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Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Muriel Matters House, Breeds Place, Hastings, TN34 3UY. Please enter the building via the Tourist Information Centre entrance.
Contact: Democratic Services on 01424 451484 email: democraticservices@hastings.gov.uk
Items No. Item Apologies for Absence
Minutes:
Apologies received from Councillor Barnett
Museum member Ms Farley-Green, Mr Palfrey-Martin, Mr Peak
Declarations of Interest
Minutes:
Councillor
Item
Interest
Cllr Evans
4
Personal – Volunteer Buddy
Minutes of the previous meeting PDF 479 KB
Minutes:
RESOLVED – that the minutes of the meeting held on 8th March 2021 be approved as a true record.
(Damian Etheraads, Museum and Cultural Development Manager)
Minutes:
Museum and Cultural Development Manager presented to the committee on the museum’s work since the last formal meeting. The Museum re-opened in May 2021, with quarter one visitors at just under 1500. The What’s in the box? project is coming to a completion and has been largely successful. The work on the Archives Revealed Scoping Grant is also coming to an end. The digital museum is continuing until the end of the year. It is focusing younger people, older people and people isolating. Development of the museum website is underway and the target to the new website live in the New year.
The museum has been awarded £84480 from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund for a project called Democratising the collections for the 21st Century. This will follow on from the What’s in the box? project working with the home education, LGBTQ+ and refugee groups with the addition of activity with D/deaf/disabled and neurodiverse people and groups in the area. This will fund community engagement work for the next two years.
Ingenious Contraptions was well received over the summer holidays and thanks were given to Cabaret Mechanical Theatre for allowing the exhibition. The next exhibition, Crossings: community and refuge (10 September 2021 – 5 December 2021) is in partnership with the British museum, Buddy Refugee Project and the Hastings City of Sanctuary.
For learning, 453 children have been to the museum since May, and the Loans boxes have been popular, and these have been added to and redeveloped. Being an arts award centre, the museum can now offer Bronze and Silver Arts Award alongside the Digital Discover and Explore qualifications. The Business plan review has shown that Visitors to the museum have contributed over £1.3 million to the local economy, there has been over 200% increase in funding and the museum has reached out digitally to over 1 million people.
Councillors asked regarding what has been learnt from the last 3 years. The Museum and Cultural Development Manager said the review is underway and can be presented at the next meeting.
Councillor Carr proposed approval of the recommendations, seconded by Councillor Cllr Roark
RESOLVED (unanimously)
To accept this report and recommend approval by Cabinet.
(Damian Etheraads, Museum and Cultural Development Manager)
Minutes:
Museum and Cultural Development Manager presented to the committee on collections care, access, acquisitions, loans and objects being considered for rationalisation. The museum received a Collections Care Grant from South East Museums in March 2020, this has been used to repack and care for collections. The Integrated Pest Management programme is showing a lot about the building and where are issues and how to address them. The museum IT systems will need to be updated and funding will be needed for this.
The Francis Crick Institute has asked the Museum to be part of a project Uncovering 5,000 years of genetic evolution: from the Stone Age to the 21st century. To be part of the project the museum will have to take samples from 25 skeletons. Museum and Cultural Development Manager aske the committee to support this. The Museum and Cultural Development Manager highlighted the Acquisitions to the committee and noted some digital items which is new. A loan to the Walker Art gallery in Liverpool has left the museum today and shows the strength of the collection. A collection of long-standing loan of objects to the fisherman’s museum which allows for them to continue to be displayed is recommended to be a transfer of the ownership.
Mr Street stated it was a good for the museum to be recognised by the Francis Crick Institute and he agrees with the transfer of ownership of the items to the Fisherman’s Museum as it will keep them on display.
Councillor Arthur asked a question regarding the ‘democratising the museum’ and decolonising the museum. The Museum and Cultural Development Manager said the museum is working with audiences and voices who haven’t been represented.
Councillor Carr proposed approval of the recommendations, seconded by Councillor Cllr Roark
RESOLVED (unanimously)
To accept this report and recommend approval by Cabinet
Notification of additional urgent items
Minutes:
The Chair stated he will be attending the Sanctuary project this weekend.
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