“A conference for mind expanding conversations and international networking” — Martin Payne, Head of Schools and Young Audiences, The British Museum

We are excited to invite you to Museum Ideas 2024, where you can gain fresh perspectives to enhance your museum’s impact and explore how museums are being reimagined through deeper connections, power shifts, and co-creation.

Why Attend?

Inspire Change: Gain fresh perspectives and discover how museums are redefining experiences through deeper connections, power shifts, and community co-creation.

Network with Peers: Connect with like-minded colleagues from across the globe, share experiences, and gather actionable ideas and insights to enrich your work.

Expert Guidance: Learn from an exceptional lineup of speakers, led by Professor Dan Hicks from the University of Oxford.

Museum Ideas 2024 Speakers Include:

Iheanyi Onwuegbucha, Princeton University, and Dr. Will Rea, University of Leeds, Co-curators for the JR Centre for Yoruba Culture and History in Lagos, Nigeria
Rachel Noel, Head of Learning Programmes and Partnerships, Tate, and Co-chair, We Don’t Settle, Birmingham
Carrie Canham, Curator, Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth, with Dr. Alicia Hughes, Project Curator, The Sloane Lab at the British Museum
David Watson, Executive Director of Audiences and Media, National Museums Liverpool
Korantema Anyimadu, Senior Curator of Anthropology, Horniman Museum, London
Désirée Reynolds, Dig Where You Stand, Sheffield
Chloe Cousins, Social Justice Manager, Manchester Museum

We’re thrilled that Iheanyi Onwuegbucha and Dr. Will Rea from the JR Centre for Yoruba Culture and History in Lagos, Nigeria, have joined the Museum Ideas 2024 lineup. As co-curators, Iheanyi and Will will be talking about their work that “pops with colour and sound in a dazzling departure from the colonial model – noisy, performative and unapologetically non-European” (The Guardian). The museum opens its doors to the public this autumn.

Featured Speakers:

Since 2012, Museum Ideas has hosted speakers from around the globe, including South Africa, Argentina, India, UAE, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and many European countries. The annual conference has welcomed museum workers from over 30 countries, fostering a global exchange of transformative ideas through impactful talks, wide-ranging discussions, and international networking.

Event Details:

Date: 10 October 2024
Location: Museum of London
Sponsors: Art Fund, Absolute Museum & Gallery Products, BECK and Cogapp

Book Tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to reserve your ticket. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at the reduced rate of £97. Reduced rate tickets are available for museum workers who may face barriers to training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQIA+, working class, and autistic members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and sector newcomers. Email info@museum-id.com to check availability and book your ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different events if places are available.

“Museum Ideas is the best museum conference. It secures superb, relevant speakers, who cover a rich and wide range of topics. It offers food for thought and feeds the soul with engaging and inspiring conversation, networks and ideas” — Helen Whiteoak, Head of Participation, National Portrait Gallery, London

“A packed programme with a breadth of insight into museums that is not otherwise accessible – diverse and inspiring” — Susan Eskdale, Lead for Community Engagement, Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton

“An impressive conference, expertly curated to bring together voices from across the world. I would highly recommend to colleagues and will definitely attend again in the future” — Laura Crean, Assistant Director, Strategy and Governance, Imperial War Museums

“An inspirational conference! A coming together of museum minds – sharing ideas and making connections” — Gillian Crumpton, Head of Interpretation, Ironbridge Gorge Museum

Museum Ideas 2024 takes place on 10 October at the Museum of London and is sponsored by Art Fund, Absolute Museum & Gallery Products, BECK and Cogapp

Past Speaker Highlights
Past speakers have included Bonita Bennett, Director, District Six Museum, Cape Town, South Africa; Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Joyoti Roy, Head of Strategy, CSMVS Museum, Mumbai, India; Manal Ataya, Director General, Sharjah Museums, UAE; Kaywin Feldman, Director and President, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Head of Public Programs, Smithsonian American Art Museum; Esmé Ward, Director, Manchester Museum; Nina Finigan, Curator, Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Aotearoa New Zealand; Maria Ribas, Head of Audience Development, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona; Winnie Lai, Curator, Learning and Interpretation, M+ Museum, Hong Kong; Christian Díaz and Romina Frontini, HABEMUS//, Bahía Blanca, Argentina; Ranmalie Jayawardana, Community Participation Lead, International Slavery Museum, Liverpool; Rachael Minott, Head of Participation, Birmingham Museums Trust; Aleema Gray, Collections Gallery Partnership Lead, Wellcome Collection, London; and Nick Merriman, Chief Executive, Horniman Museum and Gardens, London.

