2022 conference programme

AIM Chair, Andrew Lovett

Paul Harris, Chief Executive, Port Sunlight Village Trust

“…there is no standing still – we are either going forward or we are going backward.” Paul Harris will reflect on the words of Port Sunlight’s founder William Lever, the conference theme ‘Making it happen’, and the work of PSVT.

How can we build on recovery from the pandemic, seize opportunity and focus on change? Join National Museums Liverpool Director, Laura Pye, to reflect on the highs and lows of these rollercoaster times.

Laura Pye – Director, National Museums Liverpool

‘Just waiting for the frogs and locusts…’ Two museums on how they overcame extraordinary challenges, in addition to the pandemic, to emerge even stronger.

Mike Benson, Director, The Scottish Crannog Centre

Nick Ralls, CEO, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust

Martin Howard, Hayes Parsons Insurance Brokers

Optional lunchtime Port Sunlight Highlights Tour – FULLY BOOKED

Port Sunlight is an exemplar worker village, created to support the well-being and productivity of the Lever Brothers soap works employees and their families. Want to find out more? Join one of PSVT’s guides for a short walking tour.

1. ‘Everybody needs good neighbours – Liz Power, Director, London Museum of Water and Steam

Hear how small museums can build understanding of and relationships with stakeholders. Drawing on the experience of London Museum of Water & Steam in working with the community during and since lockdown, this session will share lessons on cementing the museum’s place in the local area and how the institution became deeply embedded locally.

2. Living Legacy – How we used a Victorian hero to look to the future – Grant MacKenzie, Director and Trustee, David Livingstone Birthplace

Grant will share how the revitalised Birthplace delivers on commitment to future generations through Global Citizenship, participation in COP26 climate and de-colonisation conversations, and the transformative capital project.

3. Moving forward together  – Recognising and repairing any problems with your Board

Hilary Barnard and Ruth Lesirge, authors of AIM’s Successful Museum Governance publication

4. Tour – Discover more about the Lady Lever Art Gallery and the world-renowned paintings on display – FULLY BOOKED

The tour will recount the history of the gallery, which celebrates its centenary in 2022. Our guides will take you through our exemplary collection of Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite paintings, uncovering the secrets behind some of the artworks on display.

Highlights include Bubbles and The Black Brunswicker by Millais, Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt, alongside paintings by other masters including turner and Burne-Jones.

5. Tour – Behind the scenes at Unilever archives – FULLY BOOKED

Unilever has over 400 brands in the portfolio, available in 190 countries used by an estimated 2.5 billion people every day and is committed to making sustainable living commonplace. The portfolio includes household brands such as Hellman’s, Magnum, Sunlight, Lifebuoy, Signal, Persil and Comfort.

The Unilever Art, Archives and Records Management (UARM) team look after one of the most important collections of business records in the world. The collections have been Designated as being of ‘International Significance’ and the service UARM provide is Accredited by the National Archives scheme.

Delegates on this tour of the new Discovery space in the historic Lever House will learn more about who the team are and what they do. You will then walk over part of the factory site to see behind the scenes in one of the strong rooms. Places are limited and wait list will reallocate places as needed.

Helen Whitehouse, Deputy Director, Museums and Cultural Property, DCMS

An overview of funding available from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, including the Dynamic Collections campaign.
Melissa Strauss, Interim Head of Museums, Libraries and Archives Policy, National Lottery Heritage Fund

Creating a Wales for Future Generations: the Role of Our Museums
Victoria Rogers, Head of Museums and Collections, Welsh Government

Joe Traynor, Head of Museum Development, Museums Galleries Scotland

Maintaining strong relationships with your volunteers

Wendy Wilshere, Volunteer Coordinator, and Celyn Gurden-Williams, Head of People Development, Beamish Museum

How leadership focused on wellbeing and flexibility can change the culture of your organisation.

Victoria Reeves, Chief Executive, National Justice Museum

How Manchester Jewish Museum worked with its board during Covid to open a new museum and has subsequently refreshed the board for next steps.

Gareth Redston, Chief Executive, Manchester Jewish Museum

How investing in museum leaders in Wales to Network for Resilience has helped staff and business to adapt and recover.

Morrigan Mason, Museums Development Manager, Carmarthenshire County Council

AIM Director, Lisa Ollerhead

A brief summary of the three main risks affecting museums today including key pointers to take away and consider for your own museum.

Martin Howard, Hayes Parsons Insurance Brokers, conference sponsors

In April the Museum of East Anglian Life rebranded as the Food Museum, exploring stories and issues that resonate with today’s audiences. 

