Shared Interest Collaboration between museums, visual arts organisations and universities in England’s North West 2009
Introduction
Purpose Shared Interest is about developing collaboration, partnerships and research relationships between museums, visual arts organisations and universities in the North West of England. This booklet demonstrates how these sectors can achieve more by working together, and shows how professionals from each sector can collaborate. The aim is to highlight the potential for increased collaboration between the sectors, to present a picture of what is happening in the North West, and to contribute ideas and guidance as to how partnerships can be more successful. The project arose as a result of discussions between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), cultural agencies, museums and galleries in the North West. The lack of documentation and profile of existing collaboration between the two sectors suggested a picture of one-off and short term projects. The resulting research was commissioned by Renaissance North West, Arts Council England, North West, and the North West Universities Association in order to find out just what collaboration was taking place.
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Steve Devine
The commissioning partners considered the shared interests of the two sectors and identified six priorities which have helped to frame the research: Priority
Definition
Widening participation
Encouraging new audiences within each sector, and widening student, academic, and public engagement
Knowledge exchange
Both ongoing and project based exchanges between specialists in each sector and links to the wider professions
Employer engagement
Internal programmes of professional and skills development and work with employers from outside of the sectors
Collaborative research
Joint resourcing of research programmes with finances, collections, professional time, and expertise
Entrepreneurship
Establishing new projects and businesses to work across the sectors
Innovation and creative practice
Identifying, negotiating and implementing new and changed ways of working
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University of Manchester
Method The Shared Interest research set out to identify compelling regional examples of collaboration between HEIs and museums and visual arts organisations, and the key features of successful partnerships. The research also sought out examples of research relationships and initiatives that raised the profile of collections and strengthened scholarly capacity. The research was commissioned in March 2009 and carried out by Jane Dawson and Abigail Gilmore overseen by a steering group with members from each sector. Fifty two key professionals were interviewed from universities, agencies, museums and visual arts organisations across the region. The results of this consultation process were used to identify a number of case studies throughout the North West. The full report, Shared Interest: developing collaboration, partnerships and research relationships between higher education, museums, galleries and visual arts organisations in the North West (2009) can be found at www.renaissancenw.org.uk
Case studies Eleven case studies were undertaken as part of the research. The studies explored four different types of relationship between museums, galleries and visual arts organisations and HEIs: • Partnership – where an ongoing and long term relationship exists • Programme – a themed or grouped strand of activity • Project – a time limited and discrete piece of joint working • Collaboration – a joint venture where both parties contribute at a variety of levels.
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CASE STUDY 1
The Grosvenor Museum and the University of Chester
The Grosvenor Museum © The Grosvenor Museum
Characteristics
Commentary
An established informal partnership has evolved and delivers a range of activities, publications and student engagement
The Grosvenor Museum has worked with the University of Chester on a regular basis for the last ten years. The relationship began when a senior lecturer at the University invited one of the Museum’s curatorial team to deliver a lecture, and developed through a series of reciprocal talks and workshops into a more collaborative partnership.
Outcomes
Audiences at the Museum have been introduced to new art forms and styles through exhibitions of the work of lecturers from the University. The University’s academic team has also worked with the Museum to curate exhibitions from its fine art collection and to produce associated catalogues and lectures. Benefits have included better devised and written support materials and wider exposure to hidden works in the collection. A third partner, Florence’s Fiesole Art School has collaborated on programmes of exhibitions, student engagement and workshops.
Shared understanding and objectives are accompanied by clear delegation to lead officers who can develop and implement initiatives
Objectives for the partnership are summarised as: • Extending the range of contemporary art exhibitions at the Museum • Ensuring that students are able to engage with experienced practitioners • Broadening the audience base for exhibitions and talks at the Museum University of Chester
• Providing opportunities for locally based contemporary artists to show their work • Conservation and display of seldom seen works from the Museum’s collection.
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Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum, and the University of Lancaster
The Wordsworth Trust – Claire Wood
CASE STUDY 2
Characteristics
Commentary
Formal and informal collaborations for some years leading to an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded research project
Dove Cottage and the Wordsworth Museum was founded as a living memorial to William Wordsworth and his contemporaries and is based at Dove Cottage and the hamlet of Town End, Grasmere. The Museum has worked with many research projects and universities from around the world. This case study concerns a research project undertaken with the University of Lancaster called ‘From Goslar to Grasmere’.
