and your museum colleagues. There will be an event at the end of the project where museums will come together to share their experiences and think about how to develop other elements of their collections in the future.
If you are interested in taking part, please contact Deborah Fox for an Expression of Interest form or download the form with the link below. The deadline for submissions is 5pm, Friday 21 April.
This opportunity is open to Museums that are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation in the West Midlands. Priority will be given to non-NPOs and non-National museums.
Open to All 2023: Accessibility Audit programme
Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) and West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) are providing a small cohort of museums with the opportunity to receive professional advice and support to improve access for visitors. MDEM and WMMD have appointed Direct Access to deliver this programme.
Accessibility Audits
Each venue will receive a site visit from Direct Access resulting in an accessibility audit and report identifying a comprehensive list of tailored, prioritised recommendations based on current standards and legislation, delivered alongside expert training and advice.
About the consultants
Since 2004 Direct Access and its team of NRAC certified Access Consultants have provided access consultancy for thousands of buildings and services across multiple sectors. Millions of people daily use a service or premises audited by Direct Access. Direct Access’ clients range from small community museums such as Nantwich Museum to large sites including Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Scotland, Bodelwyddan Castle in Wales or UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the City of Bath and its Roman Baths.
Expecting to submit your Accreditation Return soon?
Participation in the Open to All: Accessibility Audit programme directly supports Arts Council England’s Accreditation Standard, Users and their experiences, 7. Be accessible to the public.
Key dates:
- Apply by 9am, Monday 3 April
- Accessibility Audit site visits will be undertaken by Direct Access between April and July
- ‘Creating an Effective Access Plan’ training delivered by Direct Access via Zoom on Thursday 21 September
Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums who are Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation and based in the East Midlands or West Midlands.
Museums that have previously received an accessibility audit through WMMD will be considered.
Midlands Succession Planning Programme 2023
Succession planning is a crucial element of good governance and Museum Development’s Organisational Health Check 2022/23 highlights succession planning as a key developmental need for many museums.
- Have you considered how the board will manage if one of the trustees decides to leave?
- Have the events of the last few years highlighted gaps on your board and the need for new expertise and experiences?
- Do you know which skills, experience and attitudes are required to enable your museum to flourish and be sustainable?
- Have you thought about the representation on your board, does it reflect a range of views, viewpoints and your audiences?
- Are you fully up to date with your governing document and the rules and terms of office for trustees?
Programme Overview
This short programme from Museum Development East Midlands and West Midlands Museum Development will support six museums to consider all elements of good practice in succession planning and enable you to develop a focused and realistic plan for the future. Facilitated by Heather Lomas, it will provide a blend of intensive support to a cohort of museums.
The programme consists of an introductory session and four online sessions including an Introduction to Diversity and Inclusion workshop led by Inclusive Boards.
There will be additional one to one support available, access to a peer support network, provision of resources, links to additional information plus a final peer support meeting in November 2023 to share learning from the programme.
Download the Programme Information and Dates
The programme aims to:
- Support museums in developing plans for succession of trustees and boards
- Champion diversity and encourage museums to have a range of people represented on their boards
- Facilitate museums to develop effective plans and procedures for trustee recruitment
- Enable museums to develop equality action plans
- Provide museums with peer group meetings, one to one support, resources and signposting
How to apply
This opportunity is open to six museums in the East Midlands and West Midlands regions who are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation. NPOs and national museums are not eligible. The museums will be selected through a competitive Expression of Interest process.
Please complete the Expression of Interest form by 5pm, Friday 24 March and email to mdem@leics.gov.uk
Download the Expression of Interest form
Each organisation should nominate up to three people to be involved, this should include your Chair if possible and other trustees where applicable. If you have any questions about the opportunity, then please email Heather Lomas.
Please note we can only accept applications from those who can commit to attending all the proposed sessions.
Successful applicants will be notified by Friday 31 March.
Please note that MDEM will be managing the application process for both East Midlands and West Midlands. You can view the MDEM data processing policy here.
31 March 2023 deadline to lodge any appeals against 2017 business ratings
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has finally accepted the use of Receipts and Expenditure (R&E) method to calculate business rates for all types of museums in England and Wales, which will save hundreds of thousands of pounds across the sector.
This follows the announcement in September 2021, after a successful appeal by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) against valuations for three of its sites, that the VOA would no longer be using Contractor’s method to calculate business rates for many museums. However the VOA had proposed to continue the use of Contractor’s method for museums set up by statute (so including most national museums) and those occupying ‘modern’ (post-2001) buildings.
The VOA has now confirmed a change in this policy, meaning that the vast majority of museums will now be valued using R&E method. This means that business rates will be based on a museum’s activity and financial position – rather than being penalised, as a sector, for occupying the large spaces needed to care for and display collections and to welcome communities, which are often expensive to operate and maintain. The change will result in huge long-term savings across the whole museum sector.
The news is a real victory for long-term collective lobbying by AIM, NMDC and others as well as the tenacity of business rates agents, notably Colin Hunter who represented TWAM, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and York Museums Trust in their successful appeals and has been advising sector bodies for many years.
However, the change in the VOA’s policy will not be retrospectively or automatically applied to the 2017 ratings list. This means that any museum wishing to challenge their current valuation, which could result in a significantly reduced and backdated rates bill, needs to lodge an appeal via the ‘Check, Challenge, Appeal’ process.
There is a deadline of 31 March 2023 for appeals to be registered – and the process can take some time – so all museums are urged to begin the process immediately if they haven’t already by completing the VOA’s ‘Museums Information Request form’. More information on the appeal process is available in the AIM Success Guide.
https://www.nationalmuseums.org.uk/news/update-business-rates/