Jenny Cousins, Director, Food Museum

1. Going green as a small museum – Manchester Museum’s Roots and Branches programme is helping small museums be more sustainable as an organisation. Hear the intentions of the programme and learnings so far, illustrated by a case study from Quaker Tapestry Museum.

Hannah Hartley, Environmental Action Manager, Manchester Museum and Naomi Garnett, General Manager, Quaker Tapestry Museum

2. Sustaining sustainability – Making a difference. How can a small museum contribute to the climate crisis and the environmental debate?  Hear about the strategic challenges and a practical approach.

Steve Green, Co-Director, Gilbert White’s House and Garden

3. Transformation with sustainability at the heart – Sustainability of buildings and organisation with a colonial collection.

Catriona West, Director, Powell-Cotton Museum

4. Tour – Port Sunlight Highlights Tour – FULLY BOOKED

Port Sunlight is an exemplar worker village, created to support the well-being and productivity of the Lever Brothers soap works employees and their families. Want to find out more? Join one of PSVT’s guides for a short walking tour.

5. Tour – Behind the scenes of Unilever Archives – FULLY BOOKED

Unilever has over 400 brands in the portfolio, available in 190 countries used by an estimated 2.5 billion people every day and is committed to making sustainable living commonplace. The portfolio includes household brands such as Hellman’s, Magnum, Sunlight, Lifebuoy, Signal, Persil and Comfort.

The Unilever Art, Archives and Records Management (UARM) team look after one of the most important collections of business records in the world. The collections have been Designated as being of ‘International Significance’ and the service UARM provide is Accredited by the National Archives scheme.

Delegates on this tour of the new Discovery space in the historic Lever House will learn more about who the team are and what they do. You will then walk over part of the factory site to see behind the scenes in one of the strong rooms. Places are limited and wait list will reallocate places as needed.

Using AIM’s Tackling Inequalities and New Stories New Audiences projects to explore diversifying audiences.

Feels Like Home – welcoming refugees and asylum seekers through sharing the culture and heritage of Barnsley.

Gaby Lees, Community Arts Officer, and Joanna Sutcliffe, Freelance ESOL tutor and Project Co-ordinator for Feels Like Home, Barnsley Museums and Archive.

Diversity and policing: a shared history. The evolving story of the relationship between the police and minority ethnic communities in Bradford. Its impact and relevance.

Martin Baines, Director, Bradford Police Museum.

Action plan! The Peace Museum’s approach to embedding inclusive practice.  

Shannen Johnson, Learning and Engagement Officer, The Peace Museum.

1. Building towards sustainable net zero on limited budgets – our journey.

Alexander Goodger, Museum Manager and Irene Hallyburton, Museum Development Officer, Dundee Museum of Transport.

Lisa Wilkinson, Sustainability Manager, Beamish Museum.

2. From on-line to on-site – How did the Garden Museum generate income when visitors disappeared in the pandemic, and which ideas have stuck for good?

Christina McMahon, Deputy Director, Garden Museum

3. Grown up in Britain:  Radical collecting in the face of the pandemic. Museum of Youth Culture explores how the pandemic became their biggest year of growth led by a nationwide collection drive.

Jamie Brett and Lisa der Weduwe, Museum of Youth Culture.

4. Tour – Port Sunlight Highlights Tour – FULLY BOOKED

Port Sunlight is an exemplar worker village, created to support the well-being and productivity of the Lever Brothers soap works employees and their families. Want to find out more? Join one of PSVT’s guides for a short walking tour.

5. Tour – Behind the scenes at Unilever Archives – FULLY BOOKED

Unilever has over 400 brands in the portfolio, available in 190 countries used by an estimated 2.5 billion people every day and is committed to making sustainable living commonplace. The portfolio includes household brands such as Hellman’s, Magnum, Sunlight, Lifebuoy, Signal, Persil and Comfort.

The Unilever Art, Archives and Records Management (UARM) team look after one of the most important collections of business records in the world. The collections have been Designated as being of ‘International Significance’ and the service UARM provide is Accredited by the National Archives scheme.

Delegates on this tour of the new Discovery space in the historic Lever House will learn more about who the team are and what they do. You will then walk over part of the factory site to see behind the scenes in one of the strong rooms. Places are limited and wait list will reallocate places as needed.

Campaigning communities – researching the emotional drivers behind successful campaigns with AIM and Art Fund.

Elliot Simmonds, Client Solutions Director, M.E.L. Research and Meriel Royal, Culture Bulb

Talking about colonial heritage at Port Sunlight: A proposal for a community dialogue

Andy Hardman, academic and filmmaker, University of Manchester

Creative health can feed and enrich your professional practice: how what we do is part of how we do it. 

Arike Oke, Executive Director of Knowledge and Collections, British Film Institute.