Issue Eight – January 2009
Engaging with broader agendas Find Your Talent Harris Museum & Art Gallery – Claire Wood
Conference season vox pops
Engaging with broader agendas
Claire Wood
and evaluation partnerships that underpin our work. We are now writing the Renaissance North West business plan for 2009-11, using this evidence base to consolidate our achievements, to deliver the priorities identified by The Secretary of State and in anticipation of the outcomes of the Renaissance Review.
Manchester Art Gallery
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The case for Renaissance has to be made to each new player as they appear, whether politician, civil servant or someone within our own camp. The Renaissance Review will help us strengthen Renaissance and make it fit for purpose for the next phase in the modernisation of regional museums.
”
Stuart Davies, President, Museums Association
Andy Burnham’s opening address at this year’s Museums Association conference quite rightly identified regional investment through Renaissance in the Regions as one of the key achievements of the last 10 years and stressed the importance of ensuring excellent museum provision outside London. As the conference was in Liverpool, we took the opportunity to highlight Renaissance North West’s successes, particularly in relation to the research
One of our aims is to broaden our engagement with agendas from outside the sector. With two Find Your Talent pilot programmes in the North West, we are prioritising the development of the Five Hours of Cultural Activity offer promoted by DCMS. We are strengthening cultural partnerships by working with the Living Places initiative that embeds culture in community regeneration in Pennine Lancashire. With Stories of the World, the 2012 Cultural Olympiad programme, we are using the region’s unique cotton textiles heritage to create dynamic and creative engagement opportunities for young people. We also recognise the challenge the Hub venues have in terms of regional leadership within the Renaissance vision. We are working to champion the sector to external stakeholders and to raise the region’s profile on a national stage. We are seeking to develop our organisations and the sector as a whole to be able to deliver to broader social outcomes, and we will be exploring peer review as an approach to measuring this. Our greatest challenge is economic, intellectual and environmental sustainability. Over the next two years we will explore new business models and innovative ways of working to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future. Virginia Tandy, Director of Culture: Manchester City Council & North West Hub Lead
The Hodge Review
working with the North West Development Agency to develop a regional cultural investment strategy.
In 2008, a national review of regional cultural agencies, led by former MP Margaret Hodge, concluded that all collaborative work would be led by the DCMS’s four key agencies: Arts Council England Sport England English Heritage Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.
In the meantime, English Heritage has taken on responsibility for maintaining the existing relationships between all the regional agencies, since, as a result of the review, Culture Northwest ceased to operate in December 2008.
Nationally, the new infrastructure will focus on four shared priorities across the culture and sport agenda: Regional strategies Improving relationships and developing services in partnership with Local Authorities Place shaping 2012 and the Cultural Olympiad. The four regional cultural agencies are working with North West Vision & Media to identify which of the wider regional and sub regional groups will continue to have representation from our sector. They are also
When we went to press, the partnership, chaired in the North West by English Heritage, was developing an action plan to ensure arrangements will work and will be right for our region. This plan will consider: A business case for the future of the Culture Observatory A new host organisation for the 2012 Creative Programmer The future of the Heritage Tourism Initiative Arrangements to continue the activities currently led by Culture Northwest Establishing a wider cultural sector forum that includes Renaissance North West. Nathan Lee, Deputy Chief Executive, MLA North West
www.renaissancenw.org.uk
Find Your Talent Find Your Talent gives children and young people the chance to try out different cultural and creative activities. It’s about helping them to discover new things, to express themselves, to develop a passion and to make the most of their talent. Whether it is music, art, film, theatre, dance, digital media, exploring libraries, museums or heritage, Find Your Talent is for every child and young person, whatever their age and whatever their ability.
