Museum of Kent Life
August Issue 2001
The AIM Bulletin is the main communication channel for the UKs 1000+ independent museums and heritage organisations - half the total provision for the British Isles - which have been in the forefront of the museum movement for over 20 years.IN THIS ISSUE
- Resource chairman Lord Evans has appealed for a reduction in the regulations governing cultural institutions to free their creativity. Speaking at the New Statesman Arts Lecture in London he called for a new framework for the cultural industry “built on trust rather than accountability.” The economic impact of the creative industries was huge, he said, yet the House of Commons was still fixated on debates about ship-building rather than music and design. Many new ideas about this need for freedom had emerged during the Regional Museums Task Force research, he added. This report is now due to be published in September. Page 1.
- A Welsh independent museum has called for financial help following the threat to its viability from free entry to the principality’s national museums. Torfaen Museum Trust, Pontypool, says the public are confused by media reports that “all museums are free” as this only applies to the publicly-funded national museums, not to independent trusts who have to earn their income from visitor admissions and revenue from their shop and catering. The problem has arisen at a particularly bad time, following on from the closure of the countryside as a result of the foot and mouth crisis. Page 3.
- A major museum in Dundee may have to close because of a steady decline in the national tourist market and the impact of the foot and mouth crisis. Verdant Works, Scotland’s last working jute mill which won the 1999 European Industrial Museum of the Year Award, has made five redundancies and launched a major fund raising drive. The historic site is operated by Dundee Heritage Trust, one of Scotland’s most pro-active tourism organisations, which also cares for Scott’s ship, RRS Discovery. Page 12.
- A new report on agricultural and rural life collections in the South West could be pivotal in clearing the way for a revitalized museum sector. More Than Nostalgia (published by the South West Museums Council) offers a ‘tool kit’ to curators, providing guidance on assessing the status of their collections and helping with management decisions about future developments. David Viner suggests a system based on scoring different artefacts in museum collections with points. Based on criteria such as storage conditions, conservation treatment, provenance, and object completeness collections manager can decide whether they should be safeguarded in the ‘core’ collection, set aside for use within the museum or disposed of. The system can be adapted for all types of collection. Page 7.
Also in this issue
- Trustees’ investment opportunities enhanced by new act
- Rural museums fight back as foot and mouth continues to affect them
- Small museums urged to make use of AIM for help and advice
- Resource’s response to the Charity Commission’s review of museums and galleries
- More nuggets of information from AIM’s 24th Conference
- Information about European initiatives
- National Railway Museum wins the 2001 European Museum of the Year Award
- Tiverton Museum, Devon re-opens after extensive refurbishment
- AIM plans a research document illustrating the key role played by independent museums to use in its advocacy role
- HLF asks for guidance for its next five years
- AIM Bulletin launches new advertising service on the web
