Derby Museums Annual Review 2016-2017 by Derby Museums

DERBY MUSEUMS ANNUAL REVIEW 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2017

www.derbymuseums.org

INTRODUCTION “Fast moving” is not a term I think many people would associate with the world of museums but that is how the pace of change has felt in Derby Museums this year. I was delighted to take over from Peter Smith as Chair of Trustees during the year. Peter had done a superb job in steering the Board through the first four years of our existence as an independent charity. Once again, the organisation has gone from strength to strength. We have amazing staff who continue to surprise the Board of Trustees with their ingenuity and enthusiasm. Like all public museums and charities we worry about our future financial position. However, we have had positive discussions with our main funder, Derby City Council, both in respect of capital for our major redevelopment project at the Silk Mill and on-going revenue support. Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund also continue to provide financial and moral support. We now generate more money ourselves too: in October we held our first fund raising ball which, as well as being a very enjoyable occasion, produced a significant sum; the Coffee House at the Museum and Art Gallery was awarded the title of ‘Best Café’ at the Derby Food and Drink Awards which boosted custom; and income from an ever broadening range of events at all three museums also helped. In the autumn we hosted the wonderful Story of Children’s Television exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery. This generated some of the best visitor figures for years through attendance by people of all ages. It was also the first time we had trialled ‘Give What You Think’ donation envelopes and this raised a significant amount without seeming to affect regular giving. We remain committed to avoiding general admission charges.

Before this, in early summer, there was great excitement when we managed to acquire two landscape paintings by Joseph Wright at auction in New York. A funding package was put together by our curatorial staff within an amazingly short two weeks, with contributions from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Art Fund, V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Friends of Derby Museums. The two paintings, both of scenes in the Derwent Valley near Arkwright’s Mills at Cromford, caused great excitement when they were unveiled in Derby and they remain on display in the Museum and Art Gallery. Throughout the year, work and planning for the Silk Mill redevelopment has continued with fantastic engagement from the community and a large and ever-growing number of regular volunteers. The co-production approach being pioneered here is raising the profile of Derby Museums both nationally and internationally. The Friends of Derby Museums were founded as a charity in 1969 and have provided invaluable practical and financial support over the years. However, since Derby Museums Trust was established as a charity to run the museums, there has been an anomalous situation with a charity raising funds to support a charity. We were delighted when the Friends voted to fold as a separate organisation at the end of 2017 and support our new membership scheme - Derby Museums Friends from that point on. We cannot thank them enough for the support they have given over the years and will continue to provide, I am confident, under the new arrangements. Patricia Coleman OBE CHAIR OF TRUSTEES FOR DERBY MUSEUMS

Launch into Engineering at the Silk Mill

DERBY MUSEUMS AND THE MAKERS OF THE FUTURE Working with education and business partners, Derby Museums makes a palpable difference to the community. Launch into Engineering was a unique preventative programme designed to inspire young people. It was aimed at those who are at risk of becoming ‘not in Employment, Education or Training’ (NEETs); to engage with engineering, to build personal aspirations and to become a new generation of engineers. We worked with 12 young people over 4 days to broaden their understanding of engineering, build a real sense of enjoyment around making and engineering and create a useful handmade tool. They gained a portfolio of new skills and knowledge and a belief in their own ability to work in this sector in the future. The young people enjoyed learning and making activities in the Silk Mill workshop, before spending a day at Pentaxia, a Derby firm which manufactures components for leading motorsport teams.

Of the Launch into Engineering project, volunteer Steve Lockley said:

Launch into Engineering at the Silk Mill

“I feel really privileged to have been part of something that I think could truly make a difference to a young person’s life. When the group first came to us, they weren’t interested really and it was hard work to try and engage them and teach them new skills. But as the time passed, I could see we were actually having a real impact. They left after having achieved something and I hope it perhaps gave them a bit of a different perspective on the future. It not only helped them, but it gave me a great deal of pride to know I’d done my bit and been a part of those three days.”

THANK YOU...

Tomorrow’s Engineers Robotics Challenge at the Silk Mill

The Museum and Art Gallery

ABOUT DERBY MUSEUMS AND OUR VALUES We are a charity and we care for and promote learning about Derby’s heritage.

