Connecting with Collections Symposium

Friday 27th September 2013

10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Mill Lane Lecture Room 1
8 Mill Lane
Cambridge CB2 1RX
United Kingdom

Keynote Speaker: 
Dr Sam Alberti, Objects of Knowledge: Using Material Culture in Twentieth-Century Museums.Sam Alberti is Director of Museums and Archives at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, which includes the renowned Hunterian Museum.

● 6 Museums ● 6 Projects ● 6 Early Career Researchers ●

Six post-doctoral researchers will present their new research projects at a one-day symposium.  Between January 2013 and September 2013, the six researchers have led individual AHRC-funded internship projects at six Museums and Collections across the University of Cambridge Museums.

Six researchers: 
Leena Rana, Fitzwilliam Museum
Aaron Jaffer, Fitzwilliam Museum
Rebecca Wade, Museum of Classical Archaeology
Pippa Lacey, Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Seb Falk, Whipple Museum of the History of Science
Lorna Richardson, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and Museum of Zoology

The AHRC-funded programme incorporates a range of disciplinary approaches and outcomes. In addition, the early career researchers are engaging in public talks, education workshops, outreach, open days, digital blogs, presenting conference papers.  Each is curating an actual and/or virtual exhibition of their research.

This programme is supported by University of Cambridge Museums, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Arts Council England, through the UCM’s Connecting with Connections Initiative. This initiative aims to transform access to the exceptional collections and research resources of University of Cambridge Museums.

Lunch and refreshments are provided.
The event is free.  Booking essential, via Eventbrite http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/4511522084

Temple Works, Leeds...Heritage 'in' Practice

Hello All,

Rebecca and I went on an organised visit to Temple Works in Leeds last week, to see the fabulous range of creative activities going on there...Susan Williamson, creative director at Temple Works, has assembled a huge range of creative practitioners as part of a Social Enterprise project...

Temple Works, Leeds

The building, as some of you may know, is undergoing a massive stabilisation, conservation and restoration project...but is was fantastic to see how imaginatively those actively involved in the processes of using the spaces are.....we saw everything from stained-glass making, to impromptu action theatre, to model railway enthusiasts!

Impromptu active theatre at TW

...one of the highlights of the tour by Susan was being able to go out on the roof of Temple Works...it's quite a sight...as you can see!

Roof at TW

 ......at the conclusion of the tour, we were invited into the main space at Temple Works...one of the largest covered rooms in the world at the time of it's completion in the 1840s.....it was a treat to see the space...and to hear how amazing the acoustics were!

Music performance at TW

...the experience was rounded off with a barbecue...with wonderful Yorkshire sausages!....

This really is a model for how a grade I listed heritage monument can be literally brought to life!
Mark

What is a Museum

A quick link to an interesting project: artist Sam Durant is participating in the Getty Artists Programme, and running a project called What is a #Museum?

He's inviting twitter responses to a range of questions:

Is a museum a school?
Is a museum political?
Is a museum truthful?
Is a museum fun?
Is a museum for everyone?

There are some great tweet responses. The website which is aggregating the responses is: www.isamuseum.org

Cheers

Nick

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award

Hello All,

Pleased to announce that we have an opportunity for a fully funded PhD studentship at Leeds and the National Gallery, London.
Good Luck!
Mark                           

AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award: fully-funded PhD studentship

Sir Philip Hendy (1900-1980) director and scholar in Leeds and London 1934-1967: the acquisition and display of art and curatorial practices in ages of austerity

University of Leeds/The National Gallery, London

Applications are invited for an AHRC-funded PhD researching the curatorial practices of Sir Philip Hendy (1900-1980); Hendy was Director of The National Gallery (1946-67) after previously holding the Directorship of Leeds Museums & Galleries (1934-46). The studentship is one of a number of fully-funded awards in the newly-established Collaborative Doctoral Partnership awarded to The National Gallery. The project will be supervised by Dr Mark Westgarth (University of Leeds) and Dr Susanna Avery-Quash (The National Gallery). This Collaborative Doctoral Award offers an exciting opportunity to pursue a fully funded PhD with one of the UK’s leading universities together with one of the world’s foremost art gallery museums. The successful candidate will undertake high quality historical research leading to a PhD combined with an exceptional opportunity to gain practical art gallery museum work experience.

The studentship funding is subject to final confirmation by the AHRC but will be fully funded for three years full-time equivalent and will begin in October 2013. It will cover tuition fees at home/EU rate and provide a maintenance award at RCUK rates (currently £13726 per annum). In addition the AHRC provide an extra £550 per annum for Collaborative Doctoral Award students.

Sir Philip Hendy was an important figure in the institutional history of the National Gallery, and was also an innovative scholar and an influential figure in the promotion of modern art in pre- and post-war Britain. Hendy was the Gallery’s longest serving Director (1946-1967), leading the institution through a period of post-war reconstruction, modernising its administration and ensuring an impressive acquisition record. Equally important was Hendy’s earlier appointment at Leeds Museums & Galleries (1934-1946) where he staged high profile exhibitions of modern art (at Leeds City Art Gallery and at Temple Newsam House) during WWII.  An investigation of Hendy as museum-director at Leeds and London is an opportunity for an enhanced understanding of the history of two key institutions and their role in the public display and interpretation of artworks as well as an assessment of the changing relationships between regional and national art museums.  The focus on Hendy will provide an important case study for the history of curatorship and its political, social and cultural contexts, further illuminating the significance of the changing methods and practices of museum curatorship in times of economic, political and social crisis.

The following research aims underline the main issues to be addressed by the project, though the student will have scope to define the topic and approach in conjunction with the supervisors:

To assess the impact and significance of the activities of Hendy as a promoter and champion of Modern and contemporary art on the increased public interest in and engagement with British Modernism; to investigate and assess Hendy’s innovations to and interventions in existing public art museum management practices in the period 1934-1967; to investigate the impact and significance of, and the relationships between, Hendy’s curatorial practices in a regional context at Leeds and in a national context in London.

How to Apply

Applicants should have a good undergraduate degree and a master’s qualification in history, visual culture, or other relevant discipline, and will need to satisfy AHRC academic and residency eligibility criteria (see Annex A of the Student Funding Guide: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Student-Funding-Guide.pdf).

Applicants must submit a research degree study application form and be in receipt of a University BANNER ID Number[1] (Student ID Number) to be eligible for the AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award.  To apply for a place on a research degree programme, please visit: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/students/apply_research.htm

Applicants should submit a short curriculum vitae and a brief letter outlining qualifications for the studentship in the form of a single Word file no more than three pages in total. The names and contact details of two academic referees should also be supplied. Applications should be sent to (fineartphd@leed.ac.uk) no later than 5.00pm Friday 5^th July 2013.

Interviews will be held at the National Gallery, London on Friday 2^nd August 2013.

For further information about this studentship please contact Dr Mark Westgarth at the University of Leeds m.w.westgarth@leeds.ac.uk  or Dr Susanna Avery-Quash at The National Gallery, London susanna.avery-quash@ng-london.org.uk

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[1] On-line applicants automatically receive their University BANNER ID Number by email; paper applicants should request their University BANNER ID Number from rp_applications@leeds.ac.uk