About the session:

South West Museum Development is working in partnership with Museum Freelance and Arts Council England to deliver an online event (with BSL interpretation*) designed to support the freelance community and their work with the museum and heritage sector in the south west of England in a changed cultural landscape.

In the morning attendees will have the opportunity to hear from speakers on the ecology of the museum and heritage sector in the south west and how recent events have given rise to new opportunities for freelancers. You will also hear about the latest research on freelancing in the sector and the support available to freelancers now and in the upcoming months. There will also be the opportunity to hear directly from an established freelancer on their experiences of working with the museum and heritage sector in the south west.

Following the morning session there will be an open networking opportunity for freelancers to get to know each other and/or catch-up with others recognising the importance of retaining networks in a period where online working is the new normal.

The afternoon will give attendees the opportunity to attend facilitated group discussions and/ or bookable 1-2-1 sessions with members of the South West Museum Development team specialising in audiences, collections, digital and volunteering, Museum Freelance and Arts Council England.

*BSL interpretation is available for this event. We kindly ask those requiring BSL interpretation to book by Wednesday 20 January 2021. BSL requests received after this date may not be able to be supported.

Schedule

• 10.30am Welcome and Introductions
• 10.40am Speakers and Q&A
• 11.45am Networking opportunity
• 12.15pm Lunch
• 12.45pm Breakout session 1
• 1.15pm Break
• 1.25pm Breakout session 2
• 2.00pm Main event close
• 2.00pm Optional 1-2-1's with Arts Council, 10 min bookable slots
• 3.00pm Event finish

By the end of the event attendees will:

• Understand key features of the museum and heritage sector in the south west to inform their freelance work
• Know the support available from Museum Freelance and how to access it
• Know how Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants and other funding streams can enable collaboration between museums and freelancers
• Have connected with other freelancers

Who should attend?

• Freelancers currently working with the museum and heritage sector
• Freelancers seeking to work with the museum and heritage sector
• Individuals considering/ aspiring to establish themselves as a freelancer

This event will specifically cover working in and with the museum and heritage sector in the south west of England. Freelancers from outside this area who wish to work in the south west with the museum and heritage sector are welcome to attend.

Speakers

Victoria Harding, Programme Manager, South West Museum Development

South West Museum Development is an Arts Council England supported Sector Support Organisation which provides museum and heritage professionals, volunteers and trustees with practical hands-on support and development services to raise ambition, develop excellence and resilience, increase audiences and support community engagement. Support is focused around four core themes; Audiences, Collections, Digital Engagement and Volunteering and is administered via advisory and consultancy services, direct investment through grants, and training.

www.southwestmuseums.org.uk

Marge Ainsley and Christina Lister, Co-directors, Museum Freelance

Museum Freelance is an organisation that supports and champions freelancers and consultants working with museums, galleries, heritage sites, archives and libraries in the UK. It’s run by freelancers, for freelancers. Museum Freelance facilitates online and in-person networking and sharing within a community of over 1,400 freelancers, delivers training and consultancy projects, and lobbies and advocates on behalf of freelancers. Marge and Christina are also well-established consultants with their own freelance businesses working in the museums and heritage sector.

www.museumfreelance.org

Samuel Rowlands, Relationship Manager (Museums), Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. Arts Council’s vision as set out in Let’s Create is that by 2030 they want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. They invest public money from the Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.

www.artscouncil.org.uk

Vicky Dawson, Freelancer

Vicky Dawson is a freelance museum and heritage consultant with over 35 years’ experience of working in the sector. She has worked with and in university, local authority and independent museums, as well as for the National Trust. She is currently engaged by South West Museum Development to provide Accreditation Technical Advice across the south west region specialising in Governance, Forward/Business Planning and collections management.

How will this session be delivered and what equipment do I need?

This session will be delivered online using Zoom a cloud based video conferencing service. The service is free to use, all you need is either a laptop, tablet/ iPad or phone. Your device will need to be able to stream video and sound. If you are using a laptop you can simply connect via your web browser. If using a tablet/ iPad or phone you will need to download the app (free to download) to connect to the session. Full instructions on how to join the session will be issued direct to the email address provided at the point of booking before the session takes place. 

How do we use the data you supply us?

* For full details on how the information supplied to us as part of the booking process is used please see our Privacy Policy here: https://southwestmuseums.org.uk/privacy-policy/ By booking on you agree to have your data stored and used by us in accordance with this policy.