Speakers at the 2023 conference included Puawai Cairns, Director of Audience and Insight, Te Papa Tongarewa, Aotearoa – New Zealand; Jennifer Scott, Director and Chief Curator, Urban Civil Rights Museum, United States; Helen Arfvidsson, Curator of Global Contemporary Issues, National Museums of World Culture, Sweden; Afia Yeboah, Senior Producer: Community Partnerships and Participatory Practice, V&A East; and Khalil Thirlaway, Creative Producer: Community and Youth, Natural History Museum.

At the 2018 conference award-winning playwright Linda Brogan spoke about the ‘Excavating The Reno’ community project in Manchester’s Moss Side. Bringing together archaeologists, artists, social historians and the public, the project explored the story of a soul and funk club that became a sanctuary from racism in the 1970s. Linda’s talk was extraordinary. This is what Sandra Shakespeare from Museum Detox had to say about it: “Excellent to see the work of Excavating The Reno — an absolutely remarkable fresh change to see such honesty at a museum conference where the tendency is always to showcase the great and the good. It was deeply moving to witness vulnerability and authenticity.” This was echoed by Dhikshana Pering: “Still thinking about the Excavating The Reno project at Museum Ideas — hands down no conference session in my life has left such an impact”

Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Head of Public Programs at Smithsonian American Art Museum, opened the 2019 conference and set the agenda with her compelling talk ‘Break the Wheel: Museums Challenge the Status Quo’: “As museum practitioners we can allow museums to be a tool of the establishment, the powered, even the oppressor. But through a reflective practice and a reimagining of our purpose, we can instead exercise the power of the museum towards challenging the status quo.” Dr Lauren Vargas from the University of Leicester commented: “This may have been the best museum conference presentation I have ever witnessed — thank you for reminding museums of their role in challenging the status quo and how power is determined by relationship with social justice.”

Other highlights from previous editions of the conference have included ‘The Right to Remember’ by Bonita Bennett, Director of the District Six Museum in Cape Town; ‘A Year in Museums’ by Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; ‘The Good of Being Different in a Time of Sameness’ by Mike Sarna, Royal Museums Greenwich; ‘Immersive Theatre in Museums’ by Peter Higgin, Director of Enrichment at immersive theatre company Punchdrunk; and ‘Talking to Strangers’ by Rosie Stanbury from Wellcome Collection.

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Explore how to approach co-creation in museums in our brand new study day led by cultural practitioner Stephen Welsh. This new study day will help you consider and work through the steps required to approach your own co-creation with community groups.

Stephen will discuss his significant experience in designing, developing and delivering co-creation projects, as well as sharing a number of case studies and facilitating practice-based exercises and learning. In addition, participants will be invited to reflect on their current co-creation ideas and activities while working in small groups in a conversational, relaxed and supportive setting.

Why Attend?

Learn from an Expert: Stephen Welsh brings over 15 years of experience in developing and delivering diverse arts, culture, and heritage projects. His experience includes roles at Manchester Museum and the International Slavery Museum, ensuring you gain insights from a leader in the field. In 2020, Stephen decided to take everything he had learnt and experienced as a queer working-class arts and culture worker and put it to work as a freelance curator, consultant and cultural practitioner to help the sector embed equitability and have greater social impact.

Engage with Practical Exercises: Engage in practice-based exercises that will help solidify your understanding of co-creation and how it can be approached in your own museum.

Case Studies and Real-World Examples: Gain inspiration and understanding from a variety of case studies shared by Stephen, showcasing a range of co-creation projects and the lessons learned from them.

Reflect and Collaborate: Work in small, supportive groups to reflect on your current co-creation ideas and activities. This conversational and relaxed setting encourages open discussion and peer learning.

Actionable Next Steps: Leave with a clear ideas to help you approach your own co-creation projects in your museum.

Places on this study day are limited to help create the most engaging and productive learning experience for participants.

