Renaissance North West Newsletter 3 October 2007

Issue Three – October 2007

Future funding forRenaissance

Minister visits Preston

Partnerships inGreater Manchester

Diversifyingthe Workforce

Harris

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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

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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

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Contact: Myna Trustram,

[email protected]

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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

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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

[email protected]

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

[email protected]

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