royal pavilion & museums renaissance programme 2012-15 ... · ‘keith vaughan: a volatile...

Royal Pavilion & Museums; Arts Council Report; October - December 2014 1

Royal Pavilion & Museums Renaissance Programme 2012 -15

Arts Council England Report; October – December 201 4 Introduction: The following is a summary update of activity against outcomes for the Renaissance Programme for the period 2014. The report is laid out as per the Arts Council England 5 goals and includes data where appropriate. Under the Leadership section, key updates have been added for the Museum Development and Preventative Conservation programmes, as a full report is available from the Museum Development Programme, which is included as part of the submitted documentation to the Arts Council for the reporting period. For further information please contact [email protected]

Goal 1: Excellence is thriving and celebrated in mu seums

Agreed Outcomes:

RPM’s collections are relevant to contemporary audiences; Knowledge understanding and enjoyment of collections is enhanced through improved access; Creative partnerships strengthen RPM’s work

Gallery displays, events and touring collections: The exhibition ‘Twixt Two Worlds’ (Towner Art Gallery, 11 Oct 2014 to 4 Jan 2015) drew inspiration from the Barnes Brothers’ collection of early cinema apparatus and ephemera at the Hove Museum and included many RPM loans. The show was curated by Gaia Tedone, Curatorial Fellow, supported by the Contemporary Art Society in partnership with RPM and the Whitechapel Gallery. (A version of the exhibition was shown at Whitechapel Gallery in 2014). ‘Keith Vaughan: A Volatile Medium’ (10 June 2014 to 9 Nov 2014, Brighton Museum, Prints & Drawings Gallery) received extremely positive visitor feedback. 87% rated it as excellent or good. Comments included “Beautifully put together little show”, “I really found these artworks so amazingly touching and inspiring, they made a bad morning so much better for me. I’m so glad I came here”, “Fabulous, Sensitive, Timeless”. Two gallery displays opened, part of our programme marking the centenary of the start of the First World War:

• ‘Frank Brangwyn: An Artist at War’, showing prints of wartime Belgium (11 Nov 2014 to 18 Jan 2015, Brighton Museum, South Balcony) • ‘War Posters’ (11 Nov 2014 to 7 June 2015, Brighton Museum, Prints & Drawings Gallery)

The tour of the High Weald Roman coin hoard ended at Fishbourne Roman Palace (5 Aug – 20 Dec 2014). Feedback from the tour participants has been very positive. We also loaned additional coins for handling as part of an event Fishbourne ran in Dec based upon the hoard’s discovery. Workshop given to members of different nationalities as part of ‘Crossing the Teas’, exploring 18-20thC objects relating to tea from China, India and Japan (Hove Museum, 27 Nov 2014).


Collections and curatorial: RPM has been awarded £242,330 for a project to form a new collection of post-1960s African dress through the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Collecting Cultures scheme. This project will contribute to the temporary exhibition Fashion Cities Africa. Curatorial staff representing the Costume & Textiles and World Art collections have been awarded £3,500 by the Art Fund Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grants scheme to undertake travel to four African cities as part of the preparation for the temporary exhibition Fashion Cities Africa. RPM has been shortlisted for a John Ellerman Foundation Regional Museums and Galleries Fund award for its ‘Film Pioneers’ project. The project aims will develop the skills and capacity of our curators to realise the potential of our internationally significant film and media collection. A group of staff and Trustees from the Foundation will be visiting RPM on 10 Feb 2015 as part of the assessment process. We have secured a V&A Purchase Grant of £8000 towards Robert Bevan’s oil sketch Noon Time Break, 1905. Bevan, born in Hove, was a founding member of the Camden Town Group. RPM already holds his painting ‘The Cabyard at Night’ (as well as other works) – one of our most requested pictures for loan. ‘The Biba Years: 1963-1975’, by Barbara Hulanicki and our Curator of Costume & Textiles, Martin Pel, was published by the V&A. It built on Martin’s collaboration with Barbara on Brighton Museum’s Biba exhibition in 2012-13. National Museums Liverpool, in partnership with RPM, was awarded a grant of £91,864 from the Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund for the two-year ‘Pride and Prejudice’ project, researching and reinterpreting collections from a LGBT perspective. Talks and conferences this quarter have included: Our Digital Development Officer gave a paper on Brighton’s First World War Indian hospitals at a major conference in Ypres, Belgium, on 24 Oct 2014. The conference, ‘Indians on the Western Front’ was held at the In Flanders Field Museum, and featured speakers from India, France, Germany and the UK RPM’s Curator (Collections Management) organised and hosted the Autumn 2014 Mimsy Users Group (3 November 2014) with attendance from 40 representatives from other museums across the UK, with presentations given by National Gallery of Scotland, Axiell, Orangeleaf ltd and RPM staff. RPM hosted the Craftnet seminar ‘Intervention in Domestic Spaces’ (3 November 2014), which attracted 130 delegates. Speakers included Rosy Greenlees (Executive Director of the Crafts Council) and Jerzy J Kierkuk Bielinski (Exhibition Curator at Sir John Soane’s Museum) A conference organised and hosted by RPM in partnership with the University of Brighton – The Politics of Participation in Museums (11 Nov 2014) – attracted over 120 delegates. Speakers included David Anderson, Bernadette Lynch, Piotr Bienkowski, Iain Watson and Tim Desmond. Our Head of Collections, Interpretation & Learning presented a paper on RPM’s work with colleagues in India, France and Belgium in the context of our programme marking the centenary of the start of the First World War at the Working Internationally Regional Project Workshop (East), Fitzwilliam Museum, 25 Nov 2014. Our Keeper of World Art spoke at a one-day symposium related to an ACE-funded regional museum project, Spreading the World: Making better use of Ethnographic Collections in the South East Region (3 Dec 2014), hosted by RPM.