Pickford’s House

The Silk Mill

The Museum and Art Gallery – the home of the renowned Joseph Wright of Derby Collection and the 9th and 12th Lancers Regimental Museum. The Silk Mill – a UNESCO inscribed World Heritage site and the site of the world’s first factory. Pickford’s House – a beautiful Georgian town house and home to a family of the Enlightenment, the Pickfords.

Our Vision Derby Museums is for the thinker and maker in all of us.

9th Queen’s Royal Lancers officers at Tidworth in 1914 shortly before deploying to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force during World War One

Our Cause and Values Together we make museums for the head, heart and hands. We do this by: • Being independent • Fostering a spirit of experimentation • Pursuing mutual relationships • Creating the conditions for wellbeing (helping people connect with others, keep learning, take notice of the world and give back to the community) • Proving that we are doing it

Visitors sharing their Objects of Love

Pickford’s House Summer Spectacular

What we said we’d do during 2015-18 • Redevelop the Silk Mill as a museum and visitor attraction of national and international significance. • Develop Derby Museums as a resilient business combining enterprise and a strong sense of social purpose. • Carry out the affordable programme of improvements to the Museum and Art Gallery and Pickford’s House. • Promote Derby Museums through international partners as the ‘go to’ museum for the study of Joseph Wright of Derby.

What difference will we make to Derby by 2018

Family Friday activity

• More people will visit and learn about their heritage than at any time since 2008. • Almost all galleries at Museum and Art Gallery will be upgraded and the visitor experience improved. • Construction work will be underway as the new £16.4m Museum of Making takes shape before it is due to open in 2020. • Our business will be generating more earned income through donations and commercial activity and be less reliant on public sector investment. • Pickford’s House will welcome more visitors and fulfil its potential as a special venue for functions.

The Art Hub activity

• More young people will participate in activities to shape the future of their museums. • Collections will be developed and cared for and Museum Accreditation will be maintained. More items will go on display to be appreciated by the public. • We plan to develop and extend our activities into the Derby Central Library building. 5

NEW ACQUISITIONS A View of Cromford Bridge and Arkwright’s Mills, by Joseph Wright of Derby. In June we welcomed the return to Derbyshire of two of Wright’s last paintings; A View of Cromford Bridge and Arkwright’s Mills, after a nail-biting win at auction in New York. Over a fortnight we successfully raised just over £222,752, securing both the paintings and a linked programme of learning and engagement activities. This remarkable achievement would not have been possible without local support and significant grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Art Fund (with a contribution from The Wolfson Foundation), the V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and the Friends of Derby Museums. Few artists are so closely connected to their home town and county as Wright of Derby. In many ways, the world class collection of his work at Derby Museums is an apt demonstration of this.

A view of Cromford Bridge, Joseph Wright of Derby

And yet prior to the arrival of these pictures, the collection contained no paintings of the Derbyshire landscape; a subject that Wright increasingly came to favour in his later years, and which resulted in some thirty or so paintings. Depicting the area around Cromford – a significant site within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site – these pictures fill an important gap within an otherwise rich and comprehensive collection to link the stories of creativity and making that are being shared both at our sites and beyond. Both paintings are now on display in the Joseph Wright Gallery, alongside the artist’s large portraits of Sir Richard Arkwright, his son Richard and his family.

Joseph Wright Cromford Paintings revealed at the Museum and Art Gallery

THANK YOU...

DERBY MUSEUMS

FRIENDS Joseph Wright Cromford Paintings revealed at the Museum and Art Gallery

YOUR PLACE IN THE WORLD A World Cultures Gallery in development at the Museum and Art Gallery In a time of political and societal discord we pondered how we might explore emotions felt commonly across the world. Derby Museums has around 1,400 objects in its world cultures collection, acquired over the last 150 years. Many of these objects have languished in store for too long. We are working closely and kindly with people and groups across the communities in the city to co-design a gallery full to bursting with objects. These objects have the capacity to excite, inspire, involve and intrigue visitors from all areas of our city and have the potential to enable understanding of difficult historical events and experiences. Throughout the process we are revealing the gaps and errors in the museum records and interpretive practice to begin to move forward with a more thorough and respectful treatment of this collection.

