Annual Review 2019 Sentinel, 2006 by Patricia Volk Displayed as part of the Creative Wiltshire exhibition Contents 1. About Us 3 2. 2019 in Numbers 4 3. Annual Review 5 4. Highlights 8 5. Case Studies 10 6. Our People 12 7. Finances 13 8. Thank You 14 ‘Situated in the Cathedral Close a medieval house that’s a well thought through interactive museum with knowledgeable guides to help you get the most out of your visit. My 9 year old granddaughter loved sorting out bones and pottery and dressing up as a Victorian maid.’ Review on TripAdvisor August 2019 2 About Us The Salisbury Museum tells the story of part of the English landscape which has been the cradle of continuous human achievement for over half a million years. Salisbury and the land surrounding it are unique in having outstanding examples of human endeavour and creativity from prehistoric to more recent times. Visitors are drawn from around the world to see its great monuments and walk in the footsteps of our ancestors. Using the extraordinary breadth of its collections, exhibitions and events, The Salisbury Museum brings to life the narrative of this landscape – and of the people who shaped it and have been inspired by it. It gives context to the area’s world-famous monuments and acts as a catalyst to understanding English history on many different levels. Warminster Jewel in the Wessex Gallery Image: Ash Mills 3 Year in Numbers £90,137 Income from ticket sales £68,850 Donations and legacies 49,298 Museum user number 28,146 Museum visitor number £22,230 Grant from Wiltshire Council 17,372 Volunteer work hours £16,000 Grant from Salisbury City Council 2,413 School children visiting museum 2,132 Members of the museum 1,248 People at Festival of Archaeology Antiques Roadshow 38 Family learning events May 2019 Top: Fiona Bruce with museum’s peregrines 9 Temporary exhibitions Bottom: Scout Car Images: Sue Martin 4 Annual Review The major success of 2019 was the museum securing our round I pass from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in June. This £4.4 million project will enable the museum to transform its displays and facilities – completing the work started with the National Lottery funded Wessex Gallery of archaeology in 2014. We will create new permanent exhibitions dedicated to our outstanding collections of art, medieval archaeology, costume, ceramics and social history. There will be extensive capital works to restore and repurpose the Grade I listed King’s House. Alongside this we will introduce a new and exciting programme of learning and engagement that will embed the museum in the local community. The museum was awarded initial support and development funding of £429,400 from the Heritage Fund. This will be drawn down over the next two years and will enable us to develop the project plans in more detail and apply for a full grant of £3.2 million. We have two years to raise the £1.2 million in match funding from private individuals, trusts and foundations. An application to the NLHF for the full funding amount will be submitted in the summer of 2021. The Salisbury Novichok incident still had a lingering impact on visitor numbers, particularly earlier in the year. Total visitor numbers were 28,146 – this is 14% up on 2018 when we had 24,632 visitors, but still falls a long way behind 2017 when we had 42,106 visitors. The user figure (which includes people reached through offsite activities and attending events out of hours) was 49,298. This was a 43% increase on 2018 (34,396). Under Fives Friday event Image: Ash Mills 5 The temporary exhibition programme in 2019 started with The Origins of Photography in Salisbury: 1839 – 1919 (19 January – 4 May 2019) which was curated by photography specialist Anthony Hamber. Anthony made a selection from his own collection and from the museum’s extensive archives. The summer exhibition was Augustus John, Drawn from Life (18 May – 29 September 2019), a retrospective of this important 20th century artist. The exhibition was curated by David Boyd Haycock in partnership with Poole Museum under the auspices of the Wessex Museums Partnership. The final exhibition of the year was the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize (12 October 2019 – 11 January 2020). This is the largest and longest-running annual open exhibition for drawing in the UK. The 2019 exhibition was made up of a diverse selection of work which explored the nature, role and value of drawing in creative practice today. Two smaller exhibition were held in the first floor gallery: Peter Thursby: The Power of Line and Form (23 February – 15 September 2019) was a small retrospective of Peter’s work from the museum’s art collection. Ann-Marie James: Alchemy: Artefacts Reimagined (21 September 2019 – 4 January 2020) was a series of works by artist Ann-Marie James inspired by archaeological objects in the collections of the Wessex partner museums. The exhibition was managed by the partnership and will tour around the museums. Another smaller exhibition was held in the Salisbury History Gallery: Creative Wiltshire: A Celebration of Art in Wiltshire (19 January – 29 September 2019). Creative Wiltshire was a Heritage Lottery Funded project which ran from 2014 to 2019 which collected and celebrated the work of the county’s creative people. The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Chippenham managed the project – working in partnership with museums and galleries across the county. This Kathryn by Martyn Burdon, 2018; Salisbury Cathedral from Harnham by R Sedgfield, 1858; T E Lawrence by Augustus John, 1919, Estate of Augustus John/Tate London 6 exhibition showcased some of the key items acquired by the initiative. It was curated by Emily Smith who was specially employed to undertake the project. Two major family events were held over the year – the Festival of Archaeology on 13-14 July continued the successful formula with a range of family activities and talks on subjects as diverse as Neanderthals, HS2, WWI archaeology and Old Sarum. It was attended by 1,248 people. The other major event was Tudor Christmas which featured a mock feast, falconry and martial arts. It was attended by 1,003 people. Our regular family events included the Under Fives Fridays, Young Curators Club, Discovery Days and outreach at Bemerton Heath. We are grateful to Salisbury City Council for funding this activity. Our membership numbers continued to grow in 2019. At the end of the year we had 2,132 members compared with 1,886 at the end of 2018. Membership has more than doubled in two years. For our members there was a full range of talks, events, courses and outings to accompany our exhibitions programme. The Wessex Museums Partnership entered its second year as an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation. Funding from the partnership went towards the Augustus John exhibition and the Alchemy exhibition. The partnership also funded a new Wessex Community Curator role which was filled by Sarah Gregson in February 2019. The museum made 94 acquisitions over the year. Highlights include two paintings by 17th century Salisbury born artist John Greenhill (a bequest via the Art Fund) and a Victorian stained glass window from the old museum building in St Ann Street. Community Curator Sarah Gregson at the museum’s Conversation Club. Image: Ash Mills 7 2019 Highlights: January to June January February March April May June Hoards Leaf Man by The Scout Car, The museum’s Artefacts from Tristan de Vere exhibition Laurence made in popular Under Stonehenge go Cole, last curated by the Edwards is Salisbury in Fives Friday is on on display at surviving son of British Museum installed as our 1912, was moved every second Union Station, Augustus John, and Salisbury latest sculpture to the museum’s Friday or the Kansas City in gave an Museum goes on the front lawn off site storage month throughout the first touring illustrated talk to Belfast. of the museum. facility at Old the year. The exhibition about about his Sarum. This is artistic creations Stonehenge to personal the first time the above are from visit north memories of car has been in the Play with America. his father. our care since Clay Under Fives Salisbury we acquired it Friday in April. Museum is one of in 2012. the main lenders to the exhibition. 8 2019 Highlights: July to December July August September October November December In the lead up to Our summer For the Alchemy This month we As part of the The centrepiece our Festival of discovery days exhibition artist had the prize Trinity Buoy of our Tudor Archaeology Alex for families Ann-Marie James draw for cARTes Wharf Drawing Christmas event Langlands included ‘climb a produced works Postales, our Prize exhibition on 14 December undertook an monolith’ – a inspired by fundraising the museum was a mock archaeological large mobile objects in the campaign with hosted a Tudor feast made excavation in climbing wall on collections of the the Friends of symposium on by our Stratford Sub the front Wessex Erlestoke Prison. Why Drawing volunteers. Castle with pupils forecourt of the Museums. At Unique artworks Matters on 15 from the local museum. Salisbury the were created on November. primary school. Amesbury Archer postcards which arrowheads were could be won by the source of her purchasing a £25 inspiration. voucher. 9 Case Study 1 Creative Wiltshire Creative Wiltshire: A Celebration of Art (19 January until 4 May) was a partnership with a Heritage Lottery Fund project, also entitled Creative Wiltshire. This project was in its fifth year, aiming to help Wiltshire museums, galleries and libraries fill gaps in their collections.