Higher education: Various meetings have been held with colleagues at the University of Brighton to discuss closer working, including collaborative studentships and a joint post. Areas covered at this stage have included design, archaeology and cultural informatics. Number of acquisitions: 22 separate acquisitions into RPM collections in Q3, including the following objects: Royal Pavilion:

• The Prince of Wales’s Prayer book, used by George IV • George IV souvenir plate and William IV mug.

Costume & Textiles: • Barbara Hulanicki (Biba) outfits • Suit and two Versace Jackets, previously owned by Elton John, and then bought by donor from fundraising event for HIV/Aids awareness at Brighton General

Hospital • Wedding Dress c1940s designed by Cecil Beaton

Natural Sciences: • Collection of birds eggs; Sussex (and some Indian). Collected 1937-1960. • Collection of plant specimens recorded by Sussex Botanical Recording Society in 2014

Local History: • Collection of c42 items that were owned by a Brighton suffragette, incl sash, badge, photographs, ephemera.(1900-) • Diary and medals of a Hove resident who served in 1st-3rd Sussex Battery during WW1(1914-1919) • Autograph book belonging to a nurse or VAD at the Red Cross Hospital, Third Avenue, Hove. (c.1915-1919) • Pamphlets published by The Brighton Phrenological Institution • Postcard of the King Edward VII at Hove. (c1908) • Postcard of Training college on Ditchling Road, Brighton (c1900-1920) • Bone handle knife made by J. Ireland, Cutler, Brighton (c1920)

Number of objects toured/loaned to other venues/ or ganisations: 4 items plus the High Weald Hoard loaned out from RPM in Q3 Loans out include:

• ‘How High the Moon?’ (DA301389) a chair from the Decorative Art collection, for exhibition in ‘Eastern Exchanges: Craft & Design from East Asia’, at Manchester City Galleries (1st April – 31st May 2015)

• Three canoe ornaments from World Art collection, for exhibition about Louis Dodd, a maritime painter at Hastings Museums (2 March – 7 June 2015) • At the request of Fishbourne Roman Palace, the High Weald hoard loan has been extended for a further year.

Exhibitions containing loans from previous Quarters continued including: 72 in War Stories exhibition, 6 in Pavilion Contemporary and 78 for the Amazing Analogue exhibition at Hove Museum.


Goal 2: More people experience and are inspired by museums

Agreed Outcomes: Audiences are increased, more diverse and have a stronger sense of ownership; Visitors have a better quality experience; Learners have high quality engagement and skills development opportunities

Digital: Develop a new, enhanced and flexible websi te; enhance our digital offer on and off-site in co llaboration with digital partners and users in the city;

• Good progress with development of new website : initial content population complete, including migration of blog. Site also now integrated with collection data API. Launch delayed to mid-Jan 2015 owing to work in revising exhibition page templates, and problems with domain name registered with BHCC.

• Collaboration with digital partners and users in th e city: WW1 multimedia tour in RP soft launch Dec 2014 with formal launch to follow arrival of Hindi and French translations in Mar 2015. Continued work as contributory partner to Culture 24's Let Gets Real 4 action research project, with report launching Feb 2015. In discussion with local startup on possible trial of Hexology app in Brighton Museum. New blogger in residence started Nov 2014. Contributing to digital learning strand of Cultural Learning Hub work. Advised Keep staff on blogging.

• 63,338 collection records online as open data (was 54,541 at end of Quarter 2) • Implementation of the Digital Strategy has been postponed to follow launch of new website and results of consultation. • 7% increase in Facebook followers, as compared to 9% in Quarter 2. 11% increase in Twitter followers as compared to 9% in Quarter 2. Annual target of

10% increase. Flickr views up 24%. • New blogger in residence started in November. • 88,453 website users in Q3. 324,067 to date . Target of 450,000 for 2014-15 • New Digital Media Apprentice appointed in November. • Remix the Museum blog highlighted by Tumblr as one of its ‘New and Notable Blogs’ of 2014 http://yearinreview.tumblr.com/post/104863744092/new-and-

notable-part2 Programming: Programmed exhibitions and events deve loped in collaboration with cultural partners, arti sts and community groups War Stories: Voices from the First World War Continuing to 1 March 2015 War Stories is Brighton Museum’s major exhibition to commemorate the anniversary of the start of the First World War. It is the outcome of a major project to encourage local people to tell us their own family stories and histories relating to WW1. In interim evaluation 89% of visitors rate their visit to the exhibition as good or excellent. “Very powerful. Excellently told stories.” The exhibition focuses on 13 individual stories relating to individuals who all have some link to Brighton & Hove and Sussex. The objects on display directly relate to these individual stories and come from private individuals. Among others the exhibition encourages the visitor to see the war through the eyes of a young girl born in 1914, an Indian soldier wounded on the Western Front and hospitalised in the Royal Pavilion, soldiers from Brighton including a Brighton & Hove Albion footballer, nurses, and a gardener who was imprisoned for his pacifist beliefs. In interim evaluation 82% of visitors felt that basing the exhibition on individual stories brought WW1 to life for them, and 79% felt that they now understood more about WW1. “A beautiful and incredibly moving exhibition. You make the personalities shine


