Building heritage infrastructure network: community, locality, and materiality in the museum storeroom
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Westminster
Department Name: Sch of Humanities
Abstract
This network will explore how to create dynamic stored collections through community-led models of engagement and research to generate new knowledge and lines of interpretation while testing the boundaries of current curatorial and conservation practice. Reflecting the international nature of this challenge the network has been submitted by three heritage partners and two universities: the University of Westminster, the Science Museum Group, National Museums Wales, the Canada Science and Technology Museum (part of Ingenium) and the University of Reading. All three museum partners are moving their collections into new storage and developing strategies to increase audience engagement and participation with collections not on display. Further, each of the organisations share complementary collections around histories of science, technology, and industry as well as complex social history collections.
| Title | Conversations in the Storeroom |
| Description | We worked with a narrative artist to capture the conversations in the Nantgarw storeroom during a visit by a member of the public. She produced illustrations that represented the connections between the place, the objects and the people. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | This has produced useful visuals for communicating our research at conferences and public events. We used the visuals at the ICOM Conference we attended and will use them as part of a panel we are organising for the Museums Association. It also featured in a public poster event held at the University of Westminster in 2025. |
| Description | This research project reflected on access to museum reserve collections, consulting with a range of potential stakeholders (including community partners, museums and heritage professionals and academics). The key findings were: - The provision of access to museum storage is mixed across the examples we encountered, and very dependent on dedicated resourcing. This has become more difficult as funding across the cultural sector has reduced, and access to collections/ collections management is often the first thing to be impacted. - Nevertheless the experience of visiting a storeroom and seeing unmediated collections was almost universally a positive, thought-provoking experience. Everyone we brought into the storerooms wanted to visit again and explore ways they could access the collections. - Visiting collections with members of museum staff was an important part of the store visit. Even if visitors were initially encouraged to explore the collections independently, many then wanted to follow up this visit with a conversation with others. - There is huge potential for creative practice to support the work of museums to better understand their reserve collections and this then can connect to digital resources. |
| Exploitation Route | The research points towards resourcing of creative projects in museum reserve collections. It also has significant findings for museums and cultural policy with regards to museum storage, as has been evidence by the impact the project has had on the ICOM Museum Storage Working Group. |
| Sectors | Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| Description | The findings of the project have directly influenced the practice and policy of the Science Museum Group, National Museums Wales and Ingenium, the Canadian Science and Technology Museum. The impact on ICOM policy has already been described, but through the publication we are developing with Routledge, this work will have an impact on the international museum sector. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | Rethinking reserve collections through community interventions- a knowledge exchange project |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Westminster |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2023 |
| End | 08/2025 |
| Description | Member of the Scientific Committee for ICOM Museum Storage Conference |
| Organisation | International Council of Museums (ICOM) |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I joined the Scientific Committee to organise a major international conference on Museum Storage. I continue to work as part of the committee on the forthcoming publication. |
| Collaborator Contribution | ICOM funded my attendance at the international conference in 2024. |
| Impact | The conference listed above resulted from the collaboration. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Community workshop Ingenium, Canada |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We organised a workshop and tour of the stored collections of the Canada Science and Technology Museum- Ingenium. The workshop was made up of member of the project team who all work at UK museums, and the Ottawa Trans-Library, who are interested in queer approaches to history and museums. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Creative Practice and the SMG National Collections Centre |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a workshop and storage tour with people who work as creative practitioners, some of whom are also based in universities. We were exploring the potential of creative practice to unlock museum collections. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Workshop for community partners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The project team held a workshop in the National Museums Wales Storeroom at Nantgaryw. They invited 20 community partners with whom they have worked before to consult on access to the storeroom. The workshop will inform the development of access programs at the site and the development of new storage in North Wales. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |