SW Fed Spring Meeting & AGM

The Spring Meeting and AGM will be held at 10.00am on the 26th of June at the Guild Halls Bath. We can confirm that both Jon Finch - MLA Director of Engagement for the West of England and Ian Miller - the new Renaissance SW Programme Director will be at this meeting. So this will be a great opportunity for all museums in the South West to come and see them. Further details available here when announced. <STOP PRESS> Chair's report now available from link above.

Where to Now - with Acreditation?

There is currently a review of Acreditiation being undertaken with a Regional Consultation Event with Museums of the South West in Taunton on the 30th of June 2009.

More details are available at: http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/raising_standards/accreditation/Developing_accreditation

Renaissance SW Team Announced:

Details of the new Hub team have been announced. Some familiar faces and some new talent! The South West welcomes Ian Miller as the new "Renaissance Programme Director (interim)" who will be heading a very capable team including Vic Harding.

More Details here shortly.

3 New training Days in association with
South West Lifelong Learning Network

The SW Fed is very pleased to be working in partnership with the South West Lifelong Learning Partnership, who have funded three skills-sharing days for staff and volunteers in museums, galleries and heritage sites.

The skills-sharing days are:

Working with Volunteers - Tyntefield House (NT) - 24/06/09
Interpretation - Russel-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum - 30/06/09
Collections Care - Arlington House & Carriage Collection - 29/07/09

Full details on training pages here

Looking for Freelance Curator

Bath Preservation Trust (BPT) is looking for an experienced Freelance Curator to work on 'Stones of Bath' exhibition - Details here

Devon Museum Forum
6th May 2009 - Torquay

For the first time ever the Devon Museums Group would like to invite museums from Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset to attend their annual forum. This year the theme is "Eureka: Finding the science in your museum" and will include illustrated talks and hands on workshops.

More Details and booking form here.

RCM Re-structure Announced

The Royal Institution of Cornwall’s Board of Trustees has announced that it is undertaking a significant restructure at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro - Full Press Release here.

BAFM Conference Announced

BAFM South West Conference Monday - 14th September 2009 hosted by the Friends of Plymouth City Museums and Galleries. 

The theme will be "Partnerships": 
- partnerships with the South West Hub and other funding bodies,
- partnership with the Writers Group based in the Museum,
- partnership with the University of Plymouth in preparation for a major exhibition in the Museum in November celebrating the career of Sir Joshua Reynolds,
- Friends in partnership. 

There will also be guided tours of the galleries led by the staff.  These tours will be a great privileged as the museum is not open to the public on Mondays. 

Book the date NOW!
Full details and booking contact:

Lawrie Thorne - lawrie611@btinternet.com
Carol Bunbury, BAFM SW Co-ordinator
T: 01566 782440

British Association of Friends of Museums (BAFM)
http://www.bafm.org.uk

STOP-PRESS - Final Day of Fed Training Announced:

Just when you thought it was all over.....The Fed is delighted to announce that we have one more day of training to provide this year.

“Preventative Conservation: A guide to good practice”

25th November 2008 – 10.00 for 10.30am to 15.30pm
Museum of Bath at Work, Bath

The South West Fed is delighted to be working in conjunction with the South West Social History Curators Group to provide this workshop.

Full details are on the Training Pages

It isn't long - so book up fast - places won't last long

South West Fed - Autumn Meeting

We went to Geevor!
The Federation's Autumn Meeting was held at Geevor Tin Mine's Hard Rock Museum on the 10th of November 2008.

It was a great day, with a full turn out of over 30 Federation Members and Guests. We had a fantastic welcome from Geevor Tin Mine and really enjoyed the visit. You can see a short report of the day and all the reports and slide presentations here.

Final Federation Skills-sharing Workdays Announced:

See here for details of the remaining workday program for the autumn of 08.

Training Days include the following topics:

  • Simple Digitisation of Small Collections in Dorset <now fully booked>
  • Dealing with Finds in Cornwall
  • Getting the Best out of your Volunteers - SE Cornwall & W Devon
  • An introduction to Pod-casting will be re-run in Bristol
  • Identifying Pottery- with Wessex Archaeology - Nr Salisbury
  • Engaging Museums Meaningfully - Laycock Abbey Nr Chippenham
  • Getting Social on the Web - an introduction to Web 2 - Plymouth
  • Others to come!

For more details visit the Training Pages or email the co-ordinator

MLA South West Press Release

As we know, MLA South West, the region’s strategic development agency for museums, libraries and archives, will cease operations on March 31, 2009.

You can read the latest press release from MLA South West here.

Federation Workday Programme Updated

See here for details of workday program for the autumn of 08.

  • The Fed is happy to provide more of their practical and hands-on training workdays through the County Museum Groups, supported by a grant from MLA South West through Rennaissance Funding.

Another 8 workshops are planned for delivery in October and November 08.

Training Days include the following topics:

  • An introduction to Pod-casting in Bath <Great Success - but may be re-run in Bristol>
  • A Smashing Day on Packing and Handling in West Cornwall <Fully Booked>
  • Dealing with Finds in Cornwall
  • Getting the Best out of your Volunteers - SE Cornwall & W Devon
  • Simple Digitisation of Small Collections in North Gloucestershire <Fully Booked>
  • Simple Digitisation of Small Collections in Dorset
  • Labelling for Museums - t.b.c in B&NES/Wiltshire
  • Fossils in Wiltshire - t.b.c
  • Getting Social on the Web - an introduction to Web 2 - Plymouth
  • Others to come!

For more details visit the Training Pages or email the co-ordinator

Vicky Dawson - co-opted to Mins Secretary

Fed News Spring 08The SW Federation are delighted to announce that Vicky Dawson has re-joined the Federation Board.

Vicky Dawson sat originally on the board as the County Rep for Somerset, but has now agreed to bring her skills to the roll of Minutes Secretary.

It is great to have her back on board.

 

 

Spring Meeting and AGM

Torquay Museum on the 26th June 2008 at 10am

The meeting was a great sucsess, with much interesting and informed debate. Highlights included reports from Gordon Reid for MLA South West and Kate Brindley for the South West Hub.

Tamsin Daniel stepped down as Chair and was replaced by Liz Neathey from North Somerset Museum. Vice-chair is now Alison Bevan from Penlea House, Penzance. The County Reps all stayed in place except for Mary Godwin in Devon who has been replaced by Helena Jaeschke, the CDO at RAMM.

The one place on the board that remains empty is the Minutes Secretary. The board is therefore now looking for someone who would like the opportunity to take on this roll. If you would like to know more about this, please do not hesitate to contact any committee member to discuss.

The program & agenda are still available here and futher details here.

Federation News - Spring 08 - Now online

Fed News Spring 08If you are a member you should of recently had a copy (or more) of the Spring Newsletter. If you have not recieved a copy, or you would like another, you can easily download a copy from here in PDF form - plus you have the advantage of getting it in colour.

Download the Spring O8 News here. For other back copies go here.

Have you seen either of these Lables?

Have you seen this label? Have you seen this label

These are examples of two of the oldest and most frequently occurring labels associated with St. Aubyn’s mineral specimens.

If you think you may have a Sir John St. Aubyn specimen or you have any information about the history of this collection, please contact Plymouth City Museum.

Learn More about this project here

For more information about Sir John, his collection and the labels associated with his minerals, please contact Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery on 01752 304765 or email st.aubyn@plymouth.gov.uk. You can also visit our website http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/museumstaubyncollection.

Old News items available here: