Explore the ideas shaping the future of museums with with our Museum Ideas 2023 Conference and Study Day programme. Join us to discover how museums can be reimagined as progressive, collaborative, and people-focussed organisations in a time of growing inequality, environmental emergency and political crisis.

Sponsored by Art Fund and BECK, the 2023 events include study days on co-creation, participatory practice, community-led collecting, social justice and using the power of collections in advocacy, activism and co-production. The Museum Ideas 2023 international conference takes place in October in London. Speakers this year include Afia Yeboah, Senior Producer: Community Partnerships and Participatory Practice at V&A East and Khalil Thirlaway, Creative Producer: Community and Youth at the Natural History Museum. The conference will be chaired by Dan Hicks, Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford and Curator of World Archaeology at Pitt Rivers Museum. Early-bird registration is now open.

If you are interested in a study day which has already taken place, you can join a waiting list for when we run the event again. You will will then be contacted when a new date is confirmed. Email info@museum-id.com to register your interest.

Find out more about the study days and conference

“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

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

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In this study day you will co-create your own new kinds of future museum experience. The workshop will let you learn through hands-on experience about next generation museum experiences, emerging technologies, co-design practise and ways to build audience centred innovation into your work.

Discover how the technologies maturing in the next ten years will reshape what it means to be a museum more than any others in the last 250 years. As the internet merges with the physical world, 5G telecoms, AI, blockchain, robotics and more offer us the chance to rethink the relationship between people, institutions and objects.

How to Create Next Generation Museum Experiences
Study Day, 7 February 2023, Wellcome Collection, London

Workshop leader: Chris Michaels is Director of Reel Store, the UK’s first dedicated gallery of digital and immersive arts. Until recently Chris was Director of Digital, Communications and Technology at The National Gallery, 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.

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 Create Next Generation Museum Experiences takes place at Wellcome Collection on Tuesday 7 February 2023.

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 to Create Next Generation Museum Experiences — 7 February 2023 appeared first on Museum-iD.

Discover how to create award-winning, community-led tours and event specific museum programming with Dan Vo. Inclusion and outreach are essential to museum futures, and queer visitors are an important and crucial audience that must be catered to. This workshop will give participants the ability to develop programming inspired by their own museum collection that will make them relevant to the diverse LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and more) communities. While there is a focus on queer programming, this bespoke workshop can certainly also be used by participants who want to co-curate with any minority groups or traditionally underserved audiences.

The study day will begin with an overview of community and social inclusion programmes and that enables museums to be more inclusive through programming and engage new audiences. There will be practical exercises in small groups and a facilitated discussion to examine the development, representation and inclusion of queer narratives in museums and how this may apply to each participant’s own goals. A set of models will be worked through to enable each participant to develop a bespoke strategy for their own museum and collection that tackles elements such as internal buy in, content development, programme deployment and audience community building.

This will not be a regular classroom though! The study day will be informative, but will also remain informal with participants encouraged to contribute and share. There will be fun activities like the co-creation of a Kaleidoscope Kite together to facilitate relaxed discussions that will also strengthen understanding of queer narratives relevant to each participant’s collection… in colourful ways!

With over 15 years of experience coordinating volunteers, Dan Vo has lectured on inclusive museum practices across the UK and advised staff on presenting the business case for community-led queer programming at their own museum through a values and collections driven lens.

This is a great opportunity for participants who want to bring inclusive museum practices to their museum. You’ll not only get thinking about how this can be achieved, but also walk away from the day with practical next steps for reaching your goals!

How to Create Community-Led Queer Programming in Your Museum
Study Day, 18 April 2023, Queer Britain – the UK’s first national LGBTQ+ museum – in King’s Cross, London

Workshop leader: Workshop leader Dan Vo is a freelance museum consultant. He has been dubbed “a leading figure in the world of alternative museum tours” by The New York Times and described by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan as one of “our most inspiring LGBTQ+ Londoners”. He founded the award-winning V&A LGBTQ+ Tours and has developed programmes for The National Gallery, National Galleries of Scotland and National Museum Wales. Dan was co-presenter of ‘Museum From Home’ and ‘Museum Passion’ for BBC Arts.

Study Day Format: Working in small groups with a welcoming atmosphere, study day participants will benefit from expert guidance and support coupled with hands-on, practical sessions.

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 to Create Community-Led Queer Programming in Your Museum — 18 April appeared first on Museum-iD.