through. A great tribute to those who fought, and more importantly, to those who for reason of conscience, did not.” “My grandfather died at Ypres in 1917. This exhibition has brought home the true conditions he lived through.” The exhibition interpretation was developed in collaboration with a storyteller and a film-maker. A youth engagement project working with Brighton Youth Theatre Group created a new film piece for the show. In interim evaluation 73% of visitors described the exhibition as moving. “A very touching exhibition that brings the humanity out of something so inhumane.” In addition to the many individuals and family groups who have contributed memories, stories and objects to the exhibition we also worked in collaboration with a wide range of other individuals and organisations including: Rana Chhina, Director of the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, Delhi; Annick Vanderbilke, Researcher at In Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper; Caroline Lucas MP Brighton; Dick Knight, Brighton & Hove Albion Football club; Jenny Engledow, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom; Brian Wood, Princess of Wales Regiment; and Robert Baker, Blind Veterans UK The exhibition has been featured in local, national press and international press as well as on local TV and radio. Exhibition curator Jody East introduces six stories from the exhibition in this Culture24 interview http://www.culture24.org.uk/history-and-heritage/war-and-conflict/first-world-war/art490906 War Stories is one of the RPM outcomes from Great War: Between the Lines, made possible by funding and support from the INTERREG 2 SEAS Programme – an England cross-border European cooperation programme, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. A range of visitor comments and responses can be found on tripadvisor at http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186273-d214853-Reviews-or10-Brighton_Museum_and_Art_Gallery-Brighton_East_Sussex_England.html#REVIEWS An accompanying event programme is ongoing. Highlights included the marking of Remembrance Sunday with a group of 20 young people and children from Stagecoach Voices performing songs from the First World War. Comments included ‘Wonderful to see the children engaging with that period of history’. ‘Lessons Learned’ Imperial War Museum Centenary Partnership meeting at Chatham Historic Dockyard. On 23 October – Helen Grundy, Creative Programme Manager and Jody East, Creative Programme Curator presented a paper at this meeting critically reflecting on our WW1 centenary activities. At the end of October 2014 Jody East, Creative Programme Curator, was invited back to Delhi, India by the British High Commission (fully funded by them), to represent the Royal Pavilion & Museums at their First World War centenary commemoration. This was attended by 1500 people, including Michael Fallon, British Secretary of State for Defence and the Indian Minister of Defence and Finance, Shri Arun Jaitley. Part of the event was the display of approx 30 large storyboards, one of which was about the Royal Pavilion as a hospital for Indian soldiers. https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/first-world-war-centenary-commemoration (press release) https://www.flickr.com//photos/ukinindia/sets/72157648631244250/show (gallery of the evening) On 10 November 2014 Helen Grundy and Jody East attended the UK Punjab Heritage Association reception to commemorate the Sikh soldiers of the First World War, held at the Houses of Parliament. It was hosted by Wolverhampton South West MP Paul Uppal, with keynote speech by Cabinet Minister, the Right Honourable Sajid Javid MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sports. Discussions have begun with the UK Punjab Heritage Association about holding a conference in Brighton focusing on the subject of Indian soldiers in the First World War, with particular focus on new projects which have been initiated as part of the centenary. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=795119797201064


Ocean Blues; Spotlight Gallery, Brighton Museum Continuing until 2016 This display looks at some of the threats to life in the oceans as well as initiatives designed to reduce or reverse the impact modern society has had on this precious environment. Home to more than half of all life on earth and covering 70% of the earth’s surface the oceans have supported life for millions of years. The last century has seen the oceans devastated by the impact of industrialised fishing and pollution from plastics. This exhibition considers these issues and the ways in which marine conservation zones, changes in fishing practice and recycling are impacting on the way we treat the seas. More information in this blog from exhibition curator Lee Ismail http://t.co/rjABWE3StC Creative Programming are currently planning a Late at Brighton Museum Beneath the Whispering Sea for 12 March 2015 exploring themes raised by Ocean Blues in collaboration with Whalefest. It will also provide the focus for a programme of family trails, events and workshops for the school Easter holidays, April 2015. Amore e Piombo (Love and Lead); 4 October – 2 November 2014 This exhibition was co-programmed in collaboration with the Archive of Modern Conflict and Photoworks for the Brighton Photo Biennial 2014. It was curated by Roger Hargreaves and Federica Chiocchetti for the Archive of Modern Conflict. Italy in the 1970s witnessed a period of domestic terrorism punctuated by bombings, kidnappings and assassinations. The displayed press photographs were selected from the archive of the Rome-based agency Team Editorial Services and captured the manifold aspects of the so-called ‘Years of Lead’. The photographers oscillated between pursuing film stars at play and capturing the violence on the streets. These events occurred against a backdrop of rapid industrial progress and a sexual revolution, which all added to the political dramas that were unfolding at the time. The Exhibition was held in the former Reference Library/ Brighton History Centre on the First floor of the Museum and consisted of over 120 framed original press photographs alongside approximately 30 other items including films and 14 original publications with extracted reproductions. Unusual display methods were developed to allow the works to be displayed on the listed shelving units. Visitor comments included: “I love the way it is all laid out, it draws you around the space - to investigate the works”. “Well-structured and presented. I like the combination of display modes and the film. There is a sense of a terrible narrative here.” “The overall historical content and depiction of the era is well laid out and portrayed beautifully and objectively”. “Insight into a world I wasn't aware of - fascinating but unnerving too - a social history lesson!” “The space - such a beautiful use of a stunning room - this exhibition works extremely well with the layout of the photographs”. A publication published by the AMC to accompany the exhibition was available at the Museum Shop. The total visitor numbers to the exhibition were 7034. A curator’s talk was held on the 13th October in the gallery, which was well attended. The collaboration brought in 37 volunteers. The exhibition attained reasonable local and national press coverage and was included in the Brighton Photo Biennial 2014 Brochure entitled Communities, Collectives & Collaboration as well as in our own promotional material.