Outcomes Detailed examination of specific texts and a dedicated website
Goslar is a town in Germany visited by Wordsworth and his sister in the winter of 1798 where the poet began his autobiographical work, The Prelude. They then settled in Grasmere the following year where Wordsworth began the poem Home at Grasmere. The research project considers these two texts and explores the relationship between the two places, the poems, and the manuscript itself. The project was led by the University of Lancaster, working closely with the Museum, and was funded through the AHRC Landscape and Environment Programme. The project objectives were: • Exploration of the creative process, analysing texts and manuscripts to access the processes and motivations of the writer • Looking at different and deeper ways to approach, interrogate and interpret manuscripts
Wordsworth Trust
• The digitisation of manuscripts online as a resource with three entry levels (specialist, non-specialist, and educational) on the site www.digitalwordsworth.org • Technological development using the Text Encoding Initiative • Widening access to Wordsworth’s writings through online access • Providing research material for the University’s Wordsworth Centre.
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CASE STUDY 3
Grizedale Arts
Grizedale Arts and Liverpool John Moores University
Characteristics
Commentary
Project based initiatives led to ongoing artists projects and an informal reciprocal relationship
The partners on this project work in similar ways, pioneering new approaches to artistic production and exhibition and providing artists with the opportunity to develop their work in and with social, cultural and economic contexts. Grizedale Arts is an international research and development agency based in the Lake District National Park with a significant reputation for innovation. Contemporary arts are sited within the rural environment in a programme of events, projects and residencies.
Outcomes Artists projects that are fun and informative, involving students and providing a platform for professional and academic development
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) Site Project at Liverpool School of Art and Design aims to interface the work of students and staff with the work of national and international artists and designers. An initial LJMU series of talks at Grizedale Arts led to an ongoing relationship and collaborations on two Creamfields festival projects involving street artists and an online television channel. Grizedale’s logistical experience helped provide artists from Liverpool (and the University in particular) with opportunities to work in new ways. An international collaboration has developed online webcasts from the partners to the Venice Biennale. Objectives of the project were: • Raising the level of debate and discussion on contemporary arts practice • Producing a body of artistic material and debate • Enabling students to work with ‘cutting edge’ artists and practitioners • Developing a programme of internationally recognised speakers and publications • Exploring opportunities for employment in a globalised arts market.
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CASE STUDY 4
The Alchemy project at The Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum © The University of Manchester
Characteristics
Commentary
A call for research proposals leading to artists residencies, work placements and an educational programme
The Manchester Museum is in fact part of the University of Manchester which inevitably assists collaboration between the two bodies. This case study is about just one collaborative project, Alchemy, where the combined resources of the Museum and University provided a fertile context for artists’ research.
Outcomes Development of a model for using collections as a learning tool. Widened participation, and academic work-streams
The Alchemy project was funded by Arts Council England, Visiting Arts, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the Henry Moore Foundation, Renaissance North West, and the En-quire programme. The project aimed to facilitate work which interrogates museum processes and institutional practices, and which supports creative ideas outside of the usual practices associated with museums. The project comprised a designated curator and an open call for research proposals from artists resulting in residencies at the Museum and a series of works, exhibitions, seminars and publications. Work placements for BA Photography students and an educational programme working with 80 young people from regional schools also formed part of the programme. Artists worked with museum staff, collections and materials to produce work in the museum.
The Manchester Museum
The project objectives were: • Use of the Museum’s collections, research activities and members of staff as the primary resource for the participating artists • Work with the University of Manchester academics and resources • A focus on process and research • New ways of expressing ideas to increase engagement with research • Documentation of the research process. The case study found examples of widened participation and of knowledge transfer. For example 32% of those attending Alchemy events had never visited the Museum before. Examples of knowledge transfer covered anthropology, geology, and ornithology, and the project has engendered further research, academic papers, and commentary.
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The Whitworth Art Gallery © The University of Manchester
CASE STUDY 5
The Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Metropolitan University
Characteristics
Commentary
Collaborative work bringing together community, academics and an artist in creative practice based on collaborative decision making
Like The Manchester Museum, the Whitworth Art Gallery is part of the University of Manchester. The Gallery is concerned with fusing together academic research, curatorial practice and resources for artists, gallery audiences and wider communities. This case study considers a project called ‘On an Unknown Day’ which in fact entailed collaboration with academics at Manchester Metropolitan University in its development.