Graffiti art created by young artists from Baby People

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve set out to create a welcoming and inspiring room in which to encounter remarkable objects. The gallery will gently explore, not ignore, the multiple narratives of the objects and how different communities feel, understand and reflect on these historical and contemporary meanings.

Visitors sharing their Objects of Love

Young people’s creative responses to masks from the World Cultures collection

We began the project by asking “What three things do people across the world experience?” The 2,000 thoughtful responses and connected conversations have shaped and informed a sequence of project lab activities and events. We’ve taken objects onto the streets of Derby, understanding that being present in the places that people frequent in their everyday lives and hearing what they have to say is a natural and potent starting point. These surprising encounters in barbers’ shops, cafés, markets and parks are the foundation of the project.

THANK YOU...

We are seeing a more diverse mix of people in the gallery with students and new arrivals to the city sharing skills and knowledge with us, school children bringing their families into the museum for the first time and comments being left in a variety of languages. The new gallery will open in April 2018 and is funded by a grant from DCMS Wolfson and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. 9

PICKFORD’S HOUSE Pickford’s House has seen a real flurry of volunteer activity over the last 12 months which has not only helped with the maintenance of this Grade 1 listed town house but has also enhanced the visitor experience. Corporate team building events have tackled the gardens and boundary fences during volunteer action days. This has not only helped provide essential elbow grease but also many of the materials required to complete the tasks involved.

Wonderful Welcome Hosts have been recruited to assist staff with guided tours, visitor enquiries and events and activities. Many of these have also enjoyed undertaking their own research on the house which has uncovered some newly discovered facts about the Pickford family. Exhibition Ambassadors, mainly from the University of Derby, have given time to help with the visitor interaction of special exhibitions such as A Personal Collection of Vivienne Westwood Shoes. Their drive and enthusiasm for the show has certainly enhanced donations through the ‘Give What You Think’ scheme.

THANK YOU... Our Pickford’s House Adopt An Object supporters

A Personal Collection of Vivienne Westwood Shoes exhibition

Pickford’s House Garden Pickford’s House Kitchen

Emson Maneya Volunteer However, one of the most rewarding volunteer experiences has come through the time spent working with Emson Maneya who we met through the Derby Refugee Centre. Emson was keen to get involved in anything and when he said that he loved gardening, Pickford’s House seemed the perfect setting. Come rain or shine, Emson has pruned bushes, weeded beds, raked gravel paths and helped shape the Georgian box hedges. He now even has his own vegetable patch which the staff supported by providing seeds, plants and a raised bed. Emson has now gone on to help the Silk Mill team with cataloguing collections and is also working with the museum project team on Your Place in the World by helping to identify the African antiquity collection. Emson has said that he is so grateful to Derby Museums for giving him this opportunity. I think we are the lucky ones!

“I am an asylum seeker pending decision and l was looking for an opportunity to make myself useful in the society and reducing stress whilst learning new stuff at the same time. I started my volunteering journey at the Pickford’s House which gave me the opportunity to pursue my hobby in gardening. I have since learned a lot about life of the elite during the Victorian era and about other prominent Derby citizens and industrialists who contributed in making Derby such a wonderful town which it still is today. My next experience was book cataloguing at the Silk Mill with Bill. From the various books and magazines which l had to peruse, l learned a lot about the industrial history of Derbyshire and the Peak District especially the Silk Mill which is an icon of this country’s industrial revolution. I have also enjoyed the company of fellow volunteers and the ever cheerful and supportive staff. Currently l am having a wonderful experience working with Rachel and other staff and fellow volunteers on the World Cultures object conservation project. It has been a dream come true working on antiquities which l had only seen in books and the media. It has been a great honour and privilege participating on an exhibition on African artefacts and from other countries outside Africa. My wish is to see Derby Museums elevated to higher ratings and am prepared to volunteer with them my every spare second if it can help to achieve it. My welcome has been such that l feel like a member of an extended family and l don’t wish for the experience to end.” 11

People, Place and Things exhibition

DEVELOPING AUDIENCES THROUGH EXHIBITIONS Derby Museums’ exhibitions programme is more diverse than ever, attracting many who had never visited or participated in the museum before. Everyone exhibition

Everyone The summer show, Everyone, was a new departure for the museum. Inspired by the artist Joseph Beuys’ contention that everyone has the potential capacity to be an artist, we invited anyone to enter a single work of art for the exhibition. We displayed every one of the 200 works of art submitted.