Cinecity Pop up Cinema; 27 -30 November 2014 This series of film screenings was co-programmed in collaboration with Cinecity, (part of the University of Brighton) for the Cinecity Festival 2014. It was curated by Sara Duffy, Frank Gray and Tim Brown from Cinecity. For 4 days the former Reference Library/ Brighton History Centre on the First floor of the Museum became a site specific pop-up cinema. All the films shown had a literary connection to tie in with the location. There were 11 individual screening events which were ticketed, with the entry fee ranging from free to £6.50. The total visitor numbers to the 11 screenings were 466 The collaboration brought in 12 volunteers. Royal Pavilion Estate Three tours presenting the history of the Royal Pavilion Estate during the First World War took place and were attended by 67 people. This is a joint project with Brighton Dome & Festival. The event uses photographs and other material recently digitised from RPM collections, especially items relating to the use of the Estate as a hospital for Indian soldiers. Royal Pavilion; Pavilion Contemporary 2014 Peepers; Maisie Broadhead Maisie Broadhead’s commission for Pavilion Contemporary was installed in the Music Room and opened on 25 October. A press launch was held on 24 October, with c 15 national and regional journalists. There was wide coverage of the installation on regional TV and press and on the web: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-29760930 http://thelatest.co.uk/brighton/2014/10/29/new-exhibition-sees-giant-intruders-at-brightons-royal-pavilion/ http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2014/10/24/11557246.Regency_inspired_parodies_to_be_shown_in_Royal_Pavilion/?ref=arc Maisie Broadhead gave a public talk about the installation and her past work in the Royal Pavilion on the evening of 27 November, attended by a large and engaged audience of over 50. Visitor response to the installation has been enthusiastic; early Digivey survey responses included: Broadhead’s work is a triumph! I think it shows us people looking through windows to spy the King Interesting on the eye, made it have a visually modern twist that doesn’t offend the history It provides contrast and makes it seem like a living building that has changed and continues to change Keeps it alive – creative inspiration is highest use Keeps people interested, makes you want to keep coming back The story so far is on twitter at #pavcon14 Indian Military Hospital glass stand panels in Roya l Pavilion Six stands with archive photographs showing the Indian Military Hospital in the RP during 1914-16 have been placed in ground floor rooms, with the photographs showing the room’s former use as the hospital. The photographs are accompanied by contemporary descriptions of the hospital and quotes from the soldiers. The stands were installed on 1 Dec 2014 and will remain in place until Jan 2016. A new tour of the RP describing its use as an Indian Hospital and as a Hospital for Limbless Soldiers was added to the RP audio guides in Dec 2014. Both of these complement the Indian Hospital Gallery in the RP and the new Estate tours.


Father Christmas at the Royal Pavilion Saturday 13, Sunday 14 & Thursday 18 – Sunday 21 December Father Christmas returned to the Royal Pavilion for a traditional Christmas treat for all the family. After a magical meeting with the man himself in the Royal Pavilion’s Red Drawing Room the children explored the rest of the Palace following a special trail. The event sold out and a total of 1,131 children visited Father Christmas at the Royal Pavilion. Comments included: ‘My grandchildren were enthralled and so excited that they had seen the real Father Christmas’; ‘The ambience, the elves, the room and Father Christmas himself were nothing short of magical. This special visit to the Royal Pavilion may have to become our new family Christmas tradition…’ Preston Manor Father Christmas at Preston Manor Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 December As a pilot for 2014 we introduced Father Christmas to Preston Manor. Children met Father Christmas in Lady Ellen’s drawing room and then enjoyed a nostalgic Victorian Christmas as a costumed character led them on a festive treasure-hunt style tour of the house. The event sold out and a total of 418 children visited Father Christmas at Preston Manor. Departing visitors were all given a leaflet pack promoting Manor events in the spring season. Paula Wrightson, Creative Programme Officer at Preston Manor collaborated with students from the University of Sussex in the making of a short film about the pet cemetery at Preston Manor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iseQKNJ_UpQ Hove Museum & Art Gallery Collaboration with Brighton Photo Biennial and artist/photographer Jan von Holleben started in May for the exhibition ‘The Amazing Analogue’ which opened in October. To create the exhibition Jan worked with eight children between the ages of 10 and 12 from the Young Carers Group. The group did three days of consecutive workshops as both subjects and collaborators for the images that form the exhibition. Drop-in workshops were held for children with the focus of producing colourful Rangoli decorations - each child produced a single piece of work which were then all pieced together by a Rangoli artist to create one single huge piece of work. This final bringing together of all the work took place as part of a celebratory day that focused on Indian events and activities and took place in the gardens at the museum. The celebrations were put together in partnership with the Hindu Women's Group and featured dancing, music, food, henna tattooing and other activities particular to the Hindu community. 8 children from the Young Carers Group took part in the Amazing Analogue workshops. Nearly 700 children took part in the Rangoli workshops and the events of the Celebration Day. General Programming Data:

• 4 exhibitions developed with community groups this quarter; 6 over 2014-15 in total • 8 exhibitions developed in collaboration with cultural partners & artists; 9 in total • 11 temporary exhibitions/displays delivered; 16 over the year against a target of 12 • 71 events including 1 Late delivered this quarter; 165 to date this year • All major exhibitions evaluated via Digivey survey. Smaller displays evaluated via written and oral feedback from visitors and relevant site general surveys.

Feedback also collected via comments books and cards


Community Engagement: Targeted community engagement programme developed in collaboration with city par tners and local communities

Older people 1st October; Older People’s Day We collaborated with Fabrica by hosting a “Going to see culture together” visit at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery; Jenny Lund curator of Fine Art lead a tour of “Women artists in the Fine Art collection” and the “Keith Vaughan” exhibition followed by a lively discussion, tea and cake. Brighton and Hove Cultural organisations RPM initiated and hosted initial meeting to develop conversations and possible network of cultural organisations to deliver joined up provision and further development of activities and opportunities for older people in Brighton and Hove, RPM, Fabrica, South East Dance. Dementia workshops Planning including research session with Jenny Lund fine art curator with “Engage and Create” to deliver workshops for people with early stage dementia and their carers in the Spring 2015. http://www.engageandcreate.com/ House of Memories http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/learning/projects/house-of-memories/ Submitted expression of interest to Liverpool Museums to take part in the South East Museums project strand. Rocket Artists www.rocketartists .co.uk/ http://rpmcollections.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/rocket-artists-in-brighton-museum/


October to December we once again hosted dynamic and inspiring workshops with Rocket Artists working in collaboration with University of Brighton students, at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. The collection and the spaces inspired the creation of new collaborative work, resulting in 2d and 3d work, film and animation. This is an ongoing relationship with the university Inclusive Art Department. The weekly sessions concluded with an exhibition of the final pieces in the art room, open to the public. History on your doorstep – Keep partner project The project Steering Group met in October. We have also collaborated with the Project Co-ordinator to provide images from RPM collections for the project family day. We are also coordinating a visit to BMAG for the project volunteers for a session with Heather York curator of Collections projects about how objects are collected, and creating a handling collection, visit in Spring 2015.

http://www.jamescasey.com/the-family-photo-fest/ Brainfruit Continue to host their monthly performance poets workshops, regularly attended by 7 -10 people http://www.brainfruit.org.uk/#/workshops/4558478009


Museum Mentors Members have all enjoyed revisiting their exhibition installation located within the Willets Gallery. 4 members regularly watch the film they made. Their exhibition frequently brings them into a part of the Gallery they would not previously visit under their own volition. One pair have visited the BMAG WW1 Exhibition, they have been to other Galleries together; sketched together out doors and in the Museum. Without Mentor support this lady is not able to leave her house. Supported by Lucy Faithful curator assistant through curatorial education, knowledge sharing, object study & handling, one member has created a new Facebook following for his collection and specialist knowledge; creating for him a new social network. He is truly inspired and feels at home within the Museum setting, his fear of strangers and new people has held him mostly trapped indoors for the last 3 years. Another member said about the group ‘its one of the best ones I’ve done, it helps me to relax and increases my painting ability’. Introduced 1 new Volunteer - Total Volunteers engaged 6 Crossing the Teas Following the pilot session at Hove Museum supported and partially funded by RPM/ ACE in October 2013, Artsync were successful in gaining funding for the project, working with BME elders http://artsync.co.uk/news/artsync-heritage-project


In November 22 people came to Preston Manor for a session lead by Cecilia Kendall curator collections projects, supported by Lucy Faithful and coordinated by Susan Eskdale. During the session people were able to see RPM Tea related pieces that aren’t usually on display and learn about their history, provenance and composition, as well as other Tea associated and collection facts. Members of the group also brought items, traditions and stories of their own to share, we finished the session sharing tea and cake! Many of the group had never been to Preston Manor before and really enjoyed the session, the opportunity to see the Manor and get behind the scenes when it was closed to the public. http://artsync.co.uk/news/crossing-teas-goes-preston-manor RNIB – “Culturelink” project In partnership with the Culturelink project we hosted audio guide training for 15 members of RPM staff, this was an introductory session. Community engagement officer completed RPM part of the partnership application for further stage two funding, if successful there will be a project at the Booth Museum, working with Blind and partially sighted people to make it more inviting and accessible to blind and partially sighted visitors as well as more in-depth Audio guide training for staff. Politics of participation – RPM symposium Supported and funded 3 community members to attend. The Community Engagement Officer presented the Downs To Sea project at the symposium.