Outcomes A model for genuine participatory activity and an exhibition
The project developed as a partnership between the Gallery, a cultural geographer and doctoral student, a practising artist, and an interest group (Out in the City). The commission resulted in a performative art work and exhibition, looking at queer history and human geography inspired by early social networking in Manchester and the North West. The aim of the project is to develop collaborative work which brings together community, academic and artists’ interests in creative practice. Community interests are engaged at every level of decision making with the group of around twenty participants meeting twice a week over a four month period.
The Whitworth Art Gallery – Claire Wood
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Platt Hall Š Manchester City Galleries
CASE STUDY 6
Gallery of Costume (Manchester City Galleries) and Manchester Metropolitan University
Characteristics
Commentary
Commissioning of students to reinvent the gallery, resting on a long standing relationship between the organisations
The collaboration came out of a series of discussions between the University and the Gallery. The interest in work between universities, museums and practitioners in the area of textiles was already established in Manchester through ongoing forums in the city and an AHRC workshop series.
Outcomes A pool of ideas and new perspectives to inform development and brokerage of new partnerships
Manchester City Galleries
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The emerging project resulted in a textile artist based at the University being asked to respond to the Gallery of Costume collection and to create an exhibition which will be part of the launch of the refurbished gallery in 2010. The artist will liaise with the MA Design Lab at Manchester Metropolitan University where students have been given the brief to reinvent the Gallery of Costume. They will do this by looking for new audiences and answering hitherto unasked questions such as what is the nature of the Gallery’s relationship to the city? The project lasts for the duration of the MA course in its first phase. The participating students have come up with a plethora of ideas and new contacts. Students have gained direct experience of responding to briefs as a team, and knowledge of conservation and curatorial practice.
CASE STUDY 7
Bolton Museum and Archive Service and the University of Bolton
Characteristics
Commentary
Bringing together of a collection and an academic programme
Bolton Museum and Archive Service is managed by Bolton Metropolitan Council. The University of Bolton was established in 2005 from the former Bolton Institute and delivers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The University and the Metropolitan Council are two major employers and strategic organisations in Bolton and work together to improve services to communities in the town. The two organisations have adopted a Memorandum of Co-operation to provide a framework for collaborative working.
Outcomes The museum hosted a series of academic conferences, as the basis to develop broader collaborative working
Open market – shoppers © Bolton Council from the Bolton Museum and Archive Service collection. Photograph taken by Humphrey Spender for the Mass Observation Worktown project between 1937 and 1938.
The Museum and Archive holds an important collection of photographs by Humphrey Spender which form the nucleus of the Worktown Collection. The collection also includes work by Julian Trevelyan, Humphrey Jennings and Graham Bell and has its own dedicated gallery at the Museum. The University runs a documentary photography course and a series of courses relating to 20th century British history.
Bolton University
The partnership considered in the case study began around 2006 with the aims of stimulating creativity and keeping collections alive and relevant by holding a conference on leisure history. The conference was hosted at the Museum and involved a partnership approach to using the Worktown Collection as a subject of academic study. The collection provided a tangible reference point for academic historians who presented research and engaged with local archivists, curators, photographers and historians. The event formed the first of a series of three conferences and of a broader joint working arrangement between the two organisations. Objectives of the partnership were: • Developing research inspired by the collection • Stimulating new projects, including conferences and publications • Widening access to the collection and specialist use • Improving opportunities for students • A tangible outcome for the strategic partnership • Encouraging broader engagement with the collection by the public and academics • Raising the University’s profile.
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CASE STUDY 8
Harris Museum and Art Gallery and the University of Central Lancashire
Characteristics Two collaborative programmes: ‘Digital Aesthetic’ and ‘In Certain Places’
Outcomes
Harris Museum & Art Gallery
Collaboration enabled more ambitious programmes, widening access, international contacts and local impact
Commentary
University of Central Lancashire
The Harris Museum and Art Gallery is managed by Preston City Council and has a long standing relationship with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). Around 50 examples of joint ventures between the organisations include: student shows and lecturer exhibitions at the Harris; joint publications; workshops and lectures at the Harris by University lecturers; use of collections to support academic study at the University. The University was a key partner when the Council’s Arts Strategy was developed and collaborative working was identified as an important element of delivery of cultural services in the city. The case study focuses on two collaborative programmes undertaken in partnership by the Harris and UCLan: ‘Digital Aesthetic’ and ‘In Certain Places’. Both programmes have longevity, shared objectives and benefits for each partner. ‘Digital Aesthetic’ was conceived as a conference combined with exhibitions in electronic and digital art, providing opportunities for artists to develop new work and
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share ideas. The first event was held in 2001 and this was followed up with an event in 2007 exploring how the digital age is changing perceptions of art. There were three main components to the project: a conference, a website and an exhibition. Other partners included BBC Learning and Preston Art and Design. Objectives were: • Add value to the Harris collections • Extend creative practice • Expose visitors and students to international contemporary digital work and artists • Widen engagement, particularly with minority groups, and enable local access • Opportunities for students to develop professional practice and to engage with artists • Enhance the University’s reputation in the field, and to put Preston on the map.