Our Life, Our Transition To mark 21 years since the end of the Bosnian conflict we worked with the Bosnia Herzegovina Community Association on the exhibition Our Life, Our Transition Bosnian War People and Children Preserving History, Language and Culture in East Midlands. The exhibition was made up of objects, antiques, crafts and traditional costumes which constitute Bosnia and Herzegovina heritage and explored the challenges of making a new life in the UK.

Everyone People’s Choice winner

Our Life, Our Transition exhibition

People, Places and Things Derby Museums has always been an integral part of the FORMAT International Photography Festival led by our friends at Derby QUAD. For the 2017 Festival we worked with the UK’s oldest continuously running photographic studio, W W Winter on Midland Road, Derby. The show People, Places and Things highlighted Winter’s output of portraits of Derby’s diverse population, street scenes of the city and items manufactured by many of the city’s companies.

The Story of Children’s Television from 1946 to Today The Story of Children’s Television from 1946 to Today was a touring exhibition originated by the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry. From Muffin the Mule to the Teletubbies, and Blue Peter to Morph, the show had something for every generation. Over 18,000 visitors attended the exhibition.

The Story of Children’s Television from 1946 to Today exhibition

People, Places and Things exhibition

THANK YOU...

THE MUSEUM OF MAKING AT DERBY SILK MILL

Prototyping spaces activity at the Silk Mill

The unique Museum of Making is being developed and co-designed in response to the needs of our heritage and our communities. In summer 2017 we reached a milestone as the development phase came to an end. During this period 680 informal ‘co-producers’ gave 11,551 hours of their time to shape the project through workshops and volunteering. Our co-production partners range from people who occasionally volunteer, to community groups, and from schools and colleges, to collaborations with industry and business. The resulting designs are ambitious. We propose a visitor experience will tell the unique story of the Silk Mill and its position within the Derwent Valley World Heritage Site. It will explore themes of Derby as a city of making by illustrating its

influence across the UK and around the world. People will be able to ‘think, feel and do’, actively engaging in the museum and influencing public programming. Our proposed designs provide improved infrastructure for flexible exhibition display, maximum opportunities for venue hire and upgrades the building’s energy performance to achieve the BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating. There will be an impressive architectural addition as a new Civic Hall is created. This will be a dramatic space offering a window into the museum from Cathedral Green.

In developing the Museum of Making activity programme, we undertook some intriguing work.

This is a £16.4m Project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and a range of Trusts and Foundations.

What Matters? event at the Silk Mill

The Art of Artefacts These sessions explored a number of questions with visitors and stakeholders, including: How might we tell stories with our collections? How might we display the collections when we are aiming to create 100% accessibility? How might we better understand the collections through making? The response from the public was that â&#x20AC;&#x153;exploring objects is the stimulus to uncovering stories.â&#x20AC;?

Art and Artefacts objects from the Silk Mill

THANK YOU...

Silk Mill Conversations A series of public events were held throughout the year with expert speakers on topics to be explored in the new museum. Themes included Materials, the Power of Prototyping and Stewardship and Sustainability. Speakers included Zoe Laughlin from the Institute of Making at UCL, Dean Jackson CEO of triathlon clothing HUUB in Derby, Dr. Joe Smith from clock makers Smith of Derby and Kresse Wesling MBE, sustainability entrepreneur and co-founder of accessories brand Elvis & Kresse.

29TH MAY 1961 CHARITABLE TRUST

DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE’S CHARITABLE TRUST

Rolls-Royce Our co-production partnership with Rolls-Royce has been vital in shaping the Museum of Making vision. The relationship is mutually beneficial, with Rolls-Royce employees helping to develop learning and public programmes, also regularly volunteering as ‘makers’. In exchange, our project team has supported Rolls-Royce staff to develop new skills, deepen their understanding of their company’s evolution and develop strong community relationships. Rolls-Royce has committed a Trent engine for display in the new museum.