In this study day you will explore how museums can use the power of collections in advocacy, activism and co-production. The workshop will look at practical ways in which we can reread and use collections in compelling and engaging new ways. Combining powerful museum examples with a range of expert speakers, this study day offers a warm, collaborative, and practical environment to explore engagement and co-production within museum spaces.

Case study example: Ageism sits quietly within many cultures, and casts a long shadow within our museum collections. Objects and artworks often depict an idealised, romantic or misleading image of ageing. Interpretations which lead us to see the elderly as ‘sweet’ or ‘unproblematic’ are deeply ageist, and deny the rich emotional and intellectual life of those aging well. How can we challenge this narrative, and use objects for the advocacy of those aging well today? How in turn can we orientate collections for the advocacy of others?

At this study day you’ll gain first-hand experience of how to use the power of collections in advocacy, activism and co-production and walk away with practical and actionable next steps that you can take back to your museum.

How to Use the Power of Collections in Advocacy, Activism and Co-production
Study Day, 16 May 2023, Wellcome Collection, London

Workshop leader: Workshop leader Jon Sleigh (he/him) is a learning officer, learning curator and art history writer. He 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.

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.

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 Use the Power of Collections in Advocacy — 16 May 2023 appeared first on Museum-iD.

Taking place throughout 2022, the wide-ranging series of independent study days — along with the eleventh edition of the annual Museum Ideas conference — will look at new models of collaborative and socially engaged participatory practice, designing museum experiences in the digital age, progressive public engagement, community-led programming, immersive experiences, co-creation, social impact, and much more.

The National Gallery and King’s College London jointly launched National Gallery X (NGX), a collaborative research & development programme exploring the potential of new technologies for galleries in the future © The National Gallery / King’s College London

Designing Museum Experiences in the Digital Age — National Gallery X, 22 March or 14 June
(two opportunities to attend)

The technologies maturing in the next ten years will reshape what it means to be a museum more than any others in the last 250 years. As the internet merges with the physical world, 5G telecoms, AI, blockchain, robotics and more, it offers us the chance to rethink the relationship between people, institutions and objects.

In this study day, led by National Gallery Digital Director Chris Michaels, you will co-create your own new kinds of future museum experience and test them with real audiences. The workshop will let you learn through hands-on experience about emerging technologies, co-design practise and ways to build open innovation into your procurement and project management.

The workshop — with the option to attend in either March or June — will take place inside National Gallery X, the National Gallery’s ‘infinite studio’ for creative research and development, collaboration and experimentation, on the Gallery’s campus in London.

Workshop leader Chris Michaels is Director of Digital, Communications and Technology at The National Gallery, London. He is the founder of National Gallery X, a creative R+D programme and innovation studio launched in 2019. In 2021 he was named an AHRC Creative Industries Policy and Engagement Fellow, a Bloomberg Technology Fellow and a 5G Trailblazer by Ericsson. 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.

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Opening Up: Creating Your Own Co-Creation Model — Museum of London, 29 March

Improving access to collections for a wider range of people is increasingly becoming a social, political and economic reality for many museums. As the arts, culture and heritage needs of communities are prioritised, a range of possible strategies and outcomes to support this work have emerged including repatriation, decolonisation and co-creation.

In this study day, led by independent Arts and Culture Consultant Stephen Welsh, you will devise your own co-creation model that responds to the needs of communities, collections and modes of collaboration. The workshop will allow you to learn from several case studies about developing and delivering co-creation policies, practice and projects. Working in small groups with a welcoming and informal atmosphere, study day participants will benefit from expert guidance and support.

Workshop leader Stephen Welsh is an independent Arts and Culture Consultant. Over the past 15 years he has held a number of community and collections focused roles, including the Curator of Living Cultures at Manchester Museum (2007-2020) and Project Curator at the International Slavery Museum (2005-2007). Since 2016 he has been a HLF North committee member.

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Curating with Feeling: Creating Relatable Exhibitions — Museum of London, 5 April

As museums work to become more inclusive and relevant, how can we curate exhibitions that more people can see something of themselves in? Connection is key.

This study day, led by Lucy Malone, explores the questions: How do I make our collections relatable? How can museums spark empathy through the objects in their collection? How can museums revisit and reimagine collections? How can museums engage visitors on a deeper level?

All participants will take part in an workshop using their own everyday objects to explore layers of meaning and shared experience. They will also explore case studies of museums that have successfully curated exhibitions with emotional resonance that excite and engage audiences through their radical relatability.

Workshop Leader Lucy Malone is Co-Founder of The Museum of Ordinary People, an award-winning curator and artist, and an Associate Lecturer at University of the Arts London. Lucy’s curatorial practice is situated within a socially active and feminist framework and her research interests are based in participatory / inclusive practice. Lucy has a degree in Psychosocial Studies from Birkbeck College and an MA in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins.

