Regular round-up of news for Museums in Cambridgeshire from Gordon Chancellor, Museums Partnership Officer.

There are several vacancies (see attachments) within the University Museums at the moment:

1. University of Cambridge Museums Opening Doors Project Coordinator, closing date 2 September
2. Shared Creative Apprenticeship – University of Cambridge Museums and Wysing Arts Centre, closing date 7 September
3. University of Cambridge Museums Events Coordinator, closing date 13 September
4. Fitzwilliam Museum Development Assistant, closing date 21 September

The trustees of the trust which will govern the Cromwell Museum from April 2016 have now been announced.

The British Association of Friends of Museums (BAfM) is looking for Council members (see attached press release).

The Museums in Cambridgeshire (MiC) AGM will be at Peterborough Museum on the morning of 14 September. The agenda will be mailed to all members by early next week.

Regular round-up of news for Museums in Cambridgeshire from Gordon Chancellor, Museums Partnership Officer.

There are several vacancies available at the moment:

1. Wisbech and Fenland Museum are looking for a Curator, closing date 30 September (see attached advert).
2. HLF are recruiting for a Development Officer on a 6 month contract, based in Cambridge, closing date 6 September 2015.
3. The University of Cambridge Museums is currently recruiting for two key roles: UCM Events Coordinator, closing date 13 September. UCM Opening Doors Project Coordinator, closing date 2 September.
4. The 8^th in the East project is looking for a Learning Officer, closing date 4 September.
5. St Edmundsbury Borough Council is looking for a Project officer for ‘The Autopsy of the Sunken House’ at West Stow, closing date 21 August.

Other items:

6. You may be interested in the British Library’s proposal for a national collections hub.
7. Arts Council England have announced that the next round of applications to the Museum Resilience Fund has been postponed to January 2016.
8. Culture 24 have made the following announcements about their activities which I am forwarding in full:

Museums at Night October
The UK-wide Museums at Night festival returns on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, and warmly invites all cultural and heritage organisations to take part by holding an after-hours event on one of these evenings. All event types can be part of the festival, but many museums are taking inspiration from Halloween, and taking advantage of the darkness to use lighting creatively. Register your event listing online. For more information or to discuss your plans, please contact Rosie Clarke on rosie@culture24.org.uk or call 01273 623266.

Let’s Get Real Conference 2015, Brighton
Our Let’s Get Real Conference on Wednesday 23 September is a day packed full of thought-provoking and inspiring speakers, focusing on how we as a sector can embrace digital cultural heritage. Find out about this year’s exciting line-up (including museum superstar Seb Chan) on the conference website – there are just a few Earlybird tickets left!

Let’s Get Real – Young Audiences
Based on our successful Let’s Get Real collaborative action research programme we’re launching a brand new project looking at how arts and heritage organisation can better reach and engage younger audiences with digital content. The 7 month project encourages organisations to learn through individual experiments under the guidance of experts, and to share and discuss their results in a collaborative environment.

Regular round-up of news for Museums in Cambridgeshire from Gordon Chancellor, Museums Partnership Officer.

1. As you may be aware, the Arts Council have changed the way they provide Accreditation advice. Many of you will have previously exchanged correspondence with Elaine Sansom but from April 2015 responsibility for that advice in our region has been given to SHARE. They have now set up a dedicated email address which you can use to ask questions: accreditationeast@norfolk.gov.uk. As always, you can also try me or your Museum Mentor (if applicable).
2. The ACE-funded SWIM project (see recent MiC news) now has its own Twitter presence @MuseumsinCambs.
3. Wisbech Museum are advertising for a http://www.le.ac.uk/museumstudies/Jobs2/full_job_descriptions/42258.htm, closing date 2 September.
4. The attached flyer describes the touring exhibitions on offer from Epping Forest which, if available, are free if booked before the end of August. Let me know if you need further information.
5. Finally, may I draw your attention to the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust? The next deadline for their conservation grant applications is 1 October. Details are at nmct.co.uk.

Regular round-up of news for Museums in Cambridgeshire from Gordon Chancellor, Museums Partnership Officer.

1. Can I draw your attention to the revised County Council list of funding opportunities, to which I have contributed some museum/heritage  details?

2. Small Scale Capital Scheme 2015/16. At the Museum Development Network conference last month, Arts Council England announced £1.2m of new national funding for a small capital grant scheme for museums in England. SHARE Museums East will administer the regional allocation of £158,400. The purpose of the fund is to enable more museums to borrow significant objects from national museums and Major Partner Museums to upgrade buildings and display spaces to meet the requirements of the Government Indemnity Scheme. Grants could cover costs such as:

• environmental works
• display cases,
• reinforced windows and doors,
• building alarm systems
• object protection devices,
• small scale building work.

Arts Council are developing guidance for national museum development providers with further details on eligibility, criteria, timescales and how to apply to follow through SHARE Museums East and county based communication channels. The full guidance from ACE to museum development providers is expected next week.  Confirmation of delegated distribution of this investment by Arts Council, to be administered by SHARE Museums East for the benefit of museums in the East of England region, will be provided as a separate funding offer to national museum development providers. This is currently being prepared by ACE.

Regular round-up of news for Museums in Cambridgeshire from Gordon Chancellor, Museums Partnership Officer.

1. The Museums Association have some (almost) free places at this year’s Birmingham conference, on a first come first served basis. They also have a deal where if you join next week you get the first three months sub for free.
2. The Touring Exhibitions Group has ACE Resilience Funding to carry out research into the economics of touring exhibitions. If you do their 10-minute survey by 31 July you could win a free place at one of their seminars. Let me know if you would like more details.
3. I attach an advert from CS3 inviting tenders to produce an educational resource pack for the Home from Home project in Fenland. Let me know if you want further details.
4. I attach an advert for a Collections and Learning Curator at Ipswich Museum, closing date 29 July.
5. May I mention that the excellent Bottisham Airfield Museum has an open day on 27 September? Let me know if you want details – the volunteers there are doing great things!