“Our relationship with Derby Museums continues to evolve and offer new ways of working together, particularly to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) to life for schools, families and our community.” Gill Fennell Community Investment Manager for Rolls-Royce

Young makers at the Silk Mill

Objects made accessible to public from reserve collections

6903

DERBY MUSEUMS IN NUMBERS

up by 2%

119,493 Visitors to our Museums up by 19%

Donations per visitor

36p up by 64%

124,111

13,004

Visitors to our Museums up by 10%

Hours donated by our fabulous volunteers up by 58%

People participating in informal learning activities

23,593 up by 41%

Profit made by Derby Museums Enterprises and donated to Derby Museums

£58,760 up by 57%

Commercial income from venues

£110,000 up by 50%

Visits made by school children

8696

up by 30%

CONSOLIDATED INCOME AND EXPENDITURE YEAR TO MARCH 2017

INCOME Arts Council England

£393,000

Derby City Council

£965,000

Donations Income from Trading Learning Grants, Trusts & Foundations Other

£82,000 £204,000 £21,000 £1,096,000 £49,000 £2,810,000

EXPENDITURE Fixed Assets

£117,000

Commercial Trading Costs

£145,000

Governance Cost Staff Costs Depreciation (non cash) Premises

£9,000 £1,310,000 £50,000 £114,000

Supplies & Services

£19,000

Derby City Council Support Services

£82,000

Marketing

£72,000

Development

£535,000

Exhibitions

£50,000

Professional Fees

£25,000

Learning

£30,000

£21,000

Fundraising costs Acquisition of collections Bank Charges Training & Travel

£5,000 £223,000 £2,000

STEAM Tots activity

£24,000 £2,833,000 19

Masquerade Ball at the Silk Mill

Jeff Counsell Managing Director of trentbarton

DEVELOPING THE BUSINESS

“We’ve been holding these awards for over 15 years and this was by far the best venue. The Silk Mill staff are all wonderfully helpful and holding our awards surrounded by historic engineering exhibits only added to the atmosphere.”

Derby Museums is the place to be Increasing our earned income is vital for Derby Museums’ future and enables us to be a more resilient business. We launched the ‘Your Business, Your Museum’, initiative. This encourages businesses throughout Derbyshire to book their events with us knowing that each event supports the museum to carry out work for the community. From high profile dining events, conferences and even fashion shows, we have been able to demonstrate the diversity and flexibility of our Museum spaces and exceptional customer service.

Wedding reception at the Silk Mill

We have also hosted diverse events, such as conferences, weddings, vintage fairs, beer festivals and even a music festival. This investment in our commercial offer resulted in our earned income doubling to £110,000. Thank you to everyone who has hired one of our spaces, or held an event with us.

Derby Food and Drink Awards 2016

Retail within our Museums The redevelopment of the entrance of the Museum and Art Gallery and shop has increased our street presence, improved visitor welcome and created more space for retail sales. We continued to invest in our café at the Museum and Art Gallery and we were rewarded by being named Best Café at the 2016 Derby Food and Drink Awards. We have also opened a small café offer at Pickford’s House which has helped to increase visitor dwell time.

Every gift bought from our shop and every coffee drunk in our café support the work of Derby Museums and helps us to keep Derby Museums free for everyone to enjoy. 20

The Model Railway at the Silk Mill

THIS YEAR OUR VISITORS GAVE MORE GENEROUSLY THAN EVER In 2016 we increased our focus on growing our contributed income and building stronger relationships with our supporters. Our supporters have given us an amazing response.

intu Derby Everyone exhibition sponsors

Sign-ups to our ‘Buy a Bird’ Scheme continued at pace and a newly launched ‘Adopt An Object’ at Pickford’s House has been brilliantly supported by our Pickford’s House visitors. We launched a ‘Thank You’ campaign on our donations boxes across our sites which saw a strong increase in on-site donations. Our donation per visitor has risen to 36p per head this year up from 14p the previous year.

Visitors and volunteers in the World Cultures project space

A new ‘Give What You Think’ donation scheme was introduced for The Story of Children’s Television exhibition. Entry to the exhibition was free, but visitors were asked to give what they think by our enthusiastic staff and volunteers. Thanks to our generous visitors, this exhibition raised an additional £10,000 in donations including Gift Aid. We are now rolling this model out to future temporary exhibitions. Our very first Fundraising Ball ‘The Enlightenment Ball’ took place within a transformed Silk Mill and over 140 people attended. The event exceeded expectations by raising over £7,000. We have now introduced this as an annual event. We have also seen a great increase in our support from Trusts and Foundations, which means we can do so much more work to benefit Derby people to get more out of their heritage.