Harris Museum & Art Gallery – Claire Wood
The ‘In Certain Places’ programme was initially conceived when redevelopment plans were first being prepared for the Tithebarn area of Preston city centre with the aim of incorporating public art within the development. A programme of temporary public art commissions took place and a series of associated talks and debates. Funding was obtained from both the Higher Education Funding Council for England and Arts Council England as well as the principal partners. Activities and projects included: the appointment of an international lead artist; a temporary public art programme; talks and debates and a website. Objectives were: • Integrating art and artists into the public realm • Improving the public realm and creating better spaces for people • Enhancing the existing programme of small scale public art • Improving the University’s postgraduate offer • Increasing the University’s research profile • Professional development for curatorial and academic participants.
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CASE STUDY 9
The Storey Gallery and the University of Lancaster
Storey Gallery, Lancaster 2009 © Storey Gallery
Characteristics
Commentary
An exploration of the potential for collaboration between publicly funded cultural organisations and commercial creative industries
Lancaster’s Storey Institute is being developed as a creative and cultural hub and includes the refurbishment of a gallery space as units for creative and cultural industries. The University was approached by the director of the Storey Gallery with an idea for a research project to explore the potential for collaboration between publicly funded cultural organisations and commercial creative industries. The desired outcome was to be connectivity between the different tenants in the new units.
Outcomes A research proposal for a three year study
The partners created a small team, visiting comparable projects prior to developing a project plan for the first phase with funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. This work was to provide information for a full research proposal to the AHRC. Activities have included a consultation workshop with attendees from around the UK and the development of the research proposal. Objectives for the project are: • Exploring issues around the Creative Economy Programme and its connection with non-commercial cultural organisations • Refocusing the Storey Institute’s development to nurturing creativity • Development of a full research question and funding proposal
Storey Gallery, Lancaster 2009 © Storey Gallery
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• Exploration of issues about how people make sense of their professional environment.
Tate Liverpool and collaboration with Higher Education Institutions
Tate Liverpool © Tate Liverpool 2009
CASE STUDY 10
Characteristics
Commentary
Joint delivery of academic programmes and post-graduate research
Tate Liverpool was established in 1988 and has developed a strong collaborative role across the North West, including helping found the Culture Campus with the University of Liverpool (UoL), Liverpool Hope University (LHU), and Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). The various partnerships that Tate maintains with regional HEIs are characterised by sharing resources to support a collaborative approach to art history, curating exhibitions, education and research, particularly at post-graduate level.
Outcomes A range of academic courses, undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes, professional development and research forums
Links to regional universities include: • BA History of Art and Museum Studies (LJMU) • MA in Art History and Curating (LHU) • Annual Symposium with Masters in Research (LJMU) • MA in Fine Arts (LJMU) • FE and Lifelong Learning (UoL) • MA Contemporary Curating (Manchester Metropolitan University) • MA module in Curating the Contemporary (Manchester Metropolitan University, UoL, LHU, UCLan, Staffordshire University) • Joint supervision of Collaborative Doctoral Award (UoL)
University of Liverpool
• Internships for MA in Art, Aesthetics and Cultural Institutions (UoL) • Work placements • Gallery Education Module and events for Artists Teacher MA (LMJU). Research collaboration is similarly well developed with post-graduate work and doctoral theses regularly engaging with the collections and staff of the Tate. Tate Liverpool brings together researchers in forums around exhibitions and displays. Undergraduate students at LJMU work with Tate staging symposia based on the gallery’s exhibitions.