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Appling Class to Collections — Museum of London, 26 April

Both socially and through our museum collections, we have inherited rich conversations on class studies. These narratives are alternatively powerful, emotional, uplifting or divisive. How can we use collections to explore class, and in turn ourselves?

This workshop combines detailed exploration of class and social inequality, combined with a practical application in engagement and ethics. How do we explore class as a way of bringing others together? How can collections be used as tools of advocacy for others? What contemporary relevance do they have to us today? How do we use objects and collections ethically? How do we safeguard ourselves and others within narratives on inequality? Are we the right people to present these conversations? Combining powerful museum examples with a range of expert speakers, this workshop offers a warm, collaborative, and practical environment to explore class within museums.

Workshop leader Jon Sleigh (he/him) is a learning officer, learning curator and art history writer. He 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, The 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.

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Building Equitable Participation: A Durational Approach to Engagement — Museum of London, 3 May

How do you build trusting and purposeful relationships with stakeholders and keep their engagement for the long term? In this study workshop you will look at a range of engagement practices and frameworks with examples of participation centred on ethos of equity, care and empowerment to serve communities. You will be led through a process of planning your engagement and participation approach, devising appropriate strategies that meet the values, creative and social mission and purpose of your organisation. You will explore what being a purpose-led organisation means from vision, strategy into an action plan.

“The civic role of museums in the 21st century needs to be rooted in purpose and usefulness to social developments and social justice. I see museums as super connectors and super generators for positive social actions. When we choose to, we can ensure that everyone who engages with our organisation exchanges values, experiences growth – of ideas, relationships and meaning, wellbeing and belonging” — Thanh Sinden.

Workshop leader Thanh Sinden is a talented strategic thinker and an independent consultant and coach in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, organisational development, community engagement and participation in the Arts and Cultural sector. Her work has taken her across the UK and internationally with groups and organisations to make change real. A collaborator, facilitator and enabler for change, Thanh works with compassion, encouragement, incisiveness and critical insight and has a strong track record of helping organisations build and grow teams and maximise social impact. Thanh works with teams to build vision and purpose in a strategic way to turn plans into actions for a more inclusive sector.

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Creating Immersive Games in Your Museum — Museum of London, 17 May or 13 Sep
(two opportunities to attend)

In this study day participants get the unique experience of building and playing their own escape rooms. In groups they will respond to themes and stories in real heritage sites and then using escape room props, equipment and tools, will devise their own pop-up escape rooms. Playing the roles of designer and player they will get a real sense for what makes a successful immersive experience.

You will benefit from an in-depth walk-through of the entire process of designing, developing and delivering an immersive playable experience and discover how you don’t need ludicrous budgets to create a memorable experience in your museum.

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. But the main goal of this session is to get participants to think outside the box… by literally breaking out of the box!

Workshop leader Sacha Coward is an experienced escape room designer and museum professional. He will use his skills and experience of working in the weird world between these sectors to offer you hands-on tips on how museums (of almost any scale and theme) can create fun, frightening, thrilling and meaningful experiences.

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Creating Exhibitions That Deliver — Museum of London, 7 June

New exhibitions and galleries play a central role in connecting museums with their audiences. Creating them offers a major opportunity to share your collections and ideas, to build your profile and to demonstrate your relevance. But these projects also take precious time, money and resource. It has never been more critical that we create exhibitions that deliver: connecting audiences with our collections and our institutional ambitions.

In this study day, led by experienced exhibition-maker Emily Scott-Dearing, you will reflect on the purpose of your exhibitions and learn tools and techniques for crystallising what your exhibition is saying and making every object and asset count. The workshop will include inspiring case studies and practical insights learned from delivering exhibitions and galleries in a range of settings and scales.

Workshop leader Dr Emily Scott-Dearing is a museum and public engagement consultant with 20 years experience in interpretive planning and exhibition delivery. Her current and recent work includes exhibitions with Wellcome Collection, Natural History Museum, and Bletchley Park. At the Science Museum in London she led multi-disciplinary teams to deliver an array of galleries and exhibitions including as Lead Curator for the Museum’s new Medicine Galleries providing strategic direction and content leadership. As Head of Exhibitions & Programmes she launched the acclaimed Collider and Cosmonauts exhibitions. Prior to her work in the cultural sector Emily was a biomedical research scientist. She holds a degree in Biology from University College London and gained her PhD from the University of Cambridge.

