Research in Museums: Museums in Research
8th Biennial University Museums in Scotland (UMIS) conference University of St Andrews, 31 October – 1 November 2013
The conference will focus on the role of museums in academic research and how it can be fostered and managed.
There is a long tradition of scholarly research on museum collections, and much recent research focusing on visitor studies and the social role of museums. The place of research in museums and the value of museums to researchers is coming under scrutiny, with the attitude of different institutions to its role and value increasingly divergent.
Questions to be addressed include how links can be fostered between researchers, students and museums; the role of museums in developing funded research projects; the development of local, national and international research partnerships and collaborations; the role of museums in public engagement with research; whether museums based in academic institutions have a special role; and the place of museum staff as researchers.
UMIS: University Museums in Scotland exists to foster the preservation, care and interpretation of historical and cultural collections in Scottish Universities, and to promote the interests of the collections. http://www.umis.ac.uk/
The conference is being hosted by the University of St Andrews. The University has three Accredited museums: MUSA (The Museum of the University of St Andrews), the Gateway Galleries (temporary exhibitions) and the Bell Pettigrew Museum (zoology), plus the MUSA Collections Centre, an open-access store and research centre. The Heritage, Chemistry and Historic Scientific Instrument Collections are Recognised Collections of National Significance. http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/museum/
Conference Pricing:-
Conference day rate £45 including lunch and two coffee breaks. Students £20.
Full conference £90. Students £40.
Conference dinner (optional) £30 for 3 courses
Ceilidh (optional) £10. Cash bar.
To book on-line, please visit: http://onlineshop.st-andrews.ac.uk/browse/product.asp?compid=1&modid=2&catid=75
For enquiries, please contact:
Ella Voce, MUSA Operations Officer, Museum Collections Unit, University of St Andrews, 87 North Street, St Andrews, KY16 9AE. 01334 461660. [email protected]
Conference Schedule
Thursday 31 October
9.30am-3.30pm Conference in Parliament Hall
9.30-10.00 Registration
10.00-10.15 Welcome
10.15-11.00 Keynote speech: Steph Sholten, Director of Heritage at the University of Amsterdam, ‘(Re)searching for (re)connnection. Academic collections and research in the 21st century’.
11.00-11.30 Coffee break
11.30-12.45 Session 1 - Research Strategies
(3 x 20 minute papers + 15 minutes for questions & discussion)
Professor David Gaimster, ‘Getting the right formula. Devising a new academic policy and strategy at The Hunterian, University of Glasgow’
Ann Gunn, ‘We have been here before: what can we learn from past investigations for the future of museum research?’
Julie Harvey, ‘Natural Partners: the challenges and benefits of developing arts and humanities projects at the Natural History Museum, London’
12.45-1.45 Lunch
1.45-3.00 Session 2 – Collections Research
(3 x 20 minute papers + 15 minutes for questions & discussion)
Eve Haddow, ‘Making Connections: Reviewing Pacific collections in Scotland’
Dr Anna Jasińska, ‘Studies of a set of early modern (16-18th century) portraits of professors of the Krakow Academy in the collection of Collegium Maius’
Dr Helen Rawson, ''Medieval Maces: Power and Ceremony': mounting an international research exhibition at the University of St Andrews'
3.00-3.30 Coffee break 3.30-4.30 Optional Tours of the Bell Pettigrew Museum (University zoology museum)
Gateway Galleries (University temporary exhibition venue)
MUSA Collections Centre (open-access store and research centre)
Senate Room (state room housing portraits and furniture)
5.30-6.30 Wine reception in MUSA, the Museum of the University of St Andrews, including viewing of the exhibition ‘Medieval Maces: Power and Ceremony’
6.30pm Conference Dinner, Vine Leaf Restaurant, St Andrews (optional, to select on booking form –£30 for 3 courses)
8.00-12.00 Ceilidh in Upper College Hall. With cash bar (optional, to select on booking form- price £10)
A ceilidh is Scottish dancing, very informal, lots of fun, flat shoes required!
Friday 1 November
9.00am-3.30pm Conference in Parliament Hall
9.00-9.30 Registration
9.30-9.45 Address by Hugues Dreyssé, Chair of UMAC
9.45-10.00 Address by Sofia Talas, President of UNIVERSEUM (European Academic Heritage Network)
10.00-10.55 Session 3 – The Role of Research in Museum and Exhibition Development
(2 x 20 minute papers + 15 minutes for questions & discussion)
Professor Danny Segers and Willem Dedobbeleer, ‘The role of Ghent university museums in research’
Elsa Davidson, ‘Energy well spent: building research partnerships to inform gallery development at the National Museum of Scotland’.
11.00-11.30 Coffee break
11.30-12.45 Session 4 – Research Priorities, Connections and Public Engagement
(3 x 20 minute papers + 15 minutes for questions & discussion) Neil Curtis, ‘Connecting collections, communities and research: managing research with the University of Aberdeen’s museums’
Hanne Strager, ‘Serving two masters: the dual role of the Natural History Museum of Denmark as a university and national museum’
Flavio Häner, ‘Collecting Things – Shaping Knowledge. Reading Museums as Hypertext’
12.45-1.45 Lunch
1.45-2.35 Session 5 - Research Collaborations
(2 x 20 minute papers + 15 minutes for questions & discussion)
Dr Fiona M. Douglas, ‘The Language, History, Place project: building connections & breaking down barriers’
Seb Falk and Pippa Lacey, ‘Connecting with Collections: Research Internships promoting closer collaboration between University Museums’
2.35-3.00 Closing Remarks and Summary of Conference Proceedings
Dr Stuart Fancey, Assistant Director, Research and Innovation, Scottish Funding Council
Neil Curtis, Chair of UMIS and Head of Museums, University of Aberdeen
3.00 - 3.30 Coffee
3.30-5.00 Optional tours of the Bell Pettigrew Museum, Gateway Galleries and MUSA Collections Centre
St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum (independent museum)
St Andrews Museum (local council museum)
British Golf Museum
6pm All UMIS conference delegates are cordially invited to the 2013 Museums, Galleries and Collections Institute (MGCI) Annual Public Lecture in the Buchanan Lecture Theatre, 'The Barnes Collection: in and out of context' given by Derek Gillman, Executive Director and President of the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.