The Co-created Museum: How to Approach Your Own Co-creation Project
Study Day, 9 October, Museum of London

Workshop leader: Stephen Welsh (he/him) is a cultural practitioner with over 15 years’ experience of developing and delivering a diversity of arts, culture and heritage projects. From 2007 until 2020 he was the Curator of Living Cultures and Acting Deputy Head of Collections at Manchester Museum, the University of Manchester. Previously he was Project Curator at the International Slavery Museum, National Museum Liverpool. Since 2016, he has been a committee member for The National Lottery Heritage Fund North and has also sat on boards and committees for the Islamic Art and Material Culture Subject Specialist Network, the Royal Northern College of Music Collection of Historic Instruments and Homotopia, the UK’s longest running LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival. stxwelsh.com

Book tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £177 – £137. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at a reduced rate for museum workers who may often be excluded from training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQ+ and working class members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and people new to the sector. Reduced rate tickets are £97 – email info@museum-id.com to check availability and to book a ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.

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AI is changing the way we work. Discover how it will transform your museum. Join us for a study day exploring the next wave of digital innovation in museums.

Please note this study day was scheduled for 8th October but was postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. It is now taking place on Tuesday 5th November. We have moved the study day to the larger Terrace Gallery at London Museum Spaces and there is additional capacity. Book your ticket below to join us on 5th Nov. 

Event Overview:

Explore how AI will redefine museum operations, curation, engagement, and creativity. AI is at the forefront of technological discussions but what does this mean for museums? Whether you’re a curator, educator, marketer, collections manager, or digital specialist, this study day will show you how to harness AI’s potential.

Key Topics:

The impact of AI on museum operations, curation, engagement, and creativity

Practical applications and case studies of AI in museums

Strategic approaches to leverage AI benefits while mitigating risks

What to Expect:

Interactive Sessions: Spend a day collaborating with colleagues from across the sector and get hands-on with the latest AI technologies.

Expert Insights: Access the most current research and insights on AI’s role in museums, understanding both its opportunities and challenges.

Prototyping New Experiences: Develop your own digital experience using AI, learning how it can help shape the museums of tomorrow.

Skills Development: Enhance your expertise in a supportive atmosphere with practical, hands-on sessions guided by industry experts.

Study Day Leader:

This study day has been devised by one of the sector’s leading voices on technology in art and culture. Chris Michaels is a prominent consultant, advisor, and author on innovation and advanced technologies in the Creative and Cultural sectors. Chris works on strategy and business cases for major investments in R&D and Innovation projects and programmes, with clients including UKRI, the AHRC, Oxford University, the BFI and the Natural History Museum. He is Director of Strategy at Bolton & Quinn and an Associate at Human Economics. He is Deputy Chair of English Heritage and sits on the digital advisory boards of the National Gallery and the BFI. Previously, he was the Director of Digital, Communications, and Technology at the National Gallery. He also writes for The Art Newspaper and his influential Substack, “Creative R&D,” explores new intersections in art, ideas, and technology.

How AI Will Transform Museums
Study Day, 5 November 2024, London

Register Here: Book your ticket to stay ahead of the curve in digital innovation and AI in museums. Gain valuable insights, develop new skills, and network with likeminded colleagues from across the museums sector.

Book tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £177 – £137. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at a reduced rate for museum workers who may often be excluded from training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQ+ and working class members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and people new to the sector. Reduced rate tickets are £97 – email info@museum-id.com to check availability and to book a ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.

The post How AI Will Transform Museums – 5 November 2024 appeared first on Museum-iD.

Join us on 18th June for the Social Justice in Museums study day led by Jon Sleigh, engagement specialist and author of the upcoming book What Are Museums For? Speakers include Professor Richard Sandell and E.J. Scott on trans-inclusive culture; Samantha Renke on ableism and activism; and Tara Munroe on anti-racism in museums.

Explore what it means to explicitly occupy museum spaces in social justice. How do museums safeguard themselves and others during this process? How does the institution change and respond to being part of social justice narratives? What does trust look like during this process? Our panel will share case studies on museums engaging with social justice through their collections and practice, aiming to create a space for sharing, rooted in care, emotion, and reflection. Final tickets now available.

Discover how museums can use the power of collections in advocacy, activism and co-production. Discover practical examples of museum engagement which act as an emotional encounter in service of social justice initiatives. At this study day we will explore the role of museums in terms of challenging inequality – the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within society – and how museums can exercise their power towards challenging the status quo.

