The Textile Society Museum and Conservation Award 2015

Deadline for applications 1 June 2015

The Textile Society offers an annual bursary award of up to £5,000 for a textile related project within the museum, archive or conservation sector in the UK.  The Award is designed to support textile related projects within a museum, archive, or conservation studio for exhibition, publication or conservation that will help achieve greater awareness and access for the public. To apply or for more information visit here. 

Pacific Collections in Scottish Museums: new resources available

In November 2014 resources were launched at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh to provide information on Pacific collections in Scottish museums.  This was the culmination of a 20 month partnership project funded by the Museums Association's Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund involving National Museums Scotland, Perth Museum and Art Gallery, the University of Aberdeen Museums, and Glasgow Museums. The project aimed to carry out a review of collections from the Pacific region held in the four partner museums, as well as connecting with other Scottish museums. The project also aimed to develop and trial a method in knowledge transfer between current specialists and museum professionals without prior experience and knowledge of Pacific collections. 

The findings from the Review have already sparked keen interest from academics and others in the field. It’s hoped the resources will open up wider international engagement with the collections in terms of further research, and its associated outputs - exhibitions, community projects, digital information or otherwise. Another important outcome has been the wider museum sector’s engagement with the Project and the appetite in Scottish museums for further similar work to be undertaken. 

Two key resources are available online now:
-          Review of Pacific Collections in Scottish Museums, which gives an overview of some of the collections in Scotland. You can download the Review here
-          Introduction to Pacific Collections, intended for future ‘new’ or non-specialist curators to guide them through developing their knowledge of Pacific collections. You can download the Guidance here 

You can find also out more on the website and through the Blog

Call for papers: Objects in Motion: Material Culture in Transition

Proposals for papers and for visual and performing art are welcome for the three day interdisciplinary conference Objects in Motion: Material Culture in Transition. The conference is supported by and will be held at the Centre for the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge on 18-29 June 2015. The deadline for proposals is 15 March 2015, and registration is expected to open in April 2015.

Objects in motion will bring together diverse scholars, curators, writer and artists to discuss material culture in transition. Material objects are produced within specific contexts - geographical, cultural and temporal. This is true for things as diverse as the Great Sphinx built in Egypt at least 4500 years ago, the Lindisfarne Gospels illuminated in 8th century Northumbria, a wooden ceremonial mask carved in 19th century Nigeria, or a mobile phone made in 21st century China. 

What happens when objects such as these transition into other contexts? How are differences in use and meaning negotiated? Sometimes later reinterpretations and reincarnations (including 'fakes' and reproductions) incorporate elements of the objects original use and meaning, and other times they diverge entirely. This can affect not only themselves but also the knowledge and experiences embedded within or produced by them - as with books, musical recordings, and technologies. 

Scholars, curators, writers, and artists from all disciplines are welcome to propose relevant talks. Visual artists (including photographers) are also welcome to propose artwork on the theme to be displayed in the Alison Richard Building. Proposals for performing arts may be made as well, within the constraints of space and time stated below. The papers and art, selected by both CFP and invitation, will be complemented by events at local museums. 

These diverse contributions will help to shed light on material culture dynamics which remain highly relevant even today despite the growth of multinational corporations, global communications, and increasing standardisation. They will also foster,productive dialogue on different disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to studying and responding to these dynamics. 

Guidelines for proposing a paper:

Proposals for talks should be emailed to the convenor Dr. Alexi Baker by 15 March 2015. They should include a title, an abstract of up to 250 words, a brief biography, contact information, and any institutional affiliations. Scholars at all stages of their careers including independent scholars are encouraged to apply, as are artists and writers who would like to offer talks reflecting on the conference theme. 

Guidelines for proposing visual or performing arts:

Proposals for visual or performing arts which reflect upon the conference theme should be emailed to the convenor Dr. Alexi Baker by 15 March 2015. The visual artwork will hang in the ground floor seminar rooms of the Alison Richard Building from the time of the conference until at least October 2015, and must be fitted to the available space and hanging facilities. 

The artist(s) must be able to transport their works to the Alison Richard Building themselves and to install them with limited assistance from staff. Each piece will need to come fitted with string or hooks on the back so that they can be attached to the hanging rails in the seminar rooms with nylon string. (the type of rails in use can be seen here). Small labels may also be affixed near the artworks using white-tack. 