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The People’s History Museum and the University of Central Lancashire and the University of Nottingham
People’s History Museum © People’s History Museum
CASE STUDY 11
Characteristics
Commentary
Improving and widening use of the Museum collections and archives
The partnership began in 2006 with an AHRC Museums and Galleries Core Funding grant for the Designated Collections. It has produced a range of activities which make the collections and archives of the Museum more accessible and improve their usage within academic research. The partnership secured a two-year post doctoral fellowship for the History Department at UCLan, based at the Museum, and assisted the development of online access to the Labour History Archive and Study Centre.
Outcomes A post doctoral research fellowship, three collaborative doctoral awards, conferences, publications, and teaching content at UCLan
University of Central Lancashire
The collaboration has also produced two successful conferences in 2006 and in 2008, leading to published papers. Academics and curators worked together to explore how the two disciplines can best collaborate in locating, understanding and analysing visual collections. The UCLan publication by CETH students (Centre for Employability in the Humanities) funded and produced the ‘Battle for the Ballot – The struggle for the vote in Britain’ publication. This came out of the 2007 exhibition opened by Billy Bragg and his Bill of Rights Roadshow which he brought to UCLan in a very popular public lecture in December 2007 and was published in September 2009. Battle for the Ballot has become the blueprint for the major theme in the Museum’s new galleries which are part of its current £12.5 million refurbishment. The partnership also underpins teaching at UCLan.
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Art and Design Academy at Liverpool John Moores University
What have the case studies told us about the relationship between museums, galleries, visual arts organisations and universities in the North West?
Strengths
Response
Successful engagement between the sectors is often driven by highly motivated professionals in each sector reaching out to one another
Support cross sector engagement with networks and forums. Include contributions to cross sector working and communications in work plans and staff evaluation
Cross sector working attracts external investment and ‘baskets’ of funding
Ensure professionals in each sector are aware of funding opportunities in the other. Provide information content for bulletins and websites through identified contacts
Long standing relationships provide a good platform for innovation and development
Encourage and maintain relationships across the sectors during periods where joint working is dormant. Plan regular updates and quarterly meetings
Weaknesses
Response
Collaborative working is hidden from potential investors and stakeholders
Make more use of communication channels and the web and ensure partners are properly credited. Provide edited copy and images to partners for inclusion in both electronic and print media
Added value generated by joint working is not captured
Plan for the capturing of evidence of added value and impact to projects and programmes, and publish the results. Agree performance criteria at the outset of the project and methods of collecting quantitative and qualitative data
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Whitworth Art Gallery © University of Manchester
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Opportunities
Response
Collections are of great value as research subjects
More promotion of collections to HEIs and targeted information about synergies with identified research priorities
Collections bring research to life and can widen the research audience
Alignment of exhibitions with research priorities of HEIs and showcasing of research within museums and galleries
Clearly designated liaison posts stimulate collaboration
Plan, monitor and resource liaison work between the sectors and ensure designated post-holders are flagged up to potential partners
Demonstration projects motivate others to emulate successful joint working
Target resources on prioritised areas of joint project work within future plans and budgets. Research Councils to commission exemplar projects
Threats
Response
There are different ways of working in each sector
Ensure work is preceded with ‘kick off’ meetings to fully articulate every element of the programme in detail. Jointly consider the likely risks to the programme
Perceptions of each sector by the other can be a barrier to joint working
Promote informal contacts between professionals in each sector whenever the opportunity presents itself. Encourage collaborative research practice in research proposals
Pressures on public funding in each sector
Align the outputs of joint working with the corporate objectives of each partner and relevant funding and research organisations
How can ‘Shared Interest’ continue to be developed?
Senior managers and stakeholders can encourage partnership It is important for the leaders and senior managers of organisations to make a long term commitment to collaboration and to be seen to take a lead. The Chester case study illustrated how senior level contact broke down ‘town and gown’ barriers to collaboration. In the case of Grizedale Arts and Liverpool John Moores University, their commitment to the collaboration is maintained even when nothing much is happening between the partners. In Bolton the University and the Council wanted to join forces to improve services to the community and a Memorandum of Co-operation has resulted, formalising collaborative working. When the leadership of organisations are seen as promoting partnership and are able to articulate the benefits of collaboration the results are likely to be more far reaching.
Reciprocity The collaboration between Grizedale Arts and Liverpool John Moores University first came about through Grizedale inviting the University to give a programme of talks. In Chester an invitation from the University to the Museum to give a lecture on framing and hanging led to reciprocal invitations that have extended into wide ranging programmes of activity. The relationship between the Harris Museum and Art Gallery and the University of Central Lancashire that led to the two high profile projects considered in the case study first began because of personal contacts between museum staff and individual
lecturers. Reciprocity is at the heart of almost all joint working identified in this report and should be managed as both an individual’s and organisation’s professional responsibility.