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Defying Ageism: The Power of Collections in Advocacy — Museum of London, 21 June

Ageism sits quietly within many cultures, and casts a long shadow within our museum collections. Objects and artworks often depict an idealised, romantic or misleading image of ageing. Interpretations which lead us to see the elderly as ‘sweet’ or ‘unproblematic’ are deeply ageist, and deny the rich emotional and intellectual life of those aging well.

How can we challenge this narrative, and use pieces for the advocacy of those aging well today? How in turn can we orientate collections for the advocacy of others? This session explores practical ways in which we can reread and use collections for age positivity. Combining powerful museum examples with a range of expert speakers, this session offers a warm, collaborative, and practical environment to explore engagement on ageing within museums.

Workshop leader Jon Sleigh (he/him) is a learning officer, learning curator and art history writer. He 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

Developing Community-Led Queer Programming in Museums — Museum of London, 28 June

Discover how to create award-winning, community-led tours and event specific museum programming. Inclusion and outreach are essential to museum futures, and queer visitors are an important and crucial audience that must be catered to. This workshop will give participants the ability to develop programming inspired by their own museum collection that will make them relevant to the diverse LGBTQ+ communities. While there is a focus on queer programming, this bespoke workshop can certainly also be used by participants who want to co-curate with any minority groups or traditionally underserved audiences.

There will be practical exercises in small groups and a facilitated discussion to examine the development, representation and inclusion of queer narratives in museums and how this may apply to each participant’s own goals. A set of models will be worked through to enable each participant to develop a bespoke strategy for their own museum and collection that tackles elements such as internal buy in, content development, programme deployment and audience community building.

The study day will be informative but will remain informal with participants encouraged to contribute and share. There will be fun activities to facilitate relaxed discussions. This is a great opportunity for participants who want to bring inclusive museum practices to their museum. You’ll not only get thinking about how this can be achieved, but also walk away from the day with practical next steps for reaching your goals.
Workshop leader Dan Vo is a freelance museum consultant. He has been dubbed “a leading figure in the world of alternative museum tours” by The New York Times and described by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan as one of “our most inspiring LGBTQ+ Londoners”. He founded the award-winning V&A LGBTQ+ Tours and has developed programmes for The National Gallery, National Galleries of Scotland and National Museum Wales. Dan was co-presenter of ‘Museum From Home’ and ‘Museum Passion’ for BBC Arts.

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People Centred and Community Led Interpretation — Museum of London, 12 July

In this era of participation, this study day will explore how museums and science centres now engage with communities in more active and meaningful ways.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn from successful case studies of how museums have effectively worked with communities to co-create exhibitions. The workshop will also be exploring what happens when communities gain agency and demand more than just a say in future interactions with cultural institutions. It will examine what this means for your public offer and support your thinking and development surrounding exhibitions that value community input. The study day will include sessions on the spectrum of participation, how you continue the relationship with communities after exhibitions open, the question of agency, and what people centred/ community led participation will look like at your organisation.

Workshop leader 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.

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Conference: Museum Ideas 2022 — Museum of London, 6 October

With a progressive attitude and international outlook, the Museum Ideas conference in London has welcomed thousands of museum workers from over 30 countries to share the ideas shaping the future of museums.

Museum Ideas 2022, the eleventh edition of the annual event, will focus on the ideas that are crucial to creating surprising and remarkable museum experiences and support the people who are working to advance the necessary and long-overdue changes required in museums. Informal and independent, the conference is there to challenge the status quo and will promote new ways of thinking and doing and prioritise the changes needed for museums to become honest, ethical, and empathetic.

Each year the conference brings together a deliberately eclectic group of speakers and challenges them to share transformative ideas in concise, powerful talks. The aim is for delegates to be challenged by perspectives outside their own experience, specialism and locality. What unites the conference is the passion, commitment and enthusiasm of contributors along with their desire to share valuable expertise and experience.

We want Museum Ideas to be a genuinely creative experience for delegates — a conference where you can feel both deeply moved and joyous, welcome and challenged. Our aim is to provide a space to explore how museums can be reimagined as progressive, collaborative, and people focused organisations in a time of growing inequality, environmental emergency, and economic and political crisis.

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First Speakers Announced
The 2022 conference will be chaired by Dan Hicks, Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford, and Curator of World Archaeology at Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Confirmed speakers include Melanie Keen, Director of Wellcome Collection in London.

Widening Participation
Over a quarter of Museum Ideas 2022 tickets are either free or were made available at the reduced rate of £97. This rate was available for museum workers who are often underrepresented at conferences, students, freelancers, those working at independent museums, and people new to the sector.