Proposals for performing arts will be considered as well as long as they can be staged within the limited space f a seminar room, and have a running time of less then one hour. Possibilities could include for example recitations, musical performances, or self-contained dramatic performances. 

Proposal for visual or performing arts should consist of:

• Contact information and any institutional affiliations 
• Title of the installation or performance
• Description of up to 250 words
• CV and (if available) website of the artist
• Examples of the work of the artist
• Detailed installation or staging requirements  

Islamic Art and Material Culture Subject Specialist Network Study Day

The theme is Contemporary Collecting, and it will take place at Brighton Museum on Monday 2nd March. 

Deadline for bookings is 25^th February

Please note that numbers are limited to approx 20, on a first come first served basis. Please book by emailing Harriet Hughes 


The day is free of charge to SSN members and includes lunch.

Provisional Programme
10.30am – Arrival and Tea / Coffee 11am Welcome & Introductions

Displaying New Acquisitions or Loans
11.10 - 11.30 – Rebecca Bridgman, Curator of Islamic & South Asian Art, Birmingham Museums Trust and Chair of SSN for Islamic Art and Material Culture
11.30-11.50 – Daniel Robbins, Senior Curator at Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (based at Leighton House Museum)
11.50 – 12.00 – Questions
12.00 – 12.30 – Harriet Hughes, Curator of World Art, Brighton Museum – including a tour of the gallery

12.30 – 1.15 LUNCH

How to Collect & What to Collect
1.15 – 1.35 - Julia Carver, Curator, Visual Art, Bristol Museum and Art
1.35 – 1.55 - Marguerite Nugent, Head of Curatorial Services at Wolverhampton City Council (based at Wolverhampton Art Gallery)
Talk title: ‘Contemporary Collecting on the theme of the Arab/Israeli Conflict’
1.55-2.15 - Venetia Porter, Assistant Keeper (Curator), Islamic and contemporary Middle East
2.15-2.25 – Questions


2.25-2.40 pm Tea / Coffee Break

Acquisition Schemes & Funding
2.40 – 3.00 - Robert Dingle, National Network & Strategic Projects Manager at Contemporary Art Society & Christine Takengny, Museums Acquisitions, Public Programme, Whitechapel Gallery Displays Manager at Contemporary Art Society
3.00 – 3.20 - Rachel Browning, Programmes Manager (Projects), Art Fund Talk title: ‘See, fly, buy: Art Fund research and collecting programmes’
3.20 – 3.30 – Questions

3.30 – 4.00pm Round up and Discussion – Role of SSN for Islamic Art and Material Culture in this area

4.00 pm Close 

Dig it: Museums and archaeology

6 March 2015
British Museum, London

The day will include:

- a panel discussion on the challenges of growing archaeology archives
- an update on the Treasure Act and a look at how museums can acquire treasure
- a funding Q&A with organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund
- practical tips on how to develop successful community archaeology projects
- how crowdsourcing is being used in archaeology projects
- new approaches to displaying archaeology.

An essential conference for anyone working with archaeology collections or on archaeology projects.

To see the day's full timetable, details of speakers and to book click here


This event is in association with the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Council for British Archaeology.

The Herrenhausen Symposium "Museum of Cultures, Wereldmuseum, Världskulturmuseet,... What Else? Positioning Ethnological Museums in the 21st Century"

The Herrenhausen Symposium "Museum of Cultures, Wereldmuseum, Världskulturmuseet,... What Else? Positioning Ethnological Museums in the 21st Century" by the Volkswagen Foundation in cooperation with Deutscher Museumsbund discusses the need for a critical appraisal of the past, present, and future of ethnological museums.

The symposium which will take place from June 21-23, 2015 in Hanover, Germany is looking early career researchers to participate. 

Rooted in the curiosity cabinets of the Enlightenment, ethnological museums experienced an enormous boom during the colonial period. The collections assembled in those past times continue to characterize the exhibits of ethnological museums today, causing the need for a critical appraisal of the past, present, and future of this particular genre of museum. The symposium will address topics like the history of museum collections, provenance research, the special case of "restitution", different forms of cooperation as well as how these aspects can become part of ethnographic exhibitions.

Travel Grants

The Volkswagen Foundation offers 15 Travel Grants for young researchers who wish to attend the symposium. The deadline for application is March 15, 2015. For more information on the application process, please visit the website.