Design charette at the Silk Mill

We would like to thank all those individuals, families and organisations who supported Derby Museums during 2016 and 2017 - we couldn’t do it without you! 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust All our Adopt an Object supporters All our Buy a Bird supporters All of our Enlightenment Ball supporters Arts Council England Brewer Science Charles Hayward D2N2 DCMS/Wolfson Derby City Council Derby Museums Friends Develop3D

Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust Ernest Cooke Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund Everyone who generously made a gift in our museum donation boxes Foundation Derbyshire Foundation Museums and Galleries Fund Garfield Weston Headley Trust Heritage Lottery Fund HUUB Intu Derby

JCB Kitronik Lord Barnby’s Foundation Midland Railway Trust Peak NDT Pentaxia Pimoroni Rolls-Royce TBAT Innovation Ltd The Art Fund The Happy Museum The Institute of Engineering and Technology Wolfson Foundation 21

LEARNING AND PARTICIPATION Participation is at the heart of our activity programme and we seek to give every visitor the opportunity to create and learn something new. Volunteer blogger, Martha White, who attended FIGMENT Derby 2016, said:

Our completed artworks were added to a giant projected map of Derby city centre.

““Those look like empty teabags,” I said. The lady looked up and grinned. “They are,” she said. “And this is a pasta machine; it’s a lot cheaper than a real printing press.” As she spoke, she turned the handle one more time, and the finished print popped out – a neat little red and black house, perfectly printed onto a teabag.

The boys also added a few tendrils to the world’s longest beanstalk (60 metres and counting); threw beanbags into a basketball net which was cleverly made from a bucket; and admired a life-size corrugated cardboard bridge being constructed by Leach Studios.

FIGMENT Derby art festival was full of the surprising, the unusual, and the wonderfully creative. Out on Cathedral Green, we’d picnicked on a patchwork blanket, each square designed by a visitor to the Silk Mill. On one side of us a blank brick wall was being covered in swirls of coloured chalk. On the other side, people were tightening the strings on bamboo structures like skeleton tents. When a brief rain shower chased us off the Green, we ducked into the Silk Mill to find a bright space crowded with crafty activities. As well as Karen Wicks’ kitchen-cupboard printing press, we found Kerri Pratt heading up the Dream City project. A whole table of paint, glue and coloured paper provided the inspiration for each of my family to create a picture of something we’d like in our ideal city. 22

Outside, the sun had reappeared and a strong breeze was twisting bubbles into strange shimmering shapes. There was a crowd of children eagerly chasing the giant globes, competing to smash them into a wet shower of soapy droplets. This was the first FIGMENT in Europe – the concept hopped the Atlantic from its origins in New York – so the organisers were eager to see how it would translate to a UK city. The idea behind it is that art is not something you just come and look at; you interact with it, change it and create it. The welcoming volunteers and friendly artists at FIGMENT Derby made it easy to do just that. It’s perfect for children, who are always happy to get paint-covered anyway, but ideal for adults who want to express their creative side too.”

FIGMENT Derby 2016

Horizons College Derby Museums has developed strong learning relationships with many local schools. One of these is with Horizons, the sixth form of St Martin’s special educational needs school, based in a unit in the Guildhall Market that operates as a gallery and commercial space, as well as a learning space. Horizons tutor Joe Johnson said: “Your inspirational working environment, fantastic staff and engaging activities and projects, make what you do an absolute essential part of discovering and learning in Derby city. I truly believe that nowhere else in our city can offer and deliver what you do and have planned. All students and staff at Horizons and St Martins look forward to further projects and for our working link continuing to grow.” 23

Silk Mill Museum in Miniature in Derby Hospitals

STEAM Tots activity

This project created a mobile version of the Silk Mill to explore the relationship between museum objects, making and personal wellbeing. The mobile museum was taken into three wards of London Road Community Hospital and facilitated bedside conversation, inspired by patient responses to collections from the museum. As the project developed over a six-week period new objects were added to the museum in response to what we learnt of the patients we spoke to, stimulating new conversations and memories. This project helped patients to get away from their hospital environment for a while, providing moments of reflection and distraction through engagement with museum objects that have a resonance with them. This aids their wellbeing, supports their recovery and improves the hospital experience for patients, visitors and staff.