Speaker Highlights
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.

Room to Think
Museum Ideas has a dedicated quiet space so delegates have the option to take a break away from the busy conference programme. We recognise that conference experiences can often feel more suited to outgoing and neurotypical people. Networking areas especially can often be noisy and potentially difficult places to navigate and feel comfortable. We felt the addition of the dedicated quiet space goes some way to improving the conference experience for delegates who are feeling anxious, stressed, or experiencing sensory overload. The room can also be used as a place for reflection, meditation, contemplation or prayer. It is part of trying to ensure all delegates feel equally valued and welcome.

Conference Venue
The Museum of London documents the history of London from prehistoric to modern times. The museum is located on London Wall and is a few minutes’ walk north of St Paul’s Cathedral, overlooking the remains of the Roman city wall and on the edge of the oldest part of London, now its main financial district. It is primarily concerned with the social history of London and its inhabitants throughout time. The museum is the largest urban history collection in the world, with more than six million objects. It welcomes more than one million visitors each year. An informal post-conference social / drinks will take place in the London Wall Bar — just next to the Museum of London.

Environmental Responsibility
We recognise that all events have an environmental impact. To reduce waste (and help keep ticket prices down) we don’t provide lunch; all conference signage is made from recycled cardboard and is 100% recyclable; delegate badges are printed on flower seeded paper; and conference bags are made from recycled paper rather than using traditional cotton tote bags.

Conference Sponsors
Thank you to the Museum Ideas sponsors. Some have been with the conference since it launched 11 years ago and others have joined the event along the way. Thank you to each of them for supporting the museum community and helping to share ideas. The Museum Ideas 2022 sponsors are: • Art Fund • Absolute Museum & Gallery Products • BECK • Cogapp • Designmap • Haley Sharpe Design • Locatify • Meyvaert • Opus Instruments • Squint/Opera • Vernon Systems

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Welcome to Museum Ideas 2020. Normally in October hundreds of museum colleagues from around the world are meeting up at the Museum of London for our annual Museum Ideas conference. But of course this year is different and due to the pandemic we are unable to run our 2020 conference in the usual way. So this year we’ve made it a FREE online event — no subscription, membership or ticket required.

With the current experiences of uncertainty, anxiety and grief, we feel this is the wrong time to be putting the cost of a ticket in the way of taking part in the conference this year. Making Museum Ideas 2020 free is a practical act of solidarity with museum workers.

We hope the talks will provide a space to explore how museums can be reimagined as ethical, people focused organisations in a time of growing inequality, environmental emergency, and economic and political crisis.

WATCH THE TALKS NOW

Speakers this year include: Melanie Keen (Wellcome Collection); Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell (Smithsonian American Art Museum); Manal Ataya (Sharjah Museums, UAE); Alvin Tan (National Heritage Board, Singapore); Monica O. Montgomery (Museum Hue); Esme Ward (Manchester Museum); Sufea Mohamad Noor (Tate Liverpool); Hudda Khaireh (Somali Museum UK); Lucy Malone (Museum of Ordinary People); Nick Merriman (Horniman Museum); Chris Michaels (National Gallery); Richard Benjamin (International Slavery Museum); Nina Finigan (Auckland Museum, New Zealand); Thanh Sinden (Diversity and Inclusion Consultant); Anna Hansen (Regional Museum Kristianstad, Sweden); Russell Dornan (V&A Dundee); Anjana Khatwa (Wessex Museums); Becki Morris (Disability Collaborative Network); Aisling Serrant (Museum of London); Veronica Carrillo (Museum für Kommunikation); Katrina Lashley (Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum); and Sarah Wang (Vancouver Art Gallery; Canada).

We will be back next year with a full programme of workshops, study days and our annual conference. All tickets booked for our postponed 2020 events have been transferred to 2021 and we look forward to seeing you then. We remain committed to continuing to share museum ideas and doing everything we can to help support the wider museum community.

#MuseumIdeas

Why we are making Museum Ideas 2020 FREE
At this moment — more than ever — museum workers need support, solidarity, and meaningful structural change rather than expensive and exclusive events. Many working in museums are going through a difficult time — the pandemic hitting hardest those already experiencing structural inequality, financial hardship, emotional stress, and barriers to access and opportunity. Individuals and institutions are under considerable strain. In these difficult times we felt making the conference free to access this year was the right thing to do.

