Metal thefts in England – message from Arts Council England
Arts Council England (ACE) is mindful that metal theft is becoming more of a risk as the prices of certain metals (eg copper) have recovered since the pandemic, corroborated by recent isolated incidents of theft. ACE urges museums to review their risk assessment and to adopt a multi-layered security approach to better protect their collections and premises. You may find the following Arts Council England resources – hosted on the Collections Trust website – helpful:
Digitisation Guidance
The National Lottery has published new, specially commissioned guidance designed to help small, volunteer-led organisations in the heritage sector better prepare for digitisation projects, while keeping their costs down.
The two guides are:
- Digitisation project planner, handbook and examples This project planner and handbook helps you develop your digitisation project idea into a comprehensive plan.
- Doing digitisation on a budget: a guide to low cost digital projects This guide provides an overview of low-cost heritage digitisation and shares inspiring examples.
Accreditation Advisor
We are thrilled to announce that Jennie Crawford is joining the Museum Development East Midlands and West Midlands Museum Development teams as our Accreditation Advisor for 2023/24.
Jennie will deliver Accreditation events for both regions and answer your Accreditation queries whether you want help with your Accreditation return or you’re just wanting to know more about the Accreditation Scheme.
Born in Canada, Jennie has lived and worked in North West England since 2002. From culture roles in Cheshire and Manchester; to original architect of Pennine Lancashire Museums, where she established a compelling vision for museums and art galleries. In 2016, she settled in the Lake District to reinvigorate the visitor experience at Blackwell the Arts & Crafts House and plan the inaugural schools and families programme for Windermere Jetty Museum. As a freelance consultant, Jennie has worked with organisations to develop strategic plans, write funding applications, carry out research and feasibility studies and evaluate projects.
Jennie has extensive experience facilitating workshops and delivering workforce development programmes for the museum sector. She was one of Arts Council England’s Accreditation Advisers from 2011-15 and Museum Development North West’s Accreditation Technical Adviser from 2019 – 2022 where she delivered a programme of support and training focused on governance, operations, collections management, learning and access for museums. She has also delivered Accreditation workshops for museums here in the West Midlands.
Bursaries available for SHCG and AMA events
West Midlands Museum Development is offering bursaries for West Midlands museum delegates to attend events.
We have five bursaries for each of the following:
- Social History Curator’s Group (SHCG) Conference
- Arts Marketing Association’s (AMA) Inclusivity and Audiences Day
- Arts Marketing Association’s (AMA) Conference
Applicants for each opportunity must work in an Accredited or Working Towards Accreditation West Midlands museum that is not a National museum or National Portfolio Organisation.
About SHCG Conference 2023
The conference, taking place on Friday 9 June at Thinktank, Birmingham B4 7XG has the theme of Activism and Professional Practice in the Changing World
Hear case studies from organisations who are involved in activism projects, take part in workshops designed to improve your confidence and practice, and discuss how social history can be at the heart of a changing world. Find out more about the SHCG conference.
Download the application form for SHCG Conference 2023. Bursary applications close: 5pm, Friday 14 April
About 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. Find out more about Inclusivity and Audiences Day
Bursary applications are open to both AMA members and non-members. Download the application form for Inclusivity and Audiences Day
Bursary applications close: 12pm, Thursday 6 April
About AMA Conference 2023
This year’s theme is all about making your audiences the centre of your world. When you have so many competing priorities, how can you open up more to your audiences, visitors and local communities? How do you put them at the heart of all you do? And how do they shape the fabric of your organisation?
Taking place on Thursday 13 July and Friday 14 July at Leeds Playhouse LS2 7UP, the AMA Conference is for you. You’ll gain knowledge, make contacts, and be inspired to focus on what matters most — your audiences. Find out more about the AMA Conference
Bursary applications are open to both AMA members and non-members. Download the application form for AMA Conference
Bursary applications close: 12pm, Friday 19 May
Getting your House in Order
Good collections documentation enables use of your collections and ensures that your museum is properly accountable for the collections it holds.
West Midlands Museum Development (WMMD) is partnering with Museum Development East Midlands and Collections Trust to deliver a programme of seven workshops across 2023/24 to support you in ensuring that your collections documentation is well managed.
Using the framework of Spectrum 5.1 and its collection documentation procedures, the workshops will focus on the planning and work required for museums to get their collections documentation in order.
The workshops
- Introduction to Spectrum – Thursday 4 May, 2pm-4pm
- Ownership of Collections – Thursday 22 June, 10am-12noon
- Location and movement control – Thursday 14 September, 10am-12noon
- Inventory and documentation planning – Thursday 12 October, 10am-12noon
- Loans in and out – January 2024 tbc
- Documentation histories and manuals – February 2024 tbc
- Audit – March 2024 tbc
The programme has been designed so that you can attend as many of the sessions as you need; overall they complement each other to give an overview of the Spectrum requirements, but each session also works as a stand alone workshop.
Bookings are open for the first four workshops, simply click on the workshop for more information and to book. Further details and dates of the other workshops to follow.
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
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.