Visitors engaging with objects from the World Cultures collection

PROJECTS IN A NUTSHELL Robotics Club

STEAM Tots

This was run by two participants of BBC TV Robot Wars 2016 programme and was aimed at young people aged between the ages of 11-14, especially girls.

STEAM Tots is an exploration of ‘loose parts play’ – a sensory, child led exploration of STEAM principles, from den building, drawing, role play and imaginative stories.

City of Sanctuary

Robot event at the Silk Mill

Derby Museums participates in this city wide initiative aimed at welcoming new arrivals. Members of the Derby Refugee Advice Centre have been active participants in creating the Your Place in the World Gallery.

School Visits The number of school children visiting Derby Museums has increased by 30% to nearly 9,000. This is a result of expanding topic areas and planning with teachers to make what we offer more relevant.

VOLUNTEERING In 2016-17 over 1,200 people gave their time freely to support activities in Derby Museums.

PricewaterhouseCoopers employees taking part in a corporate volunteering experience at the Silk Mill

Our volunteers give their time for a variety of reasons, many juggling volunteering with busy lives. We have opportunities that offer flexibility, including long-term regular commitments, shorter project based work, remote volunteering (where volunteers give their time from home) and even ‘micro-volunteering’ for those with just a few hours to spare.

We Make project at the Silk Mill

Corporate Volunteering PricewaterhouseCoopers As part of PwC’s ‘One Firm One Day’ a group of 13 came to volunteer at the Silk Mill, moving, categorising and 3D scanning our historic brick collection. Although bricks may not sound the most interesting of museum objects, the group were soon searching for more information on their smart phones and weighing the merits of one brick against another. One volunteer even wrote in her evaluation: “You get an emotional attachment to the bricks”. In evaluations from the day volunteers stated they all ‘strongly agreed’ that they had enjoyed their volunteering experience, that they felt their contribution had been worthwhile and that they intended to visit the Silk Mill again in future. 25

DERBY MUSEUMS’ HERITAGE ENDOWMENTS FUND Derby Museums has been successful in securing in Endowment Grant from the Heritage Lottery fund for match funding up to £1 million. Over the next four years, Derby Museums has pledged to raise £1 million in donations which will be matched pound for pound by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). This means every pound in our donation boxes will be worth two and every donation we receive will be doubled. At the end of four years we will have an Endowment of £2 million that will be invested to provide an income in perpetuity and help to secure the future of Derby Museums for the next generation. The HLF have provided us with this fantastic opportunity, but raising £1million will also be a great challenge for Derby Museums. With the help of our supporters we are looking forward to meeting this challenge. If you would like any further information about this campaign and how you can get involved please contact sue@derbymuseums.org for more information.

notice nature feel joy Gallery

The Joseph Wright Gallery

Concept for the new Museum of Making

Tony Butler, Executive Director at Derby Museums

LOOKING AHEAD The next few years are a time of huge opportunity and challenge for Derby Musuems. By mid-2018 we expect builders to be on site at Derby Silk Mill to construct the new Museum of Making. This will be the time when the years of planning, fundraising and development turn into bricks, mortar, wood, steel and glass. The new museum, co- designed with local people, with all our communities in mind, will raise the aspiration of young people to help them become the makers of tomorrow. As the building work begins we’ll launch our new Mobile Museum of Making, a re-purposed bus that will travel round the city and the Derwent Valley providing the public with a taste of activities which can be seen in the Silk Mill in 2020.

In 2018 we hope to assume the use of Derby’s beautiful Central Library building. We’ll use it for a mixture of cultural and commercial uses, expanding our activity programmes to involve more people and providing a prestige venue for hire for conferences, civic events and private hires – weddings, parties and receptions. This expansion comes at a time of unprecedented reduction in public revenue investment. This makes it all the more important that we continue to raise money privately and from commercial activity. Every donation, every coffee bought in the café and every gift bought in our shop helps us care for our precious heritage and gives a great learning experience to our visitors.

Sharing the Vision event at the Silk Mill

OUR PRINCIPAL FUNDERS ARE:

The Strand | Derby | DE1 1BS www.derbymuseums.org @derbymuseums facebook.com/derbymuseums