UMG represents the interests of university museums, galleries and collections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Call for papers for 19th Annual Scottish Word and Image Group Conference
University of Dundee
Friday 6th to Sunday 8th July 2012
Excavating Time will consider the processes by which the past might be accessed, preserved, represented, interpreted or ‘fabricated’ through distinctive interactions between visual and verbal media. The organisers are keen to encourage proposals for papers or panels from UMG members.
For more information see the attached summary document. Excavating Time CFP
This seminar is being organised by the Association of Art Historians. It will focus in the morning on three collaborative papers, where curators and academics will reflect on their experience of using collections as teaching resources. The day will conclude with a round table discussion, with curators, academics and students participating. Registration will begin at 10.00am and the day will conclude at 4pm.
With the increase in funding initiatives aimed at encouraging knowledge transfer and collaboration, the event is aimed primarily at education and museum professionals, but will be of equal benefit to students of various disciplines, and is meant to be practical above all. It aims to explore questions such as;
We are hoping to attract an audience of both curators and academics and the afternoon session will aim to be as interactive as possible in order to assist colleagues in developing collaborative partnerships.
Speakers include:
Organised by the Museums and Exhibitions Group of the AAH, this seminar is the latest in a series promoting collaboration between academics and museums, exploring different modes of working and how they can be of mutual benefit.
For more information including how to book see the website of the Association of Art Historians.
University of Brighton, Grand Parade, Brighton, UK
June 21 -22 2012
Heritage Impact 2012 is the sixth international symposium on socio-economic impact and strategies for change in cultural heritage to be organised by the CUBIST Research Group, part of the University of Brighton Business School. The symposium aims to bring together speakers from across Europe and further afield to consider the impact of heritage sites on society and the economy.
Heritage sites are facing an unprecedented threat. The long-term erosion of funding sources coupled with the current economic climate has the potential to change the heritage landscape. The concept of the ‘Big Society’ places an increasing reliance on the ‘community’ for funding, either through traditional fundraising or innovative crowd funding campaigns. But these threats are coupled with new avenues of engagement with the community. Communication through various social media channels, mobile applications and other digital means has the potential to enlarge the so-called community to become a potentially global audience. Increased access to digital heritage resources is one a number of mechanisms leading to the democratisation of heritage.
Heritage sites are coming under increasing pressure from funders to measure their benefit to society, to add value to their offerings and to increase self-sustainability. All this comes at a time when resources for assessing impact are under threat and the scope of impact becomes ever more diverse. And yet, as ever, there is little evidence for the impact of heritage on the community and society. Heritage Impact 2012 aims to bring all this information together coherently in one place.
The symposium will explore the processes that influence impact at heritage sites. Assessing the value of cultural heritage and determining its impact on society and the economy, is crucial for the future of the heritage sector. As the heritage community begins to understand the processes that influence impact, the sector will be in a better position to influence positive future outcomes. Furthermore, if the heritage community can provide evidence of why certain strategies are successful, this information can be put to direct use by heritage sites to exploit their assets most effectively and influence decisions at a policy level.
The organising committee invites both practitioners and academics to submit papers that explore the following complementary themes:
Detailed information can be downloaded here:
Detailed information on call for papers
27 and 28 October 2011
The Kelvin Gallery, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
This year’s University Museums in Scotland (UMIS) conference aims to explore the current and potentially changing relationship between universities and museum and gallery services; and to clarify emerging challenges and future strategic directions. In addition to a focus on the dynamic situation of university museums in Scotland, the programme will also draw on the current experience of colleagues from counterpart institutions elsewhere.
Scottish university museum and gallery services need to remain core business to their parent organisation and main funding source. In the brave new world of REF (Research Excellence Framework), university objectives are beginning to shift from what were once diverse agendas towards a greater focus on research excellence and the impact of public engagement activities. University museum and gallery services may need to align themselves with this changing strategy and demonstrate their impact more explicitly in terms of research and teaching engagement, through enhancing the student learning experience and by creating a distinctive cultural strand to the university’s global identity. However, whilst our institutions are expected to be dynamic and innovative in their programmes, they are also being asked to make deep cuts in their infrastructure. How do they balance this contradiction and continue to develop their role as a core university service?
For more information on the programme and bokoing instructions go to http://www.umis.ac.uk/conference2011/new_rules.htm