Social Justice in Museums
Study Day, 18 June 2024, Museum of London

Workshop leader: Jon Sleigh (he/him) is a learning officer, learning curator and author of the upcoming book What Are Museums For? (Bristol University Press, June 2024) Jon works freelance nationally as a specialist in fine art engagement with a diverse portfolio of arts institutions, museum and heritage sites across the UK. Clients include The National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, The National Archives, Historic Royal Palaces, Art Fund, V&A, Government Art Collection DCMS and the Arts Council Collection. Prior to this Jon worked for Birmingham Museums Trust / The Arts Collection in Round One of the acclaimed ACE National Partners Programme. Jon has built a strong reputation for innovation, applied ethics and delivery of projects reflecting inclusive futures. He has a passion for challenging and underrepresented narratives in art – co-producing with communities and bringing their lived experience to artworks for advocacy.

Book tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £177 – £137. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at the reduced rate of £97. Reduced rate tickets are available for museum workers who may often face barriers to training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQIA+, working class, and autistic members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and sector newcomers. Email info@museum-id.com to check availability and book your ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.

The post Social Justice in Museums: advocacy, activism and co-production — 18 June appeared first on Museum-iD.

AI is changing the way we work. Discover how it will transform your museum. Join us for a study day exploring the next wave of digital innovation in museums.

How will AI help create tomorrow’s museum experiences? Discover emerging examples of AI in museums and use AI to rapidly prototype a new museum experience. We are living through an important moment where advances in artificial intelligence are creating a new era of technological possibility – and risk – in front of our eyes, in real-time. Join us to be part of the next wave of digital innovation. Understand what AI is, how it works and it’s history so far in the arts. Explore case studies of emerging applications of AI in museums. Prototype your own new museum digital experience using AI. And discover how AI will help create tomorrow’s museum experiences.

Learn new skills in a welcoming and supportive atmosphere and benefit from expert guidance couple with hands-on, practical sessions. Book now to join colleagues from The British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Historic Royal Palaces, Birmingham Museums, National Portrait Gallery, Brooklands Museum, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, the British Film Institute, and Aust-Agder museum og arkiv in Norway.

THIS STUDY DAY IS NOW SOLD OUT. WAIT LIST NOW OPEN FOR THE NEXT EDITION.
Email greg@museum-id.com to join the waiting list for the next edition of this study day. When the next date is confirmed, you’ll be contacted first to check if you can join us.

The study day is led by Chris Michaels, founder of Chris Michaels Digital Advisory. He is an advisor and consultant to cultural and creative organisations from a portfolio of startups to Oxford University, UKRI and NESTA. He is a member of the board of English Heritage and the digital advisory board of the National Gallery. Until 2022 Chris was Director of Digital, Communications and Technology at The National Gallery in London where he founded National Gallery X, a creative R+D programme and innovation studio. Chris is a Senior Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London, has a PhD from the University of Bristol, and an MPA in Innovation and Public Purpose from University College London. He writes a weekly newsletter, “Creative R&D” about emerging intersections of art, ideas and technology.

AI and the Next Wave of Digital Innovation
Study Day, 21 May 2024, London

Book tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £177 – £137. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at a reduced rate for museum workers who may often be excluded from training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQ+ and working class members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and people new to the sector. Reduced rate tickets are £97 – email info@museum-id.com to check availability and to book a ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.

The post AI and the Next Wave of Digital Innovation in Museums — 21 May 2024 appeared first on Museum-iD.

The study day will look at projects in progress to gain valuable insights of what to do at the initiation stage, including championing a more inclusive approach within organisations, as well as projects that have opened to see the resonance and impact they have with communities and audiences. Discover how museums have become more skilled in how they work with designers in engaging ways and explore how you get the best out of your interpretation from audience and evaluation. This study day will help you to push the boundaries of your museum experience, becoming more community led, innovative, and emotional. Working in small groups with a welcoming atmosphere, study day participants will benefit from expert guidance and support coupled with hands-on, practical sessions.

This study day will feature Vandana Patel, Senior Audience Lead, London Museum, Andrea Easy, Interpretation Manager and Liz Smith, Director of Learning and Engagement from the National Portrait Gallery and Fiona Romeo formerly from Wellcome Collection and now at Wikimedia Foundation as their Senior Manager, Culture and Heritage. It will be led by Mike Sarna, former Director of Collections and Public Engagement at Royal Museums Greenwich, Head of Interpretation at the Natural History Museum and Director of Collections and Senior Curator at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.

THIS STUDY DAY IS NOW SOLD OUT. WAIT LIST NOW OPEN FOR THE NEXT EDITION.
Email greg@museum-id.com to join the waiting list for the next edition of this study day. When the next date is confirmed, you’ll be contacted first to check if you can join us.