Volunteers Collections volunteers’ recruitment Opportunity sent to current and potential volunteer data base and posted on RPM website; large response and meetings held, 6 new volunteers to start in January http://www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk/SupportUs/Pages/Volunteering.aspx 24 volunteers attended RPM Christmas event Access Advisory Group The Q3 session focussed on review of 2012 – 2015 and then looking at developing plans for RPM Access groups including the development of new groups from April 2015. 531 adults have accessed the community engagement programme this quarter; 1,187 to date 2014-15 Schools:

• School visits The target for the year is 33,100; total school visits to date: 17,928. (6,056 Q1, 4,814 Q2 and 7,058 Q3) Drop in school visit numbers due to changes in national curriculum, and schools adjusting. RPM working hard to address this with extra marketing.

• Marketing; We continue to send out a monthly RPM schools newsletter going out to 2,000 school teachers. • WWI role play; We have successfully launched a new role play session at Preston Manor to support WWI. This session will ‘invite local children to the

Manor to help Ellen Stanford in her voluntary work for the war effort.’ Children will come in role and will help Ellen prepare medical supplies, refugee clothing, prisoner of war parcels, prepare for a fundraising sale, and learn to sing for an evening recital for the wounded soldiers in the town. 3 sessions, 92 children

• Minecraft pilot: we ran a pilot project with Block Builders in Brighton and Fairlight primary school to see if the children could use Minecraft to build a world suitable for a water beetle to survive in. The pilot focuses on if the museum can use pre existing digital platforms to engage children with museum artefacts

• Booth Museum Audio Track: we have started work with the Museum Collective (youth forum) on exploring the character and history of Mr Booth and the collections. They have been researching the collections and been writing a script reading to record. They want to record a conversation between them about the history of collecting natural history and studying animals in science. This will be hosted on the RPM website to help orientate visitors.

• St Peter’s Church: we have worked with St Peter’s Church in Preston Park and a local school to produce a trail for Key Stage 2 schools to support an independent visit after Preston Manor role play. This is now available on the Heritage Learning website

• Volk Railway Resource; As part of the Heritage Learning Flagship project we have produced a teacher plug and play classroom resource to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths subjects on the theme Magnus Volk, then children design a form of transport for Brighton seafront. This resource uses historical material and workshop plans from the project and pulls together the work from all partners involved.


Goal 3: Museums are sustainable, resilient and inno vative

Agreed Outcomes: RPM is a sustainable and resilient service; RPM is committed to using its resources sustainably

Increase earned income through improvements to reta il, catering and commercial activities:

• Retail income ; disappointing performance against target; historical issues with target figure which needs revising • Catering predicted income reduced due to caterer pulling out • Increasing ticket sales through visitor focussed partnership initiatives; Current partners: Brighton Dome, Brighton Wheel, Sealife Centre, Fishing Museum,

Old Police Cells Museum; Value of Joint ticket bookings April – December £10,819. Target of £15,000 for 2014-15 • Online sales have increased 10.19% as compared to the same period 2013-14. Annual target: 15% increase • Exhibitions income has no targets as no charging exhibitions 2014-15 • Business Development Secondment . Projects worked on this qtr - marketing campaign around conversion of civil partnerships to marriage, Ongoing

business cultivation events, Royal Pavilion banquet. Beginning the move to shared event management system with Brighton Dome Brighton Festival due to complete March 2014

Income & targets

Income area Q1 actual Q1 target Q2 actual Q2 target Q3 actual Q3 target Q4 target To date Annual target

Retail £200,123 £283,639 £230,282 £315,379 £128,007 £187,832 £151,330 £558,412 £938,180 Catering* £16,500 £21,600 £0* £21,600 £12,879 £21,600 £21,600 £29,379 £86,400 Functions £49,877 £58,485 £58,875 £70,309 £44,043 £51,834 £37,912 £152,795 £218,540 Online sales*

£6,474.5 15% pa £8,886.5 15% pa £5,576 15% pa 15% pa £20,937 £0

Admissions £814,040 £838,108 £923,682 £923,726 £348,219 £368,361 £380,072 £2,085,941 £2,510,267 Exhibitions £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 £0 Learning £31,049 £33,498 £17,994 £20,355 £36,848 £40,841 £29,576 £85,891 £124,270 Filming & photography

£1,496 £4,185 £1,305 £4,185 £683 £4,185 £4,185 £3,484 £16,740

Donations £5,529 £8,006 £7,053 £9,641 £5,375 £5,636 £5,987 £17,957 £29,270 Joint Ticketing

£3,239 £4,950 £2,173 £5,500 £5,407 £2,250 £2,300 £10,819 £15,000

Totals £1,128,327.5 £1,252,471 £1,250,250.5 £1,370,695 £587,037 £682,539 £632,962 £2,965,615 £3,938,667


Foundation & Fundraising: • Social Enterprise; we continue delivery of two existing contracts generating unrestricted income for RPM- fundraising support to the Russell Cotes

Museum; and project management of the development phase and stage 2 HLF bid for the Volks Electric Railway, Brighton. Total £52,950 of contracts secured to date this financial year.

