The MP workshops at the MA Conference have been divided into the following streams: technology and digital; audiences, learning and engagement; collections, interpretation and exhibition design; and commercial activities.
Visitors attending the workshops will have the opportunity to find how Scottish Natural Heritage worked with Peel Interactive to create a fully immersive 3D virtual landscape, allowing visitors to explore more than 400,000 hectares of the Flow Country – a large expanse of peat bog in north east Scotland.
The Hunterian Museum will discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with the transfer of 1.3m objects to the new storage, study and research facilities at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow.
Also, and the team behind Proud City – an exhibition exploring the lives of LGBTQIA people in Edinburgh – will reveal how they experimented with new ways of working to bring about radical change.
Simon Stephens, the MA’s head of publications and events, said: “MP workshops are an integral part of the exhibition and conference because they provide visitors and delegates practical advice on key areas of museums’ work. This year’s programme will provide a fantastic showcase for the sector’s creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.”
As part of the commercial activities stream, The Scottish Maritime Museum will explain how it set up the Scottish Boat Building School in 2014 to offer young apprentices the chance to gain skills and qualifications in both traditional and modern boat building and boosted its commercial income. The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh will explain how it involved frontline staff in its storytelling sessions for children and the National Galleries of Scotland’s new brand strategy it developed with Jane Wentworth Associates will show how a museum’s brand plays an important role in raising its profile, attracting new audiences and supporting income generation.
There will also be workshops on exploring how cultural institutions can forge international relationships; engage communities in the development of their collections and involve volunteers in conservation work and improve their family offer.
The MP workshops will take place from November 7-8 in the exhibition hall at the SECC in Glasgow.
