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Conference 2023 Access Information

In-person Delegates:

Purpose, Practice, Pizzazz will be held at Enginuity, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. The main conference sessions will be held in the Engine Shop, Enginuity, with workshops across the Coalbrookdale site.

All sessions in the Engine Shop will be live captioned by a Speech-to-text-Reporter (STTR). Captions will be displayed on two 50 inch LED screens located on either side of the main stage.

All speakers will be provided with microphones.

A Hearing Loop is available in the Engine Shop.

There is step-free access to the Engine Shop via ramps.

Accessible toilets are located in Enginuity.

The approach to all conference venues is via a tarmac car park.

Enginuity

The exhibition is mainly on one level with a lift to the mezzanine floor.

There are accessible toilets.

Exhibits are multi-sensory.

This is a noisy environment with frequent loud sounds.

Workshop Venues and Coalbrookdale Gallery

The Glass Classroom, Coalbrookdale Gallery, Board Room and Members Room are all accessed via the Covered Bays. Access through the Covered Bays is step free. The underfoot surface is uneven in places (original brickwork).

The Glass Classroom and Coalbrookdale Gallery are located on the ground floor.

The Board Room and Members Room are located on the first floor. They can be accessed via stairs or lift.

Museum of Iron – LYNNEBEC Workshop

The workshop will take place on the first floor which is accessible by stairs or lift.

There is an accessible toilet.

Furnace Kitchen

There is step-free access into the Furnace Kitchen.

Further accessibility information for the museum venues can be found here. https://www.ironbridge.org.uk/plan/access-information/

Online Delegates:

All online sessions will be live captioned by a Speech-to-text-Reporter (STTR).

If you would benefit from any adjustment or support for accessibility, please email the WMMD team as early as possible with the adjustment you require.

Museum Development 24-26

Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, as current providers of the West Midlands Museum Development programme, is delighted to announce that between 2024 and 2026 it will partner with Leicestershire County Council, which runs Museum Development East Midlands, and combine forces to deliver a region wide Museum Development Midlands. Today Arts Council England has announced that it will give a grant of £571,420 per year for two years to this new Midlands programme to fund its work providing business development support to museums and their workforces across the Midlands. The Midlands programme will support museums to consider and mitigate risks and explore and respond to opportunities. Activities will support the workforce to develop creative and dynamic practice which will ultimately benefit individuals, local communities and the heritage and cultural sector.

Emmie Kell, Director of Museums and Cultural Property, Arts Council England, said: “We know how important museums are to their communities and all they do to help tackle isolation, build connections, foster creativity and instil a strong sense of place. The Museum Development Programme is an essential part of the Arts Council’s development offer for museums.

“We are delighted to be announcing our Museum Development partners across England who will help to deliver a refreshed Museum Development programme from April 2024”.

“All the partners within the programme have extensive skills, local knowledge and on the ground relationships which will be vital in helping museums respond to challenges and opportunities to face the future with confidence.”

 

Income Generation Workshops

Two more workshops open for booking

Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) and West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) are delighted to be working with Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy to offer a suite of fundraising workshops for 2023/24.

The programme consists of eight, two-hour workshops which will explore income generation from digital fundraising to developing onsite retail. Each online session will present key theories and case studies, allowing for discussion on their practical application. There is no requirement to attend every session, although they complement each other, they also work as standalone workshops.

Places are very limited; only one delegate per organisation.

The workshop schedule is:

Art Fund: Going Places Collaboration and Network Building Events 

Art Fund is launching a new UK-wide programme, ‘Going Places’, that aims to engage and involve underrepresented audiences with museum collections through high quality, collaborative touring exhibitions and public programmes. The project will establish five networks of 3-5 small to mid-sized museums, with each network producing two touring exhibitions over five years (2025-2030).

It has received a development phase grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to establish Going Places, and is currently seeking applications from interested museums, galleries, arts organisations and/ or networks of these. Further details of the project can be found here: https://www.artfund.org/professional/get-funding/programmes/going-places

Thursday 21 September, 10.30 – 16.45, Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth, Wales, (a bilingual event – we welcome participation in Welsh) 

Wednesday 27 September, 10.30 – 16.45, Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum, Lisburn, Northern Ireland 

Wednesday 11 October, 10.00 – 14.15, online 

Thursday 26 October, 10.00 – 14.15, online (a bilingual event – we welcome participation in Welsh) 

These Collaboration and Network Building events will introduce participants to the programme whilst enabling museums to build connections with organisations that share common interests and explore opportunities for working collaboratively, along with the audience benefits this brings. We strongly recommend that anyone interested in applying attend if possible.

The full programme, along with how to sign up, can be found here:

In-person: https://calendly.com/art-fund/going-places-building-networks-workshop?month=2023-09  

Online: https://calendly.com/art-fund/going-places-online-workshops-for-museums?month=2023-10  

Tender Opportunity

Museum Development England EDI Training and Support Scoping Project

On behalf of Museum Development England, MDNE is seeking a consultant to undertake a scoping exercise looking at training in the museum sector in terms of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). The objective is to enable MDE to develop new national EDI programmes for the sector from April 2024 onwards, with those programmes designed to reach a broad range of audiences in museums including trustees, workforce (including leadership/senior staff) and volunteers.