• Grants awards in Q3 : V&A Purchase Grant Fund £4,000; Peter Stormonth Darling Ch Trust £250; Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial Grants programme £3,500; Heritage Lottery Fund Collecting Cultures £242,300. Stage 1 pass awarded and Stage 2 application submitted to John Ellerman Foundation for £92,505.

• Membership rose significantly the previous year due to a high profile paying exhibition ‘Turner in Brighton’. This enabled RPM to deliver a compelling fundraising campaign that led to a huge increase in membership. The lack of a high profile paying exhibition in 2014/15 has made it difficult to recruit significant numbers of new members and also retain the high numbers of members recruited. As anticipated, membership has dropped significantly and it is highly unlikely that the 6,000 target will be met by March 2015. However, importantly, the unrestricted income being realised through membership sales and from events and member donations is enabling RPM to achieve its aim of creating a self-sustaining development team, which will have a positive long-term impact on the service. 167 new members were recruited in Q3; total number of Members 3,362. Number of members as at end Q2 was 4,367. 3 new Patrons were recruited in Q3; total number of Patrons 30 as compared to 25 at end Q2. Target for the year is 50.

• With no high profile paying exhibition in 14/15, Q3 activity has focused on increasing staff confidence and ability to sell membership onsite: this will prove more efficient and more effective in the long-term. Plans have already been developed to implement increased membership sales across all the other RPM sites. 65% of memberships sold came from onsite sales during Q3. This figure was 49.7% in Q2 and 58% in Q1.

• 1 legacy gift received in Q3 to the value of £25,000. Legacy income received in Q1: £75,000. Target for year: £50,000. • 76 staff attended 3 fundraising workshops. 3 further fundraising training days planned for January 2015

Initiate collections reviews to understand scope an d significance of collections and build access:

• A range of dress specialists , including Professor Amy de la Haye and Professor Lou Taylor continue to work with RPM’s Curator of Costume & Textiles on assessing the collection’s significance as part of the Collections Review.

Goal 4: Leadership and workforce in museums are div erse and highly skilled

Outcome: RPM champions and supports the South East museums sector Deliver the agreed South East Museum Development Pr ogramme (SE-MDP)

• The quarter has been very busy across all four sub-regions, with several regional projects requiring significant input from the team. Considerable effort has been invested in the new MD Activity Plan for 2015-18, due for submission by 6th Feb. This includes substantial new work on equalities and diversity, and 'digital' also features strongly in the main programme. Arts Council has decided not to offer additional funding to our Annual Return / Museum Development Database project, (which involved the SW, SE, NE and East Mids regions) Work will carry on, but at a lower level and over a longer period. Our first regional 'Showcase' Conference, hosted at Brooklands Museum, Surrey on 10th Nov was a major success. Using case studies from work the MDOs have actively supported, the event attracted 103 delegates and achieved an overall satisfaction rating of 96%.

Deliver the agreed regional Preventative Conservati on project:

• Upcoming maternity leave – cover has been arranged and confirmed to start in early Jan 2015. Handover notes have been written and sent to MDOs and work priorities agreed with the temporary conservator and MDOs. Conservation support remains very greatly valued by all museums. Preventive


Conservation Assessments have been completed for Steyning, Charleston and the Kent Museum of Freemasonry. Folkestone Museum, Arundel and Museum of Farnham have received monitoring equipment on loan; Elmbridge, Army Medical Services and Chiddingstone Castle (Kent) all received training. Harwell priority agreements for museums in Sussex (16 museums) and Surrey (9 museums) has been arranged through the county network groups. This will give the museums priority access to Harwell’s expertise such as free 24hr emergency hot line, priority access to experienced disaster recovery teams, free refrigerated storage, free review of emergency plan etc. Also supports museums with their emergency planning and accreditation status. An Emergency Salvage Kit has also been created for SEWS Museums to access.

Outcome: RPM has a more diverse and skilled workforce

• 2014-15 Learning & Development Plan; this quarter, 2 staff have completed the AMA registration, 3 staff have attended the MA conference, one being a frontline staff member funded through the Workforce Development Programme. Conferences/seminars attended include: Discovering Collections, Discovering Communities; Archives: Saving The Past, Anticipating The Future; Museums Beyond the Web; Museum Ideas; Politics of Participation; Collections Trust seminar. This quarter also saw delivery of a Presentation Skills course for 7 staff members; Conservation Awareness for all staff and Audio Description training for 15 staff.

• Workforce Development; 15 members of staff are participating in the workforce development programme across 10 projects. These include assisting in the development of an exhibition, working alongside curators in Collections Management, working on the Youth Engagement programme, working with the Functions and Marketing Teams, working on the Lates events, and working with the collections at Booth Museum. The programme evaluation is underway, with a celebratory event being planned for March 2015.

Goal 5: Every child and young person has the opport unity to experience the richness and inspiration of museums

Agreed Outcomes: Families and children have engaging and enjoyable experiences; RPM supports and provides inspiring learning experiences; A diverse range of young people are actively engaged with RPM

Deliver targeted Early Years programme:

• Continuing and developing an on-going relationship with primary schools and children’s centres based in city’s most deprived neighbourhoods delivering a range of outreach activities.