The North West pathfinders In 2006 Renaissance North West, MLA North West and the Arts Council jointly funded a regional adviser for children and young people. It was a trail blazing post for the cultural offer in relation to Every Child Matters, and one that seems to have prepared the ground for Find Your Talent, since the North West is the only region to have been awarded two pathfinder pilots. Bolton Council and Liverpool City Partnership have entered the first year of delivering opportunities for young people living in their areas. Bolton aims to narrow the gap between the most and least well off and to achieve economic prosperity through working with schools and communities where attainment is low and children and young people are underperforming. Bolton will create four geographical Cultural Partnerships, each with ‘cultural learning teams’ made up of adults and young people, the voluntary sector, creative industries, further and higher education. The pathfinder project will establish a system to enable young people who experience financial hardship to access high quality development opportunities. Bolton Museum & Archive Service and the Libraries are very much embedded in the pathfinder and two innovative museum and library pilot projects have been developed: Crime and punishment – a project aimed at developing cultural
Claire Wood
opportunities for 16-19 year olds who are not in education, employment or training through the theme of crime and punishment. Numeracy – a project using museum resources to support numeracy in schools supported by a Primary Consultant based in Children’s Services. Liverpool is encouraging enterprising and creative young people across the City Region, to build on the momentum of Capital of Culture 2008. Through targeting the North Liverpool, Kirby and St. Helens neighbourhoods, the pathfinder aims to develop a programme that can be rolled out across the City Region to achieve a
Bolton Museum & Archive Service
comprehensive system for discovering and nurturing the artists, innovators and creative workforce for the future. A Merseyside-wide advocacy and marketing campaign will be designed and led by young people to inspire peers and parents to take up the opportunities on their doorstep as creators, participants and spectators. The Liverpool pathfinder is underpinned by consultation with young people, research, evaluation and monitoring. This pathfinder builds on the existing model of partnership working through Liverpool Arts and Regeneration Campaign. It has very strong cultural and creative sector involvement and museums feature strongly.
www.renaissancenw.org.uk
Steve Irwin
Living Places & Pennine Lancashire
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Find Your Talent will open up all kinds of possibilities and new ideas that will enrich young people’s education.
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Andy Burnham, MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport
Beyond the pathfinders The Find Your Talent Pathfinders are developing models of how five hours of cultural activity can be incorporated in and out of school for children aged 0-19 and their families in the pathfinder areas. These models will form the basis for the next spending review to support five hours of high quality cultural engagement a week for all children and young people in the UK. These models and evidence of the outcomes will be used to advocate with Treasury and across government to make the case for funding and rolling this out nationally. Renaissance North West is currently developing plans to create an informal Find Your Talent network that can disseminate more widely the findings of these pathfinder projects in our region. For more information contact Natasha Innocent, Senior Policy Officer: Learning & Skills, MLA, natasha.innocent@mla.gov.uk or visit: www.findyourtalent.org
Working in partnership to deliver to communities is one of the principles of the Renaissance programme. Renaissance North West is committed to building partnerships with other parts of the cultural sector and other sectors to engage with regional regeneration initiatives. To date, Hub venues and their strategic partners have built up powerful consortia for advocacy and development in Manchester, Greater Manchester, Preston and Carlisle. There is now an opportunity to build on this to engage with Pennine Lancashire, through its Living Places programme. Living Places is a national programme that brings agencies together to support the role of culture in community regeneration and in the North West this focuses on Pennine Lancashire. MLA North West, with Arts Council England, the Commission for
Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery
Architecture and the Built Environment, English Heritage and Sport England, champions Living Places. Renaissance North West is working with this partnership to increase the relevance of museum collections to the region’s history and communities. This initiative will build on the findings of extensive research and mapping that is currently underway. It is intended to raise the profile of collections and venues, and to make links across Pennine Lancashire. It is hoped that this will impact on improving the offer and relevance of museums to people in housing market renewal areas that, in time, could be replicated elsewhere in the region.
For more information visit: www.living-places.org.uk
News from the Fed
Remain a grassroots organisation that listens to its members
In November, the North West Federation of Museums and Art Galleries held a meeting to determine the future of its constitution. Members voted unanimously that the Federation will incorporate as a company limited by guarantee and should apply for registration as a charity.
Be eligible to apply for funding and expand its capabilities
Reporting and responding to the wider membership will still be done in the same way, but formal aspects, such as approving the accounts, will be done by an elected Board of Directors.
