Others are inviting visitors to try something new and different. If you haven’t planned your Welcome Weekend yet, here are a few ideas:
1. The Welcome Weekend is about the museum or gallery and what it does - and about the objects and the stories around them.
2. Directors, curators, volunteers and friends as story tellers can bring out the personal elements of the object – its history, how it was used, how it came into the collection – perhaps from a collector or a bequest.
3. The Welcome Weekend could also be about inviting people to tell the story of their chosen object. Something which has a special meaning for them and their identity.
4. This could include something from their original culture, their childhood, their distant ancestors or a collectors’ item such as a historic car (for those with a transport collection – and a car park!).
5. People could then be photographed with a Polaroid camera and a whole wall of photographs created of people with their special objects.
6. You could work with an artist, people could develop their memories and stories around objects and their personal meanings.
7. The car boot sales idea could be a way of reaching a new and different audience – how could a museum translate this into action?
8. Guess the object – taking objects outside the museum – into a shopping centre for example, and asking people to guess what it is for – not new but well worth trying.
9. Curators and board members could change places with your front of house staff and wardens – and come face to face with the public.
10. Invite groups from your local community for “familiarisation visits” – local business, hoteliers, taxi drivers, tourist information staff – and others who you don’t have regular contacts with.
So go ahead and “turn the museum/gallery inside out”, plan your behind the scenes visits and introductory tours for new visitors. The Welcome Weekend could be full of surprises!
Lessons learnt by others include avoiding events on Saturday morning (a dead time for most) If your director or chair is present make sure they have something to do – a tour or talk, for example. Brief your local media to give special events a big push and create a festive atmosphere with balloons, banners and music to keep visitors of all ages happy.
Please let us have your ideas to add to these for the website and the next MGM Email Bulletin.