How to Create People Centred and Community Led Interpretation
Study Day, 19 March 2024, London

Book tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £177 – £137. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at a reduced rate for museum workers who may often be excluded from training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQ+ and working class members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and people new to the sector. Reduced rate tickets are £97 – email info@museum-id.com to check availability and to book a ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.

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Discover how to achieve meaningful co-creation with communities and inspire community-led change in your museum. Explore the values that inform co-creation and different models of best practice when listening to community needs, sharing power, embedding democratic decision-making, and managing open-ended projects that aim to inspire change.

You will have a chance to consider how such approaches might change your organisation or practice from within. You’ll also hear about case studies from museums in London, Manchester and New York and there will be time to build tailored strategies for your own projects and the wider impact that they might be able to make across your museum.

Workshop leader Stella Toonen is a specialist in co-creation practices in museums. As a researcher and museum practitioner, Stella consults internationally about co-creation, collaborative practice, community engagement, constituent museums, and cultural democracy. Her background is as an exhibition and public programmes producer for museums and the programmes she shapes often feature place-based, participatory and socially engaged ways of working.

Power to Communities: Museums, Co-Creation and Making Change
Study Day, 20 February 2024, London

Workshop leader: Stella Toonen is currently writing up her doctoral research with Tate and King’s College London, which looks at the potential for community engagement work as a catalyst for organisational change. As part of her PhD research Stella spent three years with the Tate Exchange project at Tate Modern in London, and also conducted fieldwork at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester and the Queens Museum in New York. In addition, Stella is Programme Director for Culture Within Newham.

Book tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £177 – £137. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at a reduced rate for museum workers who may often be excluded from training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQ+ and working class members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and people new to the sector. Reduced rate tickets are £97 – email info@museum-id.com to check availability and to book a ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.

The post Museums, Co-Creation and Making Change – 20 February 2024 appeared first on Museum-iD.

How to Make Playable Immersive Experiences in Your Museum: join us for an in-depth guide to designing, developing and delivering an immersive playable experience in your museum.

In this study day you will learn how to turn themes and collection stories into puzzles, how to create an exciting narrative that has historical integrity and how to structure a game so it is sustainable.

Responding to themes and stories in real heritage sites, you’ll use props, equipment and tools to devise your own pop-up escape rooms. Playing the roles of designer and player you will get a real sense for what makes a successful immersive experience. Discover how you don’t need ludicrous budgets to create a memorable experience in your museum that will get your heart racing.

Workshop leader Sacha Coward will use his skills and experience of working in the weird world between escape room designer and museum professional to offer you hands-on tips on how museums – of almost any scale and theme – can create fun, frightening, thrilling and meaningful experiences. This is a brilliant opportunity to learn how to introduce gaming into museum engagement and have a LOT of fun whilst you’re at it! Working in small groups with a welcoming and informal atmosphere, study day participants will benefit from expert guidance and support coupled with hands-on, practical sessions.

Making Playable Immersive Experiences in Your Museum
Study Day, 30 January 2024, London

Workshop leader: Sacha Coward has been working in museums for 12 years but he has been playing games his whole life! Previously working at the Natural History Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and Royal Museums Greenwich, he now freelances as a museum consultant and escape room designer. He has developed highly successful playable experiences for the V&A, National Trust, Cambridge Genome Campus, Colchester Castle, Bletchley Park, and Ipswich Museum to name just a few! As well as making games in exciting spaces Sacha is also passionate about LGBTQ+ representation and is an avid mermaid folklorist!

Book tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £177 – £137. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at a reduced rate for museum workers who may often be excluded from training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQ+ and working class members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and people new to the sector. Reduced rate tickets are £97 – email info@museum-id.com to check availability and to book a ticket at the reduced rate.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.

The post Making Playable Immersive Experiences in Your Museum – 30 January 2024 appeared first on Museum-iD.

Explore the ideas shaping the future of museums and discover how museums around the world are being transformed by co-creation, collaborative programming and community-led collecting

THE 2023 CONFERENCE IS SOLD OUT

Discover how museums can be reimagined as co-produced, people-focussed, community-led organisations. An international programme of speakers will inspire you to push the boundaries of the museum experiences you create by building deeper connections, rethinking power and agency in the museum space, and reimagining the audience experience across digital, physical, and human interactions. Explore uniquely co-created projects with emotion, imagination and new possibilities and walk away from the conference with actionable ideas you can take back to your museum.