The Federation is being advised by Business in the Arts North West about changes to the constitution. The new Board will include strong representation from the regional museum sector and from business.
These changes, which will be instigated by the current committee, will mean that the Federation will:
Be able to employ freelancers for specific projects, such as skills and training development Have the benefit of advice from the business sector
Jo Jones, President, North West Federation of Museums & Art Galleries
For more information visit: www.nwfed.org.uk The Manchester Museum
Bolton Museum & Archive Service
Claire Wood
www.renaissancenw.org.uk
Steve Devine
We are back on-line! The Renaissance North West team is happy to announce the launch of our e-bulletin. Our e-bulletin will keep you in the loop with up-to-date information including:
In addition to the e-bulletin, information about Renaissance North West is held online, including: Our programmes & partnerships: who we work with and where the investment goes
News updates: you will be informed about regional and national news
Renaissance Development Officers: what they can do for you and how to contact them
Event listings: you will get a regular calendar of regional workshops, seminars, training and other development opportunities
Accreditation Advice: documents and other resources to help you prepare your application
Grants: you will be notified when the Unleash the Power of Your Collections grants are launched in 2009 Sharing practice: you will receive information about new research, publications and toolkits that are hosted on-line Recruitment: Renaissance contracts will be advertised via the e-bulletin.
Event legacy: downloadable video, workshop summaries and discussion papers Publications: sharing knowledge through newsletters, research reports, and toolkits. For more information and to sign up to the e-bulletin visit: www.renaissancenw.org.uk
Conference season vox pops The North West Federation of Museums & Art Galleries and Renaissance North West funded places for 65 first time delegates to attend the MA conference in Liverpool. This is what they said about it:
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I was able to do lots of networking and hopefully some of the contacts I made will result in partnership projects.” “The conference underlined the importance of being aware of other institutions’ initiatives… There is a lot of existing expertise to draw on. Developing better networks to access this expertise will be my priority.” The Wordsworth Trust
“When museums are struggling with resources, both human and financial, consultation with other museums is key, so that we are not constantly reinventing the wheel.” “Increased representation of different types of museums and galleries delivering sessions would better broaden our understanding of, and suggest new possibilities for, working with the public and providing worthwhile exhibitions, events and experiences.” “Seeing so many museum professionals in one room was my ‘light bulb’ moment.” “Towards the end of the conference, I stepped outside my comfort zone and felt confident enough to start approaching, meeting and discussing issues with people during tea breaks and joined in large group discussions.” “Something I found quite striking was the number of women involved in the sessions I attended... It encouraged me that it is possible to advance your career as a woman in this sector.” “Junior staff and staff from smaller charitable institutions need to attend such gatherings to show a true cross section of the sector.
Claire Wood
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The regional role of The Manchester Museum in Renaissance While the holdings of The Manchester Museum are global in range, it also has important regional collections of archaeology, geology, palaeontology and botany. Our location within a university means that we have been able to maintain specialist curatorial posts when other museums have seen them decline. For example, we have the only museum numismatist in the North West and our museum staff assist colleagues across the region in dealing with enquiries or assessing the significance of collections. In recent years, Renaissance funding has been a major factor in helping us to develop our regional role. Within the Manchester area, we have been working with other museums and galleries on the Revealing Histories: Remembering Slavery project. We have also worked with others on the MAGPIE project, which has improved children’s literacy through museum visits, and with the Manchester Museums’ Consortium on improved marketing and profile within the City. More widely, we have chaired (with The Whitworth Art Gallery) the Collections For The Future Steering Group. This has been one of the main channels of Renaissance support for regional museums, by disbursing grants for collections work and by providing advice via the Roman Heritage Officer, a post based at The Manchester Museum. We see our regional role as important and necessary for a museum of our nature, and the added benefit has been that 37% of our visitors now come from across the North West, beyond the Manchester city region. Dr Nick Merriman, Director, The Manchester Museum
www.renaissancenw.org.uk
Claire Wood
Knowledge exchange Last year, Renaissance North West commissioned research that is now available for dissemination across the region.
