These seminars, together with a series of additional workshops and events across the UK, have introduced museums and heritage professionals and volunteers to a innovative ways of working with arts and artists. The new MGM Arts Tool Kit, Working with Artists (available for download from the MGM website), combines inspirational case studies with a practical ‘how to’ guide on engaging and commissioning contemporary artists, in order to invigorate collections, enrich heritage sites and generate new and diverse audiences.
 |  | A music event at Rugby Museum and Art Gallery. |
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The Campaign for Museums worked with engage to devise and deliver the seminars, which provided useful networking opportunities, bringing together heritage sector staff, independent curators, gallery educators and artists.
Participants enjoyed inspirational presentations from leading contemporary art curators including Judith King and Zoe Shearman. Judith recently developed a series of high profile arts, architecture and design events at Belsay Hall in Northumberland. Zoë was the curator of Human Cargo, a contemporary response to the abolition of slavery held at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in 2007.
The Baltic crowd getting new ideas on board | |  |
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They were also given an invaluable insight into the artist-led education programmes of Ikon Gallery, Spacex and the BALTIC, and heard from contemporary artists who have created work in a museum or public art context including Laura Ellen Bacon, Alison Unsworth, Raimi Gbadamosi, and Mark Greenwood. Just as importantly, participants had the chance to learn from each other’s knowledge and expertise through practical group work sessions.
Each seminar attracted a dynamic group of people who genuinely wanted to learn more about how the heritage sector can collaborate effectively with contemporary arts practice.
In Exeter, Artist Mark Greenwood asked fifteen adults, some with little or no experience of attending artist-led workshops, to sing their favourite song into a dictaphone, create an installation involving elastic bands, “naughtie” playing cards and random pieces of text.
 | | A seminar at Spacex in Exeter |
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The sense of what they were doing, and why, was not made apparent until the end of the session, yet this did not prevent people from throwing themselves into the task and enjoying it immensely. Now that they have had the opportunity to learn from artists, curators, gallery educators and their peers, I look forward to some exciting and innovative arts projects as part of MGM2008.
The MGM arts programme and the theme for this year – Ideas & Innovation - is also intended as a catalyst for future collaborations between the heritage sector and the contemporary arts world. To those people who couldn’t make the seminars, please download the Working with Artists toolkit. You are also welcome to contact Clare Moloney with any additional questions about the arts programme for MGM2008 and how you can get involved.
As part of the follow up to the seminars, Clare is now providing further advice to museums and heritage attractions. She will also be contacting art galleries around England to encourage them to develop MGM events and activities.
The MGM2008 Arts programme is funded by Arts Council England and delivered in conjunction with engage (National Association of Gallery Education).
Contact Clare Moloney through The Campaign for Museums: info@campaignformuseums.org.uk
