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This week the UK’s Museums Association held their conference in Brighton. They live-streamed all of the sessions from the main room, including the keynotes (alas not the session “Are toilets the eyes to the museum’s soul?”).
You can watch the videos on their facebook page. Click the link above!
Topics included decolonialisation, museums and the patriarchy, the climate crisis, and the fundamental, existential questions of “what is a museum?”. One thing that always impresses me with the way the UK approaches museums, is how holistically they address all aspects of the museums work and sphere of influence. It’s not just curators and exhibitions, it goes through all corners of the museum, their staff and work.
To speak at this years Museums Association Conference about our youth program 'Remix the Museum'. The talk is on Thursday 8th November at 11:30 and again at 15:30.
Yvonne Battersby, Visitor Services Assistant at the Harris, tells us about visiting one of the most important events in the museum calendar.
"Earlier this month I was fortunate to be able to go to the Museums Association Conference in Cardiff. My place was funded through Museums Development North West as a way of enabling those who hadn’t been before to attend. Over 700 museum professionals from all over the UK and some international visitors from countries including Brazil and Australia attended the conference, which also celebrated 150 years of the Museums Association.
I arrived on the Wednesday to register and picked up my tote bag and a badge which identified me as a first time attendee. Then it was next door to the Senedd – the National Assembly for Wales - for a welcoming and networking event, which apparently turned out to be the best ever attended wine and nibbles event ever held there. This led on to a ‘Tweet-up’ at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre a short walk around the bay. I’m new to Twitter but as I’d promised to Tweet for the Harris when I could I went along and was pleasantly surprised that it was not a group of people just staring into their smart phone oblivious to the world around them, but actual verbal conversation and more mingling!
There was a networking breakfast at 7.45am the next morning for first time attendees and it was a great chance to chat to others and get to know each over tea and a bacon roll. I did find myself educating my breakfast companions on the architectural gem that is the Preston Bus Station. There was a crammed programme of activities with many sessions of talks and workshops running at the same time which meant I had to be ruthless in deciding what to see and what to miss.
One the highlight of the first day was a discussion focussed on a subject close to my heart – front of house. There was a case study from the Natural History Museum where they’ve created a ‘Visitor Experience Support Team’ made up from back office staff, many of whom never meet the public in their roles. Through spending just an hour in the galleries meeting the public, answering questions and witnessing first-hand how people interacted with the exhibits, staff gained a new perspective about their own museum which might influence their approach to their own work.
There was further discussion about utilising the skills, knowledge and experience of front of house staff. It was even suggested that front of house might be viewed as a profession in its own right alongside curators and educators in museums, and as being something to aspire to rather than in many cases just be seen as a ‘way in’ to a museum career.
Friday morning was another early start with a tour of Cardiff Castle at 7.30am! Only fourteen hardy souls made the effort but it was certainly worth it. Our tour guide Dorien coped admirably with the near pre-dawn tour, and it was a privilege to see the way the beautiful William Burges designed rooms glowed with early morning sunshine.
Back at the Millennium Centre, the second day of the conference opened with keynote address by Mat Fraser based on his show ‘Cabinet of Curiosities: How Disability Was Kept In A Box’ which was commissioned by University of Leicester’s Research Centre for Museums and Galleries http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/rcmg/projects/cabinet-of-curiosities. He performed a unique cabaret style lecture that explored and challenged how disabilities have been historically and currently represented in museum collections. I don’t think there was anyone in the room who didn’t find it a powerful experience.
Another Friday highlight was a lively mock trial about the subject of happiness. It triggered much debate as to whether museums have any responsibility to make people happy, should they even try and can you actually define or measure happiness in the first place?
I also attended one of the careers workshops which proved to be very thought provoking. It brought home the fact that it’s the individual that is solely responsible for their own career choices, and that people tend to spend more time planning their annual holiday than on setting career targets and meeting their ambitions.
In summary I highly recommend that anyone working in museums at any level should attend the MA Conference at least once. It’s a unique experience to be with so many people who all work in museums, and as every museum is different no two people’s backgrounds are the same. So getting everyone together once a year is an excellent way of sharing stories and getting inspiration to take back with you to your venue, to pass on to colleagues and on to the public."
Yvonne Battersby
Visitor Services Assistant, Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston
