You Can't Touch This! How to keep engaging with heritage during a global pandemic
Philip Walker, Head of Culture at Gloucester City Council, spoke to South West Fed members about the varied and creative ways in which he and his team engaged audiences over the last nine months.
Philip shared lessons learned using examples of how the cultural and heritage sector in the city managed to adapt to the changing circumstances. For example, the Museum of Gloucester and other heritage partners found innovative ways to continue to connect with communities and engage them with culture remotely.
Addressing the colonial legacies of Wellcome’s collections
James Peto, Project Director of the collections gallery at the Wellcome Collection, opens the conversation of how the Wellcome Collection should tackle inequities inherent in its collections to make them relevant and relatable today.
This was a talk of a collection of objects, archives and artworks largely assembled by Sir Henry Wellcome and his agents between 1890 and 1936 to facilitate a better understanding of the "art and science of healing throughout the ages”.
James was able to share the ways in which the collections were acquired, and the stories they have been used to tell, reflecting power structures, beliefs and values to which Wellcome Collection does not ascribe in 2021.
Building Partnerships and Attracting Funding to See you Through
Cassie Griffiths; Senior Engagement Manager, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Victoria Harding; Programme Manager, South West Museum Development, Sharon Heal; Director, Museums Association shared their insights into how museums and heritage organisations have the potential to react to the huge changes we face, including Covid, Black Lives Matter and the Climate & Ecological Emergency.
They were able to share what help is available and what practical steps can be taken to address these seismic changes and create a sustainable, vibrant and innovative sector.
Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy
Jo Loosemore, Visiting Curator of ‘Mayflower 400: Legend & Legacy’ for The Box, Plymouth considers the ethical issues faced in creating an exhibition marking 400 years since the sailing of the Mayflower.
The story of the Mayflower's voyage has come to define England’s relationship with America, yet it has also denied indigenous Americans their part in this history. What lessons have we really learned about power, politics and presenting the past? What is the influence of ambition, economics and expectation in the present? Mayflower 400: Legend and Legacy opened at The Box, Plymouth – during the pandemic. Its curation raised ethical questions about cultural collisions then – and now.
Behind the Interpretation: Co-creating the development of three new maritime galleries at Poole Museum
Those interested in co-creation and how it can be affectively used to develop interpretation and design in heritage/ cultural setting were joined by Dr Alex Reynolds for this talk.
This talk gave an overview of the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) funded Our Museum project at Poole Museum and explored the co-creative process used to develop interpretation and design of three new maritime galleries associated with the project. Informed by wider best practice in museum co-creation, the interpretive methodology of this project has incorporated a range of creative and collaborative interventions with core and target audiences. These activities were described in detail, tracing findings and their use as fundamental anchor points for the development of design and interpretation in the museum’s new gallery spaces.
From Bugs to Bytes – supporting museums in the South West through the Pandemic and beyond.
Pest Partners was a great example of identifiing pests o our collections and provided the tools to us all to better protect our collections.
This event was free and was followed by our 90th Annual General Meeting.