In a previous blog I suggested ways in which museums could be part of a re-crafting of a world where climate change and peak oil has limited our capacity for economic growth. A low carbon future is imagined where prosperity relies not on an individual’s ability to consume but on his or her capacity to […]
Read More →This article originally appeared on Tony’s own blog The development of the Transition movement should be very instructive to UK museums. Faced with climate change, Peak Oil and gas and a dependency on state aid for funding either at local or national level, museums might look to Transition as a means to encourage environmental, economic […]
Read More →March 29th 2012 saw the launch of the Happy Museum project at the October Gallery in London with the publication of The Happy Museum: a tale of how it could all turn out alright. Senior representatives from museums, agencies, local councils, funders and other organisations and individuals with an interest in the project gathered to […]
Read More →London Transport Museum, The Conversation Hub, Dec 2011-Oct 2012 London Transport Museum (LTM) established a partnership with homeless charity St Mungo’s, in order to bridge the divide between the museum space and vulnerable adults on their doorstep. Through the ‘Conversation Hub’ project London Transport Museum (LTM) worked with Happy Museum to develop and create ‘The […]
Read More →The Story Museum, Happy From the Beginning, March 2013-present The Story Museum works to celebrate and demonstrate the power of stories to inspire learning, especially for the young. They use storytelling to improve language skills and confidence; since 2005 they have been piloting programmes in schools that reached 10,000 children a year, particularly in disadvantaged […]
Read More →Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury, The Paper Apothecary, October 2012-March 2014 The Paper Apothecary (created by with artist performers Animate Arts) placed wellbeing at the centre of Canterbury’s museum and library, the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge. A full-size apothecary built entirely from paper, acted as a catalyst to create ideas for […]
Read More →Chiltern Open Air Museum, Green Ways from Yesterday, October 2012- March 2013 Making full use of a 44-acre site and a volunteer work force 200 strong, Chiltern Open Air Museum tapped into the building and agricultural skills of local elders and volunteers and captured valuable knowledge and experiences that has the potential to contribute to […]
Read More →The Garden Museum, ‘Flowers for Love and Money’, 2013 The ‘Flowers for Love and Money’ project created a winter cutting garden that was sown with native plants ( hops, wild clematis and catkins) which were then harvested and sold as winter bouquets. The bouquets were an alternative to the cut flower industry’s unethical and unsustainable […]
Read More →Lightbox, Waste Not…, 2014-2015 Waste Not… invited local communities to give stories and photographs and objects connected with keeping old things, reuse, repairing/maintenance, new uses and forgotten uses! The project culminated in an exhibition and was supported by a programme of public events and workshops on the theme of recycling and waste. The project aimed […]
Read More →Where’s Reading Heading?, Reading Museums, 2014-15 This project looked at the past, present and future development of Reading. It sought to provoke debate about how Reading will sustain a growing population and build a successful low carbon economy whilst ‘Narrowing the Gaps’ between different sectors in its communities. As an early project update describes, through […]
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