We’ve always tried to keep the cost of our conference tickets as low as possible (with a sliding scale starting at £97) — and certainly lower than many other professional development events in the museums sector. To charge a considerable amount of money for an online event while museum colleagues are being made redundant, lives are being turned upside down, and times are so difficult for so many, simply doesn’t seem to be a fair, just or equitable approach to take.

To our friends and colleagues in the museum community we send solidarity and best wishes. We hope you are keeping safe and well and that you find the talks interesting, helpful and worthwhile. We would like to thank all the speakers for taking the time to contribute their ideas on the future of museums.

Tickets for Museum Ideas 2021
If you have already booked for the 2020 conference your ticket has been transferred to the 2021 conference. Museum Ideas 2021 will take place in the usual way in London in October next year. If you are unable to attend, tickets can be swapped between colleagues working at the same organisation or gifted to someone else to attend in your place. As with our previous conferences, 25% of tickets for Museum Ideas 2021 are free or available at the reduced rate of £97 for professionals often underrepresented at museum conferences. A crucial part of being an inclusive and relevant event is trying to keep the cost of tickets down as much as possible. Having a higher ticket rate means excluding people who should be represented and who need to be there to move the conversation forward in a meaningful way.

There are around 70 tickets remaining for Museum Ideas 2021. If you would like to support our continued work please consider purchasing a ticket to the 2021 edition of the conference. Or you can buy the book of the 2019 conference (£29.95) and/ or subscribe to Museum-iD magazine (£4.95).

Thank you to our sponsors
Many of our sponsors have supported the conference from the start — 9 years ago now — and their involvement with the event is crucial to its continued success. We would like to thank them for their support.

The post Welcome to Museum Ideas 2020 — introducing the free online event appeared first on Museum-iD.

The Future of Museums is Antiracist
Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell, Head of Public Programs, Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

The Museum as a Contested Space
Melanie Keen, Director, Wellcome Collection, London

Museum Remedy: Pivot or Perish
Monica O. Montgomery, Cultural Consultant, Diversity Inclusion Practioner; Strategic Director, Museum Hue

Somali Museum UK: Our Story So Far
Hudda Khaireh, Associate of NUMBI, and trustee of Somali Museum UK

The More Things Change…
Nina Finigan, Curator Manuscripts, Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, New Zealand

Museums & Covid: Embracing the Unknown
Manal Ataya, Director General, Sharjah Museums, UAE

Future of Museums: Long Term Care
Esme Ward, Director, Manchester Museum

Moop: A Model for Collaborative Museum Practice
Lucy Malone, Co-Director, Museum of Ordinary People; Associate Lecturer, University of the Arts

Collaborative Collecting: Capturing Experiences of Ramadan During Covid-19
Aisling Serrant, Community Engagement Manager, Museum of London Docklands

Future of Museums: A Perspective from Singapore
Alvin Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, National Heritage Board, Singapore

Moving Forward with Purpose & Generosity
Emily Scott-Dearing, Content, Interpretation, and Public Engagement consultant

Engaging People as Active Citizens Responding to the Climate Crisis
Nick Merriman, Chief Executive, Horniman Museum & Gardens, London

The Museum as a Chorus of Voices
Russell Dornan, Digital Producer, V&A Dundee

Early Careers in Museums – Ambitions and Realities
Dominic Neergheen, Exhibitions Graduate, Wellcome Trust

The Personal is Political and Professional
Sufea Mohamad Noor, Development Assistant, Tate Liverpool

On the Process of Dismantling and (Re)building a Museum
Emily Siddons, Producer, Exhibitions, Museums Victoria, Australia

Rewriting the Rulebook: Engaging Museums with Underserved Audiences
Anjana Khatwa, Engagement Lead, and Kristina Broughton, Partnership Manager, Wessex Museums

The Anti-Racist Museum: Reflection and Progression
Richard Benjamin, Head, International Slavery Museum, Liverpool

Preparing for Post-Corona Challenges
Anna Hansen, Director, Regional Museum, Kristianstad, Sweden

Climate Change: We Need To Talk!
Veronica Reyeso, Communicator, Museum für Kommunikation Bern, Switzerland

Purpose Led Museums of the Future
Thanh Sinden, Specialist Consultant in Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement; Executive Committee Member, Museum Detox

Covid + Digital = Change!
Chris Michaels, Digital Director, The National Gallery, London

Centring LGBTQ+ Families
Katie Cassels, Families and Young People Manager; and Charlotte Paddock, Adults and Communities Participation Manager, Royal Museums Greenwich

Identity
Hasina Dabasia, Youth Programme Producer, Wellcome Collection

Museums: A New and Better Normal?
Matt Holmes, Co-Founder, West Midlands Emerging Museum Professionals

