“To imagine is to represent without aiming at things as they actually, presently, and subjectively are. One can use imagination to represent possibilities other than the actual, to represent times other than the present, and to represent perspectives other than one’s own.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. In this session we explored the potential of museums […]

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Our greatest need today is to see life as whole, to see its many sides in their proper relations; but we must have a practical as well as a philosophical interest in such an integrated view of life. Patrick Geddes In this session we were invited to explore bioregioning – defined as ‘a land and […]

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Society has changed dramatically. Lockdown and Black Lives Matter protests have blown open any sense of ‘normal’. Now, as museums, galleries and heritage organisations struggle with planning for reopening, the Happy Museum Project invites you to think about how you and your organisation might play its part in making lasting changes. As you emerge from […]

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Covid-19 has changed our world in ways that we could never have imagined.  The pandemic has had a seismic impact on our world, its impacts exposing questions about what really matters and what our priorities are in the face of adversity, inequality and injustice. Common Cause Foundation (CCF) works with what they call the ‘perception gap’. […]

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‘The past few weeks have exposed the fact that the biggest things can always change, at any minute. This simple truth, both destabilising and liberating, is easy to forget. We’re not watching a movie: we’re writing one, together’ Peter C Baker In mid-March Happy Museum launched a new project Museums and the Imperative for Change, […]

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Happy Museum is excited to be a Commissioning Partner in the forthcoming Season for Change 2020 – a nationwide festival of artistic work engaging with the climate and ecological crisis, co-curated with partners across the UK and internationally and timed to coincide with COP 26 in Glasgow. Our partner project will explore museums and the […]

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‘Our communities are diverse and complicated. They are muddled and made up of individuals who share, disagree, find common cause or show indifference to each other. Some neighbourhoods are diverse, some are monocultural to the point of exclusion The result is an aversion to exploring difference and conflict, and a lack of understanding that communities […]

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Don’t miss our playful places next workshop in Leeds which will be talking about Children’s rights, playful adults and play as protest! If you are interested in gaining creative ideas and support for play at your venue, then come along and join us! We will be sharing our knowledge and experiences and learning from each […]

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On 3rd April 2019 Happy Museum will join the first wave of cultural organisations declaring climate emergency.  As the accelerating impacts of climate change become increasingly evident it is vital that we face the truth, demand action, support each other and express solidarity with affected communities. Our declaration follows: We Happy Museum declare a Climate and Ecological […]

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“Gave us a completely different perspective on how we think, and a framework within which we can actively curate and communicate to promote the shared ‘compassionate’ values of our visitors and volunteers – and their fellow citizens.  This is crucial in ensuring we remain true to our purpose”. Happy Museum and our community of practice have […]

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