Identify where collaboration adds value and quality While both the Museum and the University in Bolton had clear strengths in the field of documentary photography, it was when the opportunity to utilise the Worktown Collection for academic study was developed through a University led conference programme hosted at the Museum that the potential of the collection began to be realised. There is no doubt that the first tangible outcome of the Grizedale and Liverpool John Moores University collaboration, Creamfields TV, offered students new ways of working and widened interest in both organisations. In Chester making interpretation less academic has been a welcome collaborative outcome. Furthermore, a framework for recording manuscript images has been developed in a research funded project that can now be extended to the rest of the collection. The ‘Digital Aesthetic’ and ‘In Certain Places’ programmes considered in the Preston case study had a national and international impact, and a breadth of local engagement that could not have been achieved without the contribution of both the Harris Museum and Art Gallery and the University of Central Lancashire. Added value and quality can be a planned outcome or an unexpected result of partnership working and may be of interest to professionals both inside and outside of the partners’ sectors.
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University of Bolton
Encourage members of your team In Chester the delegation of responsibility to enthusiastic curators and academics meant that they had the freedom to forge relationships. The Grizedale project required the lead team members of the partners to act with a high degree of delegation to fulfil their joint function as artistic director. The development to a formal partnership in Bolton was driven by a lead officer in the University and a lead officer in the Council being empowered to make day to day decisions to develop partnership working, meaning that high level discussions were informed by actual activity not just intention. Where team members take the initiative to pursue cross sector working the research indicated that a light touch and flexible management can result in more collaborative progress than would have been foreseen at the outset.
Collaboration can mean enhanced quality and competitiveness in securing investment Securing research funding for ‘From Goslar to Grasmere’ was achieved by the University of Lancaster for a project that included both an exploration of relationships between the places, Wordsworth’s text, and the actual physical manuscript. The project has led to a further research grant application that may result in more resources for work with the manuscripts of the Wordsworth Museum. Successful partnership working can lead to more phases of collaboration and investment as is the case with the Alchemy Project at The Manchester Museum, where
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the resources put into collecting evidence of impact on visitors and increased quality meant that a project running between 2003 and 2005 was followed up with a new phase in 2006.
Partnerships foster more partnerships It seems that successful partnership and collaboration fosters more of the same. A number of case studies illustrated how partnership had led to one or more new partners joining the collaboration. Tate Liverpool has developed relationships with HEIs across the North West and joint working is embedded in the organisation’s core working. There are positive examples of collaboration building new opportunities and partners. In Chester the work between the museum and University resulted in a three way partnership with Florence’s Fiesole Art School.
Concluding remarks
Steve Devine
Shared Interest provides evidence that collaboration, partnerships and research relationships between higher education, museums, galleries and visual arts organisations is productive and valuable. The quality and depth of research and knowledge of our culture and heritage can be greatly enhanced by the meeting of professional minds. The beneficiaries are curators, academics, students and artists. The collaborative ventures discussed in this booklet have led to wider public engagement with research and collections. By working together, the participating organisations have reached people they could not reach alone. It is important that partnership is pursued for what can be achieved, not just for the investment opportunities it creates. That said, collaboration appears to be a powerful tool in attracting funding and investment to a region. Joint working across the sectors provides a useful development model in a time of scarcer resources and should be of interest to all leaders in education and culture.
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Supporting information
A wide range of literature was reviewed in the research project, and 52 professionals and academics were consulted. The project was overseen by a steering group with members from: the Harris Museum and Art Gallery; Arts Council England, North West; Renaissance North West; North West Universities Association and Manchester Art Gallery.
The following reports are relevant to the Shared Interest research: Arts, Enterprise and Excellence: Strategy for Higher Education, (Arts Council England, 2006) This national strategy considers the role of HEIs in widening and encouraging participation in the arts through their support of the arts infrastructure and creative arts courses. Beth Christie and Ann Gunn, Sustainable Scottish Collections Network Feasibility Study, (Museums, Galleries and Collections Institute, University of St Andrews, Scottish Funding Council, 2007) This report outlines the findings of this feasibility study for a sustainable research network to bring together those working on Scottish collections from universities, museums, galleries and heritage agencies. Peter Dalton and Angela Conyers, Discovering Physical Objects: Meeting Researchers’ Needs, (Research Information Network, 2008 www.rin.ac.uk) This report considers how researchers from four disciplines (archaeology, art history, earth sciences, and social and economic history) can find out about collections and search for objects in museums and other organisations. Chris Huxham and Siv Vangen, Managing to Collaborate: the Theory and Practice of Collaborative Advantage, (Routledge, London, 2005) This book aims to provide a one-stop resource for academics, managers and students studying or working in collaborations.