Has Cross-Sector Collaboration Helped Heritage?
Becki Morris, Director, Disability Collaborative Network; and Associate Consultant, EMBED

Looking to the Past and the Present
Katrina Lashley, Program Coordinator, Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum

Renewing Commitments to Accessibility and Inclusion
Sarah Wang, Adult Educator Trainer, Vancouver Art Gallery; Canada

The Case for Not Going Back to Normal
Kate Forde, Head of Exhibitions, Wellcome Collection

Museum Ideas 2020 sponsors:

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Open invitation to add your voice and contribute to our growing collection of free talks exploring the future of museums

Talks should be 5-10 minutes. Videos can be recorded in any of the usual formats.

If you are interested in contributing please send a brief synopsis of your talk and a speaker profile to info@museum-id.com

We will be adding further talks throughout October. Check out the talk so far here https://museum-id.com/category/talks/

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In October we will be sharing a series of talks exploring the ideas shaping the future of museums. All FREE to watch on museum-id.com — no subscription, membership or ticket required

Due to coronavirus we are unable to run the 2020 conference in the usual way and have decided to make it a FREE online event.

With the current experiences of uncertainty, anxiety and grief, we feel this is the wrong time to be putting the cost of a ticket in the way of taking part in the conference this year. Making Museum Ideas 2020 free is a practical act of solidarity with museum workers.

We hope the talks will provide a space to explore how museums can be reimagined as ethical, people focused organisations in a time of growing inequality, environmental emergency, and economic and political crisis.

Speakers this year include: Melanie Keen (Wellcome Collection); Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell (Smithsonian American Art Museum); Manal Ataya (Sharjah Museums, UAE); Alvin Tan (National Heritage Board, Singapore); Monica O. Montgomery (Museum Hue); Esme Ward (Manchester Museum); Sufea Mohamad Noor (Tate Liverpool); Hudda Khaireh (Somali Museum UK); Lucy Malone (Museum of Ordinary People); Nick Merriman (Horniman Museum); Chris Michaels (National Gallery); Richard Benjamin (International Slavery Museum); Dan Hicks (University of Oxford); Nina Finigan (Auckland Museum, New Zealand); Thanh Sinden (Diversity and Inclusion Consultant); Anna Hansen (Regional Museum Kristianstad, Sweden); Russell Dornan (V&A Dundee); Anjana Khatwa (Wessex Museums); Becki Morris (Disability Collaborative Network); Aisling Serrant (Museum of London); Veronica Carrillo (Museum für Kommunikation); Katrina Lashley (Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum); and Sarah Wang (Vancouver Art Gallery; Canada).

If you would like to add your voice to the conference there is still time and we’ve tried to make the process of contributing a talk as easy and straightforward as possible. Please email info@museum-id.com for further details.

We will be back next year with a full programme of workshops, study days and our annual conference. All tickets booked for our postponed 2020 events have been transferred to 2021 and we look forward to seeing you then. We remain committed to continuing to share museum ideas and doing everything we can to support the wider museum community.

Twitter: @MuseumID #MuseumIdeas

Why we are making Museum Ideas 2020 FREE
With the current experiences of job losses, uncertainty, anxiety and grief, we feel this is the wrong time to be putting the cost of a ticket in the way of taking part in the conference this year. Museum workers need support, solidarity, and meaningful structural change rather than expensive and exclusive events.

Many working in museums are going through a difficult time — the pandemic hitting hardest those already experiencing emotional strain, financial hardship, and barriers to access and opportunity. Making Museum Ideas 2020 free is a practical act of solidarity with museum workers.

We hope the talks will provide a space to explore our hopes and fears about how museums can be reimagined as ethical, people focused organisations in a time of growing inequality, environmental emergency, and economic and political crisis.

Tickets for Museum Ideas 2021
If you have already booked for the 2020 conference your ticket has been transferred to the 2021 conference. Museum Ideas 2021 will take place in the usual way in London in October next year. If you are unable to attend, tickets can be swapped between colleagues working at the same organisation or gifted to someone else to attend in your place.

As with our previous conferences, 25% of tickets for Museum Ideas 2021 are free or available at the reduced rate of £97 for professionals often underrepresented at museum conferences. A crucial part of being an inclusive and relevant event is trying to keep the cost of tickets down as much as possible. Having a higher ticket rate means excluding people who should be represented and who need to be there to move the conversation forward in a meaningful way.