Speakers at this international in-person conference include Puawai Cairns, Director of Audience and Insight, Te Papa Tongarewa, Aotearoa – New Zealand; Jennifer Scott, Director and Chief Curator, Urban Civil Rights Museum, United States; Helen Arfvidsson, Curator of Global Contemporary Issues, National Museums of World Culture, Sweden; Afia Yeboah, Senior Producer: Community Partnerships and Participatory Practice, V&A East; and Khalil Thirlaway, Creative Producer: Community and Youth, Natural History Museum; Temeka Davies, Community Exhibitions Coordinator, Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales; and Chloe Cousins, Social Justice Manager, Manchester Museum.

Sponsored by Art Fund and BECK, Museum Ideas 2023 takes place on 12 October in London and will be chaired by Dan Hicks, Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford and Curator of World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum.

Now in its twelfth year, the Museum Ideas conference has welcomed thousands of museum workers from over 30 countries. Each year the conference brings together speakers to share transformative ideas in concise, powerful talks. What unites the conference is the passion, commitment and enthusiasm of contributors along with their desire to share valuable expertise and experience.

“Museum Ideas is the best museum conference. It secures superb, relevant speakers, who cover a rich and wide range of topics. It offers food for thought and feeds the soul with engaging and inspiring conversation, networks and ideas” — Helen Whiteoak, Head of Participation, National Portrait Gallery, London

“A packed programme with a breadth of insight into museums that is not otherwise accessible – diverse and inspiring” — Susan Eskdale, Lead for Community Engagement, Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton

“An impressive conference, expertly curated to bring together voices from across the world. I would highly recommend to colleagues and will definitely attend again in the future” — Laura Crean, Assistant Director, Strategy and Governance, Imperial War Museums

PLEASE NOTE THE CONFERENCE IS NOW SOLD OUT

Book Tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to reserve your ticket today. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts — tickets available on a sliding scale from £157 per person.

Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

Museum Ideas 2013 Speaker Profiles

Puawai Cairns leads the audience facing work of the national museum as Director of Audience and Insight at Te Papa Tongarewa. With a curatorial and research background, and twenty years experience working in museums, Puawai has specialised in contemporary social history collecting and research to share the stories of Maori communities. Puawai is of Māori descent from Tauranga Moana and belongs to the Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui tribes. Puawai co-wrote a book on the material culture of protest (Gibson, S., Williams, M., & Cairns, P. (2019). Protest Tautohetohe: Objects of resistance, persistence and defiance, which won the 2019 Ockham book award for Best Illustrated Non-fiction and has recently completed co-writing a book about the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa (Cairns, P., Pugsley, C., Keith, M., & Taylor, R. (2022). Gallipoli: The Scale of our War (1st ed.). Te Papa Press). She serves on numerous boards across Aotearoa, including Heritage New Zealand, and advises nationally and internationally on museum practices, advocating for greater indigenous participation and leadership in the museums and heritage sector.

Jennifer Scott is the founding Director and Chief Curator of the Urban Civil Rights Museum in Harlem, New York’s first museum dedicated to civil rights. The museum will explore the unique stories of the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, and the long fight for justice in the North, from early African American communities to the current Black Lives Matter era. Prior to her recent appointment, Jennifer held the inaugural role of Senior Vice President of Exhibitions and Programs at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, one of the earliest and most significant Black history museums in the United States. Jennifer has also previously served as Director and Chief Curator of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum in Chicago – a dynamic memorial to social reformer Jane Addams, the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Before that Jennifer worked for a decade as the Vice Director and Director of Research at Weeksville Heritage Center – a significant historic site in Brooklyn that memorializes a Free Black, independent community in the 19th century. She was part of the leadership team that helped to restore and re-interpret the historic site and develop its trademark innovative programming, community engagement and new interpretations of history, culture, and the arts. With degrees from Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Jennifer has been an assistant professor at The New School for Public Engagement in New York for more than 20 years where she teaches courses in arts and civic engagement, cultural anthropology, race and ethnic studies, and museum studies. Jennifer researches, writes, and lectures internationally on arts and social change, memory and place, contested histories, and innovative strategies for museums and public history sites.

