Today, Thursday October 23, 2008 (it’s good to remind myself from time to time what the date is) was the first day of the Museums, Sustainability and Growth conference. It was also the first morning we got to sleep in a little – until 8am, because we didn’t need to be at the Castle until 10am. How incredibly civilized. Everyone is nagging me why can’t VAM start at 10am?
We had tea and milled around a bit until they called us into the main auditorium. It was a bit surreal, having a conference in a Norman castle, but what the hey. Bill Seaman, our dear colleague from the Rediscovering Virginia program of March 2007, is the head honcho of this conference and by sheer force of will caused it to come into being. We were acknowledged and then the conference got underway.
The title of the conference is a bit different from what we might be used to, but certainly is a timely topic for all of our museums in Virginia. Our museum counterparts in the UK are facing unprecedented growth in the coming decade or so, and with this conference are discussing the unique contributions that museums and heritage organizations can make to the sustainability and “planned growth agendas.” Many of the presentations throughout the day focused on the opportunity museums have to engage their communities in various ways, and used case studies to illustrate how some of the community organizations have incorporated heritage in their planning. One of our favorite quotes came from the first keynote speaker, David White, Chief Executive Norfolk County Council, who said “People need to live somewhere, rather than anywhere.”
After every few speakers, there was a tea break. Lunch was a wonderfully eclectic assortment of finger food. Tracy snuck off to see their teapot collection, and I found time to check out their Egyptian collection – a very small, but exquisite, group of objects donated sometime in the past by a wealthy donor. What connection to an 11th century castle you might ask? I did. Ah well, museums – you gotta love ‘em. I the looked in on the Boudicca exhibit and took a turn on the chariot he Romans interactive display. Routed them.
We had tea and milled around a bit until they called us into the main auditorium. It was a bit surreal, having a conference in a Norman castle, but what the hey. Bill Seaman, our dear colleague from the Rediscovering Virginia program of March 2007, is the head honcho of this conference and by sheer force of will caused it to come into being. We were acknowledged and then the conference got underway.
The title of the conference is a bit different from what we might be used to, but certainly is a timely topic for all of our museums in Virginia. Our museum counterparts in the UK are facing unprecedented growth in the coming decade or so, and with this conference are discussing the unique contributions that museums and heritage organizations can make to the sustainability and “planned growth agendas.” Many of the presentations throughout the day focused on the opportunity museums have to engage their communities in various ways, and used case studies to illustrate how some of the community organizations have incorporated heritage in their planning. One of our favorite quotes came from the first keynote speaker, David White, Chief Executive Norfolk County Council, who said “People need to live somewhere, rather than anywhere.”
After every few speakers, there was a tea break. Lunch was a wonderfully eclectic assortment of finger food. Tracy snuck off to see their teapot collection, and I found time to check out their Egyptian collection – a very small, but exquisite, group of objects donated sometime in the past by a wealthy donor. What connection to an 11th century castle you might ask? I did. Ah well, museums – you gotta love ‘em. I the looked in on the Boudicca exhibit and took a turn on the chariot he Romans interactive display. Routed them.
The conference proceedings were very thoughtful, insightful, and I don’t want to repeat them now. I will post the full speaker notes when we get back. Suffice it to say we will be returning with many ideas!
Following the sessions there was a reception in the Castle Keep. Oh…My…God. What an impressive place. Here are some pictures. ‘Nuff said.
Following the sessions there was a reception in the Castle Keep. Oh…My…God. What an impressive place. Here are some pictures. ‘Nuff said.
After the reception, we did not go to a hog roast at Gressenhall Farm as originally planned. Turns out, more people signed up than they could handle, so we ended up at the Forum, a great new community gathering place in the center of town, home to the local BBC as well as library, shops, restaurants, etc. I got into a delightful, animated conversation with Bill, Anita from Australia, and I can’t remember the other gent’s name but he used to be the director of the Waterways Museum and now works in government. The topic was theatrical experiences in museums, and the ethics of locking people in jail cells as a hoax so they could feel the
experience; or museum experiences like the bus at the Lorraine Motel Civil Rights Museum where they shock the seats to make you move o the rear of the bus. We decamped to a pub for locals vs. tourists called Frank’s, and kept the conversations going into the wee hours. 
No comments:
Post a Comment