Events & Training 14 January Reflecting on Family Learning FREE Riverside Hotel, Kendal. Contact Dr Joanna Oldham: joanna.oldham@mla.gov.uk 15 January Reflecting on Family Learning FREE Museum of Science & Industry, Manchester. Contact Dr Joanna Oldham as above 19 January 2009 Roman Heritage in the Regions FREE Manchester Museum. Contact Catriona West: catriona.west@btinternet.com 28 January A Common Purpose: the Museum’s Place in Local Government FREE Rex Makin Theatre, Liverpool. Contact Katie Athey: k.athey@manchester.gov.uk 28 January Who Do We Think We Are? FREE Lancaster Maritime Museum. Contact Dr Joanna Oldham as above 29 January Who Do We Think We Are? FREE Catalyst Museum, Widnes. Contact Dr Joanna Oldham as above 25 February Government Policy: the Context for Our Sector FREE Riverside Hotel, Kendal. Contact Dr Joanna Oldham as above 26 February Government Policy: the context for our sector FREE Manchester Cathedral Visitor Centre. Contact Joanna Oldham as above 5 March Working with Photographic Collections: Care & Identification FREE Lancashire Conservation Studios, Preston. Contact Kaye Tetlow: kaye.tetlow@mus.lancscc.gov.uk 12 March Outside the Box: Heritage Work with Communities and Other Agencies British Commercial Vehicle Museum, Leyland. Contact Emma Varnam: emma.varnam@tameside.gov.uk or visit www.nwfed.org.uk 13 March Working with Youth Boards FREE Manchester Museum. Contact Katie Athey as above 16 March Emergency Salvage Workshop FREE Lancashire Conservation Studios, Preston. Contact Kaye Tetlow as above
Creative Spaces is a programme of research about children’s perceptions of museums and galleries, led by CapeUK. Children worked as researchers in four of the Hub museums. Each museum identified a research question, for example: ‘What would an art gallery designed by children contain?’ Then the children worked alongside the adults to find the answer.
Contact the Renaissance North West team
Steve Devine
Outside In – Inside Out is an exploration into the community experience of four of the Hub museums. Ian Fairweather, a social anthropologist from the University of Manchester, developed an innovative methodology whereby community researchers observed the museums at work and kept ‘field diaries’ to record their experiences. A film maker captured their interactions with the museums.
The Whitworth Art Gallery
In both instances, staff from the participating museums continue to work with the researchers to ensure that the learning is absorbed and used to develop programmes. Both reports are available at www.renaissancenw.org.uk For more information contact Myna Trustram, Research Manager, Renaissance North West m.trustram@manchester.gov.uk
Emma Anderson, Renaissance North West Manager 0161 235 8822 e.anderson@manchester.gov.uk Myna Trustram, Renaissance North West Research Manager 0161 235 8849 m.trustram@manchester.gov.uk Jennie Crawford, Renaissance North West Communications & Events Officer 0161 235 8810 j.crawford@manchester.gov.uk Katie Athey, Renaissance North West Project Support Officer 0161 235 8825 k.athey@manchester.gov.uk Jane Fletcher, Renaissance North West Education Development Manager 01228 618767 / 07854921522 (currently on maternity leave) janef@carlisle.gov.uk Kate Measures, Learning Development Consultant 0113 258 2290 / 07966 298516 katemeasures@hotmail.co.uk Alex Saint & Andrew Palmer, Renaissance North West Strategic Audience Development Consultants alex@alexsaint.com andrew@palmersquared.co.uk Kaye Tetlow, Collections Liaison Officer 01772 530223 / 07500 065537 kaye.tetlow@lancashire.gov.uk Carli Douglas, Collections for the Future Development Officer: Roman Heritage 0161 306 1772 / 07867 528370 carli.douglas@manchester.ac.uk Catriona West, Accreditation Advice Consultant 07731 890427 catriona.west@btinternet.com Paul Fraser Webb, Collections Review & Accreditation Advice Consultant 07855 064425 paul@paul-fraser-webb.co.uk
www.renaissancenw.org.uk