Helen Arfvidsson is working to rethink and transform museums into more inclusive, democratic spaces by engaging audiences differently. Before joining the museum world in 2018, Helen was a lecturer at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, worked in urban development at the research centre Mistra Urban Futures, as well as with human rights at City Hall in Gothenburg. Her varied background has enabled Helen to merge her research interests in the fields of international relations, urban politics, and museum studies with her current work involving exhibition production and museum education as Curator of Global Contemporary Issues at the National Museum of World Culture in Sweden.

Afia Yeboah is a Creative Producer and Community Engagement Consultant who has worked in various cultural organisations over the past 18 years including Southbank Centre, Chisenhale Dance Space, Waymakers Kids and the V&A. She joined the V&A in 2015 as a specialist in performance for families and young people. Afia currently works at V&A East as Senior Producer for Community Partnerships and Participatory Practice, leading on community consultation and the pre-opening activity plan for the new V&A East sites opening on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2025. She is the chair of Three Rivers Board – an alliance of local organisations using art to build community in the London Borough of Bexley.

Khalil Thirlaway is happiest when using innovative and creative approaches to engage audiences in surprising ways. His current work includes co-hosting the Wild Crimes and Our Broken Planet podcasts, producing the after-hours Lates programme and a wide range of activities building relationships with and advocating for local communities and under-served audiences. Khalil has a varied background in science communication and museums, including exhibitions, events, writing, audio, video, games and laboratory research. Prior to joining the Natural History Museum in 2019, Khalil worked as a content developer and curator at the Science Museum for three years. He has a degree in biology from the University of Bristol and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Nottingham.

Dan Hicks is Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford, Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum, and a Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford. Dan works on the material and visual culture of the human past, up to and including the modern, colonial, contemporary and digital world, and on the history of Archaeology, Anthropology Art, and Architecture. His curatorial work has ranged widely, and most recently included the co-curated exhibition and book Lande: the Calais “Jungle” and Beyond in 2019. Dan has published eight authored and edited books, and has written articles, essays and op-eds for a variety of journals, magazines and newspapers, and has regularly appeared on Radio and TV, including Radio 4’s In Our Time, Today Programme, and Making History. Before coming to Oxford in 2007, Dan was Lecturer in Archaeology and Anthropology at Bristol University where he created and directed the masters programme in Historical Archaeology of the Modern World. Before that, in the 1990s Dan worked as a professional archaeologist in the local authority and private sector. Dan supervises masters and doctoral students on a wide range of topics, across world archaeology, heritage, museums, and material culture.

Past Speaker Highlights
Past speakers have included Bonita Bennett, Director, District Six Museum, Cape Town, South Africa; Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; Joyoti Roy, Head of Strategy, CSMVS Museum, Mumbai, India; Manal Ataya, Director General, Sharjah Museums, UAE; Kaywin Feldman, Director and President, Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Head of Public Programs, Smithsonian American Art Museum; Esmé Ward, Director, Manchester Museum; Nina Finigan, Curator, Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Aotearoa New Zealand; Maria Ribas, Head of Audience Development, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona; Winnie Lai, Curator, Learning and Interpretation, M+ Museum, Hong Kong; Christian Díaz and Romina Frontini, HABEMUS//, Bahía Blanca, Argentina; Ranmalie Jayawardana, Community Participation Lead, International Slavery Museum, Liverpool; Rachael Minott, Head of Participation, Birmingham Museums Trust; Aleema Gray, Collections Gallery Partnership Lead, Wellcome Collection, London; and Nick Merriman, Chief Executive, Horniman Museum and Gardens, London.

At the 2018 conference award-winning playwright Linda Brogan spoke about the ‘Excavating The Reno’ community project in Manchester’s Moss Side. Bringing together archaeologists, artists, social historians and the public, the project explored the story of a soul and funk club that became a sanctuary from racism in the 1970s. Linda’s talk was extraordinary. This is what Sandra Shakespeare from Museum Detox had to say about it: “Excellent to see the work of Excavating The Reno — an absolutely remarkable fresh change to see such honesty at a museum conference where the tendency is always to showcase the great and the good. It was deeply moving to witness vulnerability and authenticity.” This was echoed by Dhikshana Pering: “Still thinking about the Excavating The Reno project at Museum Ideas — hands down no conference session in my life has left such an impact”

Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Head of Public Programs at Smithsonian American Art Museum, opened the 2019 conference and set the agenda with her compelling talk ‘Break the Wheel: Museums Challenge the Status Quo’: “As museum practitioners we can allow museums to be a tool of the establishment, the powered, even the oppressor. But through a reflective practice and a reimagining of our purpose, we can instead exercise the power of the museum towards challenging the status quo.” Dr Lauren Vargas from the University of Leicester commented: “This may have been the best museum conference presentation I have ever witnessed — thank you for reminding museums of their role in challenging the status quo and how power is determined by relationship with social justice.”

