Moving on up

 



 First posted: 3rd August 2015
 In Reviews

Simon Brown reviews Moving On Up, the conference day for professionals

Moving on Up, a one day conference for early career professionals, was held at the School of Museum Studies at Leicester University on 24th February. The event was sold out, with people travelling from all over the country to attend. The day has been about a year in the planning, so it was gratifying for the organising committee that it was so well supported!
There was a range of speakers from across the sector, all addressing the issues that face us all in the early stages of our career. NTU’s own Neville Stankley gave a masterclass of quick fire interview tips. Mine was the only raised hand in the room when he asked if anyone never got nervous in interviews, which shocked me (even Neville called me a weirdo). I can’t be the only one?

There followed a very interesting question and answer session with three experienced and respected leaders in the sector: Tony Butler of Derby Museums Trust, Maggie Appleton of the RAF Museum and Iain Watson of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. They were all eloquent on the challenges that they have faced in their careers and were generous with their advice. The best advice centred on staying true to your own values and being brave when making career decisions, particularly if that means a more divergent path than you were expecting!

The day was full of great advice from respected people in the sector, and there was plenty of space for delegates to discuss their own views on what was said. The room was perpetually abuzz with conversation, it was a great atmosphere to be a part of.

The standout moment of the day though was the opening keynote speech from Kathryn Perera of Movement for Change. Disillusioned with a career in the law (in which she was compelled to put moral beliefs aside), she took the brave decision to resign in order to found Movement for Change, a social enterprise that, in her words, “uses the power of community organising to make change happen”. Since their inception in 2010 they havecampaigned on issues such as access to fair credit, the Living Wage and poor conditions in the private rented sector. She was inspiring in her eloquence.

The day was a great success, and renewed my faith that the people currently coming into our museums share a passion, dedication and creative spirit that can only serve the sector well in the future.

Rebecca Atkinson’s blog and storify: http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/museums-journal-blog/25022015-success-is-who-i-am

Edited abstract of Kathryn Perera’s speech: www.movementforchange.org.uk/dare_to_fear

This post was written by Simon Brown, Artefact Loans Officer at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries and the East Midlands member representative for the Museums Association. He manages the 11,000 strong Access Artefacts handling collection, based at Wollaton Park.

He graduated from NTU in 2004 with a BA in Heritage Studies with Human Geography, and has since gone on to work in various roles for Nottingham City Museums and Galleries and Nottingham Contemporary, including as a museum assistant, curator and documentation assistant. He is currently studying for the AMA.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing: Yanqiu Autumn Dai, Strategic Advisor to the Culture Syndicates Board

Image
  Autumn is a highly qualified and experienced heritage researcher, practitioner, and consultant based in China. Educated at the University of California, she graduated with a BA in Art History and International Relations Global Business (IRGB) before completing her MSc in Visual Material and Museum Anthropology at the University of Oxford before embarking on a successful career in heritage and the arts around the world. She has worked in Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong as well as the U.K. for art market consultancies and diverse museums and galleries around the world. A particular highlight is her recent. work to help establish the new Grand Canal Museum in Hangzhou. Autumn is very well connected to the international art market and Chinese cultural investors and her expertise lies in applying anthropological research tools and qualitative methodologies to improve marketplace studies in the arts and cultural sectors, and to provide market solutions and strategies for organisation...
Read more

April Reading List

Image
This month we are musing on the theme of wellbeing, taking inspiration from Stress Awareness Month and World Health Day. It is a little shorter this month as we try to catch up with the start of Spring and find new directions. Meditations Marcus Aurelius  "Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with thee the same reason which now thou usest for present things." on worry & anxiety This collection of writings from Aurelius, once Emperor of Rome, the book is more accurately titled "To Himself" and is a random collection of short Stoic reflections on things like life, friendship, and enduring hardship. It's quite a small book and is ideal to pick during your commute, lunch break, or bedtime. On Solitude Michel de Montaigne "When I dance, I dance; when I sleep, I sleep; yes, and when I walk alone in a beautiful orchard, if my thoughts drift to far-off matters for some part of the time for some other p...
Read more

Welcome Jane Seaman, Projects and Evaluation Officer

Image
We finally manage to catch up with the recently-joined Jane Seaman as part of our Routes Into Heritage series, who has been busy ensuring we have a fruitful and exciting 2022 ahead of us.  Image credit: Jane, on a visit to St Peter's church Jane joined Culture Syndicates in December 2021 as Projects and Evaluation Officer. She has had a varied career including running her own business producing life-size realistic models and props for museums, Professional Development Manager for the Museums Association and, in more recent years, working on audience development and evaluation. Over the last fifteen years Jane has concentrated on working with clients to deliver their National Lottery Heritage Fund projects through evaluation and detailed analysis, enabling them to monitor project progress and reach a successful outcome.  Jane is now working with the Culture Syndicates team to deliver their current projects and bid for new contracts. We have really enjoyed having her on the team...
Read more