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Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium, Liverpool Arts and Cultural Sector: Partnerships with Higher Education Institutions, (Impacts 08, 2009) This report concludes that there is substantial engagement between arts and cultural organisations in Liverpool and HEIs. There is however a wealth of opportunity yet to be explored. The Contribution of the North West Higher Education Institutions to the Cultural Life in England’s North West, (NWUA, 2005) This report draws together information on the cultural infrastructure of the North West, including a comprehensive audit of the involvement of HEIs in culture through a range of cultural facilities. University Museums in the United Kingdom – a National Resource for the 21st Century, (University Museums Group, 2004 www.umg.org.uk) Around 4% of the museum sector consists of university museums and these 400 or so museums hold 30% of all Designated Collections. This research confirms that these museums offer benefits to the parent universities in terms of teaching and collections, and to the wider community through access and lifelong learning.
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1 2009 Degree Show Exhibition at the Art and Design Academy at Liverpool John Moores University
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2 Harris Museum & Art Gallery ©
3 4
Image credits from front cover
3 University of Liverpool © 4 Manchester Museum © The University of Manchester 5 The Whitworth Art Gallery © The University of Manchester
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Acknowledgements Many thanks to Jane Dawson and Abigail Gilmore for their painstaking research which forms the basis of Shared Interest and to Andrew Ormston of RGA Consulting who has edited their report. And thanks to all the people who gave their time and thinking to the research: Emma Anderson; John Angus; Gordon Baddeley; Maria Balshaw; Jamie Barnes; Mike Benbough-Jackson; Dmitri van den Bersselaar; Piotr Bienkowski; Peter Boughton; Scott Burns; Monika Buscher; Sally Bushell; John Byrne; Matthew Constantine; Julie Crawshaw; Maurice Davies; Sam Davies; Steve Dixon; Kate Farmery; Peter Fell; Matthew Gough; Mark Grimshaw; Ann Gunn; Jonathan Harris; Andrea Hawkins; Lubaina Himid; Alistair Hudson; Maggie Jackson; Alice Kettle; Robert Knifton; Helen Rees Leahy; Nick Mansfield; Aileen McEvoy; Michael McGregor; Nick Merriman; Richard de Peyer; Charles Quick; John Renshaw; Simon Robertshaw; John Sculley; Robert Snape; Edmund Southworth; Valerie Stevenson; Fiona Stoddart; Mike Stubbs; Virginia Tandy; Lindsay Taylor; Alex Walker; Judith Walsh; Roger Webster; Evelyn Wilson; Alex Woodall.
For further information please contact Myna Trustram Research Manager Renaissance North West 0161 235 8849 m.trustram@manchester.gov.uk www.renaissancenw.org.uk
Renaissance North West Renaissance in the Regions is the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council’s (MLA) national £300 million programme to transform England’s regional museums. For the first time ever, investment from central government is helping regional museums across the country to raise their standards and deliver real results in support of education, learning, community development and economic regeneration. Renaissance is helping museums to meet people’s needs and to change people’s lives. www.renaissancenw.org.uk Arts Council England Arts Council England works to get great art to everyone by championing, developing and investing in artistic experiences that enrich people's lives. As the national development agency for the arts, the Arts Council supports a range of artistic activities from theatre to music, literature to dance, photography to digital art, and carnival to crafts with an investment of over £1.6 billion between 2008 and 2011 from the government and National Lottery. Great art inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves, and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. www.artscouncil.org.uk North West Universities Association NWUA is the representative body of fourteen higher education institutions in the North West of England and within this role NWUA has two key objectives. Firstly, it provides a means whereby member institutions may co-ordinate their regional activities and identifies opportunities for collaborative action. Secondly, NWUA facilitates such joint activities or collaborations within the region with members and/or non-members, as agreed by the member institutions. www.nwua.ac.uk
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Published by Renaissance North West 2009
To help protect the environment, this publication is printed on stock from renewable/sustainable sources using only organic based vegetable inks.