Other highlights from previous editions of the conference have included ‘The Right to Remember’ by Bonita Bennett, Director of the District Six Museum in Cape Town; ‘A Year in Museums’ by Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC; ‘The Good of Being Different in a Time of Sameness’ by Mike Sarna, Royal Museums Greenwich; ‘Immersive Theatre in Museums’ by Peter Higgin, Director of Enrichment at immersive theatre company Punchdrunk; and ‘Talking to Strangers’ by Rosie Stanbury from Wellcome Collection.

Since the conference launched in 2012, Museum Ideas has featured speakers from South Africa, Argentina, India, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, and UK — and has welcomed delegates from over 30 countries.

Conference Sponsors
Museum Ideas 2023 is sponsored by Art Fund and BECK

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This study day will explore new approaches and ways of thinking around collecting, interpretation and curation. In a creative and supportive environment, you will look at how you and your museum might break free from convention, exploring the tensions that exist and how you might overcome barriers.

You will gain first-hand experience of how to develop community led collecting, interpretation and curation and walk away with practical and actionable next steps that you can take back to your museum.

Held at Royal Museums Greenwich state-of-the-art conservation studio, the event will explore the journey they are on to provide greater access and representation and is designed for a wide range of professionals; curators, public offer and engagement teams, directors and department leaders, and collections professionals.

Places on this study day are limited to help create the most engaging and productive learning experience for participants.

How to Develop Community Led Collecting, Interpretation and Curation
Study Day, 28 March 2023, Royal Museums Greenwich’s Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre, London

Workshop leaders: Mike Sarna has worked in museums for over 25 years from small to large — including eight years as Director of Collections and Senior Curator at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, and six years as Head of Interpretation and Design at the Natural History Museum in London. Between 2012–2018 Mike served as Director, Collections and Public Engagement, at Royal Museums Greenwich where he led the development of the public offer across four museums and the care and conservation of the collection. This included leading their £25 million Endeavour Project with the opening of four new permanent galleries.

Navjot Mangat is Senior Curator of Social Practice at the Horniman Museum and Gardens. Navjot’s work focuses on participatory practice and its applications across different strands of museum work, from conservation and collections management to exhibition development and research, thinking about how communities can have more agency and influence over museum processes. He is passionate about making museums more accessible for those communities and people that have been historically marginalised and underrepresented. Navjot joined the Horniman from the Victoria and Albert Museum where he was Senior Interpretation and Participation Producer for V&A East and previously worked at Royal Museums Greenwich.

The Royal Museums Greenwich team leading the afternoon session at the study day will include Gail Symington, Executive Creative Director; Daniel Martin, Head of Collections Services; Sarah Lockwood, Head of Engagement; and Helen Mears, Head of Curatorship and Research.

Study Day Format: Working in small groups with a welcoming and informal atmosphere, study day participants will benefit from expert guidance and support coupled with hands-on, practical sessions. How to Develop Community Led, Collecting, Interpretation and Curation takes place on 28 March at Royal Museum Greenwich’s Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre in London.

THIS STUDY DAY IS NOW SOLD OUT. To be added to a wait list for a future edition of this study day please email info@museum-id.com. We will contact you first if and when we plan to run the study day again. You will then have the option to book tickets in advance.

Book tickets: Click ‘Select options’ below to book your place on the study day. Tickets are available on a sliding scale from £177 – £137. Book with colleagues for multiple delegate discounts. Book your ticket online below or email info@museum-id.com if you prefer to be invoiced.

20% of tickets are available at a reduced rate for museum workers who may often be excluded from training and professional development opportunities, including people of colour, LGBTQ+ and working class members of staff, people with a disability, front of house staff, students, freelancers, those working at small independent museums, and people new to the sector. Reduced rate tickets are £97 – email info@museum-id.com to check availability and to book a ticket at the reduced rate.

The Museum Ideas 2023 Study Day and Conference programme is sponsored by Art Fund and BECK.

Tickets are non-refundable but may be swapped between colleagues at the same organisation and between different study days (if places are available). If the workshop is postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions your ticket remains valid for the rescheduled date.

The post How to Develop Community Led Collecting & Curation — 28 March 2023 appeared first on Museum-iD.