As we move forward with both Museum Ideas 2020 and 2021 we continue to be inspired by the words of our 2019 keynote speaker Kayleigh Bryant-Greenwell — “As museum practitioners we can allow museums to be a tool of the establishment, the powered, 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.”

We would like to thank everyone – delegates, speakers, sponsors – for their continued support. The encouragement and support we have received from so many means a huge amount. We remain committed to continuing to share museum ideas and doing what we can to support the wider museum community.

#MuseumIdeas

There are around 70 tickets remaining for Museum Ideas 2021. If you would like to support our continued work please consider purchasing a ticket to the 2021 edition of the conference. Or you can buy the book of the 2019 conference (£29.95) and/ or subscribe to Museum-iD magazine (£4.95).

Published Tuesday 28 July 2020 / Updated Tuesday 15 September

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Museum Ideas 2020: Explore the Ideas Shaping the Future of Museums

“Museum Ideas is the best museum conference there is. It constantly pitches high and secures superb, relevant speakers, who cover a rich and wide range of topics from international perspectives. It offers food for thought and feeds the soul with engaging and inspiring conversation, networks and ideas” – Helen Whiteoak, National Portrait Gallery

Due to coronavirus we are unable to run the 2020 conference in the usual way and have decided to make it a FREE online event. With the current experiences of job losses, uncertainty, anxiety and grief, we feel this is not the right time for us to be putting the cost of a ticket in the way of taking part in the 2020 event.

Museum Ideas 2020 will take place online in October and further details will be announced here soon…

Tickets for Museum Ideas 2021: Representation, Solidarity and Social Justice
If you have already booked for the 2020 conference your ticket remains valid and has been transferred to the 2021 conference. If you are unable to attend, tickets can be swapped between colleagues working at the same organisation or gifted to someone else to attend in your place. And in response to the financial concerns coronavirus has caused to both individuals and organisations, all the remaining tickets for Museum Ideas 2021 are now available at our lower early-bird rate. There are also additional savings available for multiple tickets booked at the same time by the same organisation. As with our previous conferences, we made 25% of tickets available free or at the reduced rate of £97 for professionals often underrepresented at museum conferences.

“An inspirational conference! A coming together of museum minds from across the world – gaining insights, sharing ideas and making connections” – Gillian Crumpton, Ironbridge Gorge Museum

With a progressive attitude and international approach, the Museum Ideas conference in London has welcomed thousands of museum professionals from over 30 countries to share and advance the ideas shaping the future of museums. Museum Ideas 2020 – the ninth edition of the annual international conference – will explore new models of collaborative and socially engaged participatory practice, progressive public engagement, social impact and much more – sharing pioneering ideas that will help shape and support change in museums around the world. Each year the conference brings together a deliberately eclectic group of speakers from around the world and challenges them to share transformative ideas in concise, powerful talks.

“Museum Ideas is a fantastic showcase for inspiring, creative projects and a great opportunity to meet and network with museum colleagues from across the globe. Looking forward to next year already!” – Lucy Morris, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Museum Ideas 2020 Sponsors: Art Fund; Absolute Museum & Gallery Products; BECK; Cogapp; Designmap; Haley Sharpe Design; Locatify; Meyvaert; Opus Instruments; Squint/Opera; Vernon Systems

“A conference for mind expanding conversations and international networking with a platform for shared discussion” – Martin Payne, The British Museum

Museum Ideas Speakers
At the 2018 conference award-winning playwright Linda Brogan spoke movingly about the ‘Excavating The Reno’ community project in Manchester’s Moss Side. Bringing together archaeologists, artists, social historians and the public, the project explores the story of a soul and funk club that became a sanctuary from racism in the 1970s. Linda’s talk was frank, honest and 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 2018 – hands down no conference session in my life has left such an impact… thank you.”

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.”

Highlights from previous editions of the conference also include: The Right to Remember by Bonita Bennett, District Six Museum, Cape Town; Talking Trash by Alexandra Johnson, Science Museum; A Year in Museums by Sree Sreenivasan, Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Good of Being Different in a Time of Sameness by Mike Sarna, Royal Museums Greenwich; Museums as Vehicles of Social Change by Manal Ataya, Sharjah Museums; Immersive Theatre in Museums by Peter Higgin, Punchdrunk; and Talking to Strangers by Rosie Stanbury, Wellcome Collection.

The Museum Ideas conference has featured speakers from India, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, and England, Scotland and Wales.

“It was an impressive conference that was expertly curated to bring together voices from across the world to discuss the universal issues museums are addressing. I would highly recommend to colleagues and will definitely attend again in the future” – Laura Crean, Imperial War Museums

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