Case Studies

The conference programme was packed with interesting case studies and discussions covering all topics from carbon neutral initiatives to loving your community.

Tt was such a joy to be in a room with other Museum folk and the energy in the room was wonderful. The chance to meet people, share experiences, chat and network was invaluable. 

After two decades of discussion, Redditch finally has a town centre museum to showcase local history. The team behind Redditch Local History Museum has successfully secured town centre premises, recruited volunteers and fitted out the museum during a pandemic – read how they’ve done it.

When Tenby Museum re-opened post-pandemic with a fresh look, Trustees felt there was a need to review its governance arrangements to make it fit for purpose in serving its communities, both local and tourists from further afield. Julie Evans, Trustee at Tenby Museum, explains how an independent look at the Board of Trustees has been beneficial in opening the debate about future needs of the Board.

Barnsley Museums have delivered the ‘Feels Like Home’ project in partnership with Barnsley Refugee Council, since 2018. A recent AIM Hallmark Grant funded the Taking Root project, which took members of Feels Like Home to visit historic gardens.

Costume is a fantastic and relatable way to tell the silk finishing story in Macclesfield, but the museum struggled to use this collection due to muddled storage, sparse documentation and a lack of collection knowledge. The project aimed to combat this with a new approach to storage, management and interpretation of the collection, to transform the visitor experience and strengthen financial resilience.

The Fry has been fortunate recently to have received a number of works by Isabel Rawsthorne from the estate of Warwick Llewellyn Nicholas, Isabel’s brother. However, after many years in storage they were not in condition to be displayed.

The Red Biba Rose made from fibre-glass was originally one of a number of flower sculptures made by Andrew Logan for the Biba Department store in Kensington, London, which opened in 1973. It was rescued from this site and moved to the museum in Berriew, Powys, where it was situated to the front on the museum building.

Auchindrain came to AIM after a poor relationship with their revenue sponsor had brought the museum team to a low ebb. Working with Prospering Boards consultant Ruth Lesirge, the team found new confidence, which has transformed their outlook. We spoke to Bob Clark, Director of Auchindrain, to find out more.