Open Culture 2012: Collections Trust Annual Conference

26th and 27th June

The Kia Oval, London 

For more information, please visit www.collectionslink.org.uk/openculture2012 

The event comprises a two-day conference and associated exhibition.

Topics include: 

• audience development
• digitisation, 
• storage, 
• standards, 
• environmental management

Sessions which MEG members may be particularly interested in include:

26th June – Opening Up Our Cultural Heritage – Steve Crossan (Google Cultural Institute), Bill Thompson, (BBC) & Alan Payne, (Deep Visuals, formerly of Kodak European Research)

Digital, social and mobile technologies have unmatched potential to articulate a new role for libraries, museums, and archives. Three leading figures in the field will explore key issues including:  What role does openness play in delivering new kinds of cultural value? Can new ways of using cultural content create immersive experiences for audiences?  How best can digital culture be brought to an audience of billions?

27th June: Significance, Relevance and Resilience – Caroline Reed (Consultant), Prof. Janet  Ulph (University of Leicester), Jonathan Wallis (Derby City Museum), Sarah Paul (CyMAL)

The long-term future of libraries, museums, and archives depends on delivering services that are relevant, meaningful, educational and inspiring to the widest possible audience. There is an ethical obligation to work with audiences and communities to ensure decisions are open, democratic and genuinely driven by user need. The session will look back at work achieved in making Collections Management more democratic and representative, and encourage delegates to think about future strategies to ensure their collections remain relevant.

Prices start from £220 for a single day or you can attend the trade fair for free. There are also group rates available – please e-mail events@collectionstrust.org.uk for more information. To book for OpenCulture 2012, please visit http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/book-now

RAI Bodies in Motion events

BODIES IN MOTION is a series of evening events and exhibitions that explores the relationship between human movement, space and expression

Place: The RAI, 50 Fitzroy St, London W1T-5BT

Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm

Dates: Friday 13th April, Tuesday 17th April, Wednesday 18th April, Thursday 26th April, Monday 30th April

The way in which we move our bodies can express our multiple identities as well as our social and cultural backgrounds. Whether dancing, walking or playing sports, movement can be an affirmation of society’s norms, a celebration of community cohesion and a vehicle for expressing national and international affiliations. Equally, human movement can be a means of resistance demonstrating social and political unrest or an avenue for innovation and cultural change.

Bodies in Motion, is an initiative that explores the relationship between human movement, space and expression. Using photography, ethnographic film, art and presentations, the project aims to engage the public in exploring the meaning of movement in urban, digital and natural landscapes.

If you have any questions about the Bodies in Motion series please get in contact with Nafisa Fera, at education@therai.org.uk / 020 7387 0455

Book your ticket for all events and receive a 20% discount- http://bodiesinmotion.eventbrite.com/

MERL Research Fellowship

Applications are now being invited for the Gwyn E. Jones MERL Fellowship scheme for 2012-13, tenable for up to twelve months, to support research in subject areas associated with the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) at the University of Reading. The closing date is 11 May 2012.

Successful proposals attract a stipend of up to £10,000 for a maximum period of twelve months. Applications for shorter periods of research are welcome but would attract a commensurately smaller stipend. The funding can be used to offset teaching and administration costs, and other research-related expenses. Fellows are encouraged to participate in the academic programmes of the Museum.

For further details of the scheme and information about how to apply please click on the following link: www.reading.ac.uk/merl/research/merl_fellowships.aspx.

UCL Course: Ethnographic Object Analysis

Convenors: Dr Julie Botticello, Dr Sarah Byrne, Devorah Romanek, Dr Marilena Alivizatou

Venues: UCL, British Museum, Horniman Museum

Dates: Wednesday 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 May 2012, 14:00 – 17:00pm

Do you ever visit museums and feel that you lack the specialist knowledge, skills and experience to critically analyse and evaluate ethnographic objects and displays? This training course, run by the UCL Centre for Museums, Heritage and Material Culture Studies, is designed to provide the skills necessary to do this.

Utilising collections at UCL, and with access to the British Museum and the Horniman Museum, this training course sets out to develop the skills and understanding necessary to best utilise ethnographic collections from Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The course will be particularly suitable for those wishing to develop their ethnographic expertise in such fields as museum studies and cultural heritage as well as graduates keen to familiarise themselves with the materiality of ethnographic objects, images and collections. You will be guided towards relevant themes and perspectives through a series of hands-on practical sessions run on a weekly basis.

Sessions will focus on:
•    Analytical techniques for examining materials, style and technique of ethnographic objects
•    Learning how to observe, document and describe ethnographic objects through drawing, classification and computer documentation systems
•    Handling skills, basic conservation assessment techniques and issues of conservation practice and ethics
•    Practical exploration of issues relating to exhibition, design and representation
•    Analytical techniques for ethnographic photographs and their storage

The training course will provide participants with a practical grounding to become confident in handling and using ethnographic objects in research and creative media. It will also provide some of the necessary skills needed by those interested in pursuing a career in museums and galleries, anthropology, culture and heritage, art history and the education sector.

Course Cost: £300, £250 (student concession)
For more information or to enrol please contact Dr. Sarah Byrne
s.byrne@ucl.ac.uk

Textile Society Grants

www.textilesociety.org.uk

Funded Postgraduate Opportunity: University of St Andrews

Professional Preparation Masters Degree - MLitt Museum and Gallery Studies

We invite applications for an AHRC-funded place on the full-time postgraduate Museum and Gallery Studies course starting in September 2012. 

Professional Preparation Master’s awards provide funding for Master’s or Postgraduate Diploma courses that focus on developing high level skills and competencies for professional practice in a field relevant to the content of the course.

St Andrews is Scotland’s only centre for Museum and Gallery Studies and enjoys an international reputation for its teaching and research. The course offers a wide-ranging professional training, and a high percentage of graduates have gone straight into careers in museums, art galleries, historic houses and other heritage organisations. Modules on the Theory and Practice of Museums are complemented by practical activities, undertaken in local and regional museums. The teaching takes place in the University’s museum (MUSA) which can be used as a ‘laboratory’ for experimentation in museum interpretation and education.  The vocational relevance of the programme is strengthened by links with the University’s museum staff and with outside museum professionals who contribute to the teaching.

Although we are based in the School of Art History we welcome applications from all disciplines.  We are looking for well-qualified candidates with at least a good 2:1 degree. 

To apply for an AHRC grant you need to:
* Complete a University of St Andrews on-line application form and, where the form asks how you intend to fund your studies, state that you want to be considered for an AHRC award.
* Add a separate Supporting Statement document saying how the course will contribute to your long-term career development.

Deadline for applications: 31 March 2012

To check your eligibility, go to the AHRC website at:
http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Documents/GuidetoStudentFunding.pdf

For further details of the course visit our website at:
http://www-ah.st-andrews.ac.uk/mgstud/

For further enquiries contact:  pgarthist@st-andrews.ac.uk

Roma Routes

The Roma Routes project is making a list of Gypsy, Roma, Traveller collections and
items in UK museums or archives. The aim of this project is to make it easier for people to find Gypsy, Roma, Traveller materials by making the list available and by publishing it on the Roma Routes website www.romaroutes.eu

This work is part of the EU funded Roma Routes project which promotes Roma heritage and culture, and involves heritage organisations and Roma representatives from Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Romania and the UK.

If you have relevant collections or items we would be grateful if you could send us an email, so that we can send you the necessary form: romaroutes@surreycc.gov.uk

Please also pass this on to others and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any information that might point us in the right direction.

Thanks very much in advance and best wishes,
Kate Stuart and Jen Coates
Roma Routes Project Officers