• Providing the city’s central library with story and object handling sessions and engaging with the libraries weekend and seasonal activities. • Working with partners to continue giving toddlers their first experience of using the museum service. Outreach sessions are followed up with invitations to

museum events. • Visiting Lewes Prison with the Brighton Play Team and other partners as part of a regular Family Day for prisoners with young children. • Working to develop a partnership with Octopus Inc and the Open Sesame project: an innovative project that fosters collaborative partnerships between

artists, early year’s professionals and cultural organisations. • Ongoing relationship with the city’s Family Learning Team identifying children and parents in schools in need of extra support in literacy and numeracy,

providing outreach in schools and follow up sessions introducing the museums. • Play & Learn and EAL groups (parents and under 5’s) visiting the museum with support workers from East and West Brighton Children’s Centres • 12 ticketed pre-school events continue at two sites and an additional weekly free drop-in session at Hove Museum have been proving popular.


• Continuing to develop project work with Brighton & Hove’s Early Years Consultant Stella Skinner and local early year’s practitioners to begin a project developing expressive arts and design by accessing local museums with a focus on the councils priorities: Narrowing the gap + Support for deprived families.

• Taking part in this year’s Big Draw the museum attracted 754 children over 4 sessions of drawing activities at BMAG. • Meeting with the Creative and Cultural Hub: Brighton & Hove (working title) as part of their Quality & Research group. • 1,751children accessed the Early Years Programme this quarter over 58 sessions. Target for the year: 1,500. Total of 3,150 to date.

Continue to support and grow the Heritage Learning Consortium: Magnus Volk; Innovation, Invention & Perseverance: This exciting and successful Flagship Project came to its culmination in November holding a celebratory event followed by a public exhibition. The event was attended by 126 students from the 5 participating primary schools, 20 members of school staff / parent helpers, 9 Heritage Learning partners and 15 guests, including 2 Volk family members. The Museum blogger, Latest News TV and Argus also attended the event. The event included exhibition viewing, feedback and evaluation, model demonstrations and a graduation ceremony presented by Janita Bagshawe, Director of the Royal Pavilion & Museums, and the BBC broadcaster Nicholas Owen. The exhibition was held in the old Brighton History Centre space at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 November 2014. 366 people visited the showcase over the weekend. This project was a partnership between RPM, Brighton Toy & Model Museum, Volks Railway, the Keep and STEM Sussex at the University of Brighton. Children form 5 primary school classes in the city were challenged by Magnus Volk to design a form of transport to get people from Brighton to Rottingdean using today’s technologies. The children were supported by all partners to design and develop their model, and then showcase it in Brighton Museum. Some quotes form the evaluation carried out with the children: ‘I enjoyed making our models and seeing them at the museum’ ‘I enjoyed being an engineer because you get to keep on trying while you're building it's fun’ ‘I liked all of it from start to end, from making the model to seeing it in the museum, and getting the gold star for the best model’ ‘I searched on the internet about Magnus Volk’ ‘I would love to continue my engineering’ The project has been evaluated and a Plug & Play resource produced and is available on the Heritage Learning website. Partners will be planning the 2015-16 showcase early Spring. http://www.heritagelearningbrighton.org.uk/ Targeted youth engagement programme update:

• The museum collective has continued to attract new members in this quarter, as well as welcoming back those who have moved on to university- but still attend sessions in their holidays. One young person who first joined age 14, and is now in her second year at university said she liked to come back because ‘The museum collective is always a relaxed and friendly group, and I know I’m welcome’ This quarter the group have been exploring the theme of ‘Identity’ and are developing a trail of BMAG designed for young people. As part of the Workforce Development programme a member of front line staff completed a placement supporting the Museum Collective in this project.

• Arts Award; Brighton Youth Theatre completed their Bronze arts award, using the project the WW1 project they completed in partnership with Royal Pavilion & Museums earlier in the year. RPM’s Arts Award programme has been evaluated, and plans are being made for a different delivery model from April 2015 (when the currents participants will complete their awards)

• The youth engagement officer has met with several youth professionals in the city to offer inductions to the issue based resource boxes, which were created as part of the World Stories gallery. These have been received very well, and plans are being made to include use of these in some external youth programmes.

• Students from Dv8 fashion course visited BMAG and met with Fashion and costume curator for a visit to the stores. Their visit will inspire their next project. • In December Brighton Youth Theatre attended a session at BMAG to use the resource boxes and to discuss ideas for a new performance in 2015. • 66 young people engaged with RPM through the Youth Engagement Programme this quarter; 404 to date this year


General audience data: Actual Q3 Total to date Year target 2013-14 actual Visits to RPM 111,989 523,238

663,000 696,335

Visit rated as good or excellent as %

88% cumulative 89% 88%

Total child visits (including schools)

27,864

171,326

NA 244,554

School visits 7,058 17,928 33,100 31,219 Young people accessing RPM through youth programme

66 404 NA 549

Children accessing Early Years programme

1,751 3,150 1500 3,134

Adults participating in Community Engagement projects

531 1,187 NA 2,770

Web users 88,453 324,067 450,000 506,154

royal pavilion & museums renaissance programme 2012-15 ... · ‘keith vaughan: a volatile...

Documents