The project will run from November 2023 to March 2024 and tender submissions are invited by Monday October 2.

Get more information and download the Tender Documentation

 

Disability Essentials eLearning

Disability Essentials is an eLearning programme that helps staff and volunteers ensure they are confident and skilled in their engagement with disabled people. The course combines legal expertise with the lived experience of disabled people.

Who should take the course?
This training is suitable for all museum staff and volunteers, as either an introduction or refresher training. The flexibility of the eLearning format is ideal for public-facing and operational roles, like Front of House.

Learners can save and re-enter the modules where they left off. The modules are interactive and use illustrations, videos and pop quizzes to secure learning.

Sign up anytime before 1 March 2024, learners have until 31 March 2024 to complete the modules and will receive a Certificate upon completion of the course.

Disability Essentials is available to museums in the West Midlands, freelancers and WMMD training partners who would like to enrol up to 15 team members to undertake the Disability Essentials eLearning course for free.

Find our more about the Disability Essentials eLearning Programme.

Disability Essentials eLearning Sign up – Anytime before 1 March 2024

Disability Essentials is an eLearning programme that helps staff and volunteers ensure they are confident and skilled in their engagement with disabled people. The course combines legal expertise with the lived experience of disabled people.

Who should take the course?
This training is suitable for all museum staff and volunteers, as either an introduction or refresher training. The flexibility of the eLearning format is ideal for public-facing and operational roles, like Front of House.

Learners can save and re-enter the modules where they left off. The modules are interactive and use illustrations, videos and pop quizzes to secure learning.

Sign up anytime before 1 March 2024, learners have until 31 March 2024 to complete the modules and will receive a Certificate upon completion of the course.

How to access the learning modules
Please ask each colleague to book onto the course using the booking button below.

Disability Essentials is available to museums in the West Midlands, freelancers and WMMD training partners who would like to enrol up to 15 team members to undertake the Disability Essentials eLearning course for free.

Disability Essentials eLearning
Flexible timings: undertake modules at a time and date to suit you
Online

Midlands Energy Audit Programme

WMMD, Museum Development East Midlands (MDEM) and Pilio are partnering to offer a limited number of energy audits for museums across the Midlands in autumn/winter 2023

Participating museums will receive an energy audit and report from Pilio.

Building energy audits are excellent ways of finding:

Priority will be given to museums who are non-NPO Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation.

Apply and find out more about the Midlands Energy Audit Programme.

Audits will take place from the end of October and throughout November.

Audits will be offered to museums who are non-NPO Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation on a first come, first served basis. 

NPOs are eligible to apply and will be offered any remaining dates following the closing date of Wednesday 4 October.

Winter is Coming: Maintaining collections care standards during an energy crisis

As winter approaches, and the pressure of high energy bills continues to have impact, how can museums ensure that they safely maintain their collections?

Join Jane Thompson-Webb, Conservation Team Leader at Birmingham Museum Trust for this two hour online session. Jane will look at some of the steps we can take in our collection stores, display areas and exhibition spaces to reduce our energy consumption whilst continuing to protect collections and to take forward learning experiences from last winter.

This is an updated version of last year’s ‘Winter is Coming’ workshop. You are welcome to attend again if you came along last year but this is aimed at those who are looking anew at energy bills and the impact on collection care this winter.

This online event will be auto-captioned by Zoom. If you would benefit from live captioning or any other form of access support, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.

Places are limited, no more than two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation.

All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email by the day before the event please contact us.

If you can’t see the booking button the event is fully booked. To join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.co.uk

“Winter is Coming”: Maintaining collections care standards during an energy crisis
Tuesday 3 October, 10am-12noon
Online

Creating Accessible Spaces for Autistic Visitors

This workshop will be an opportunity to discover the potential barriers for autistic visitors in museums and the simple steps you can take to create more accessible spaces.

The final in a series of three workshops this session will cover:

The workshop will explore themes including: Lived Experience, Ableism, Mental Health and Disability.

There will be opportunities to discuss case studies and discover practical tips.

The event will be delivered via Zoom using a range of exercises and interactive features including Polls, Chat and Breakout Rooms. Participants are encouraged to ask questions and actively participate in discussion. If you have any concerns about accessibility or usability for these features please contact wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk

About the Trainer

Emily is a late diagnosed autistic advocate, who is determined to use her lived experience to help change the narrative of what it means to be autistic. Drawing from her experience working within national and local authority museums, Emily has worked with multiple organisations to highlight that being accessible for autistic people doesn’t mean knocking down buildings and starting from scratch.

Maximum two delegates per organisation. Priority will be given to delegates from non-NPO and non-National museums in the West Midlands which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation. 

Accessibility

This event will be auto-captioned through Zoom. If you would benefit from any other form of access support, including live captioning, please answer ‘yes’ to the access requirements question on the booking form and email the WMMD team as early as possible stating the support you require.

All participants will receive an email containing a Zoom link to the training prior to the event. The email will be sent to the email address used for booking. If you have not received an email the day before the event please contact us.

If you can’t see the booking button the course is fully booked. If you would like to join the waiting list please email wmmd@ironbridge.org.uk

Creating Accessible Spaces for Autistic Visitors
Wednesday 29 November, 10am-12noon
Online