We are delighted to announce that our second International Museum Academy will be taking place in Athens and Thessaloniki in October and November 2017. Our four courses this year are: Museums and Community Engagement, Commercial Enterprise, Museum Resilience and Sustainability, and Digital Skills.
Participants will gain insights into the various opportunities and challenges of the museum sector, develop their skills, exchange best practice, increase their specialist knowledge and become more aware of contemporary trends in the field. Courses are carefully shaped to enable a collaborative space of peer-to-peer learning and ensure that participants can immediately apply and share their newly obtained knowledge and skills within their organisations.
Courses will be delivered by leading UK museum professionals, supported by a mix of Greek and international guest speakers, who will feed into the courses with relevant case studies, share their expert insight, offer one-to-one sessions with participants and give feedback when projects are presented. The courses will be adapted each time to respond to the participants’ specific needs, level and aspirations, as well as to the particular local context.
The programme is supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
IMA 2017 courses:
Museums and Community Engagement
It is more important than ever that museums are relevant to their communities. Museum spaces, people and collections have huge potential to be a catalyst to create new learning, build social cohesion and support dialogue around challenging issues. This course is for those with an interest in engagement, learning and audience development. Participants will be supported to create a strategic plan, outlining how to develop new and sustained relationships with audiences, thereby playing a vital role in their community.
More specifically, the course will support participants to:
- define community engagement and understand how it relates to their strategic aims
- reflect on the purpose and value of engaging communities
- explore different approaches and models for community engagement
- learn how to apply the audience development planning process to community engagement and create an action plan
- take inspiration from case studies in the UK and Greece
- consider how museums can address challenging topics through engaging communities.
Course Leader: The Audience Agency
The Audience Agency is a mission-led organisation, which exists to give people better access to culture, for the public good and the vitality of the sector. It works with cultural organisations to build audiences.
Lucie Fitton, Head of Participation and Engagement at The Audience Agency, focuses on developing community engagement, inclusion, youth, learning and co-production programmes within the museum sector. She supports museums to understand the impact of engagement programmes. Key clients include the British Museum, the National History Museum, Historic Royal Palaces and the National Archives.
Dates and venue
| Athens 11–15 October 2017 |
Thessaloniki 15–19 November 2017 |
| Benaki Museum 138 Pireos Street & Andronikou 118 54 Athens |
Museum for the Macedonian Struggle 23 Proxenou Koromila Street 546 22 Thessaloniki |
Commercial Enterprise
In the current economic climate it is essential that museums and galleries in Greece re-think the way they run their organisations. New sources of income must be considered to ensure that the essential services provided by the sector can be maintained and developed for the long-term benefit of individual communities and society as a whole. This course will support those who wish to develop their income generating skills.
More specifically, the course will include sessions on:
- sustainability in museums and galleries (the Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums enterprise project)
- the principles of business planning
- identifying and marketing to different audiences
- the development of retail
- managing performance, sales and key performance indicators (KPIs)
- the development of catering and venue hire
- case studies on commercial conservation and wholesale.
Course Leader: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) is a major regional museum, art gallery and archives service. It manages a collection of nine museums and galleries across Tyneside and the Archives for Tyne and Wear. It is supported by the five local authorities of the area and Newcastle University. TWAM is also a Major Partner Museum funded by Arts Council England and has Core Funded Museum status.
Jon Walker, Project Manager (Enterprise), is responsible for overall commercial development at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, where his key focus is the development of TWAM’s enterprise project, now in its fifth year. The project goal has been to embed a culture of enterprise within the organisation and to develop new strands of income generation.
Dates and venue
| Athens 11–15 October 2017 |
Thessaloniki 15–19 November 2017 |
| Byzantine & Christian Museum 22 Vasilissis Sofias Avenue 106 75 Athens |
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki 6 Manoli Andronikou Street 540 13 Thessaloniki |
Museum Resilience and Sustainability
The museum sector across Europe is facing hugely challenging times. With economic and political uncertainty, migrating communities, and cultural and social inequality, museums must develop their skills and capacity to reposition themselves to respond to a turbulent external context. This participative course is aimed at mid-level to senior managers who want develop innovative practice to make their museums relevant and sustainable. With content grounded in real-life experience and practical skills, participants will gain insight, understanding and confidence in the tools for change within their organisations.
The course will include sessions on:
- resilience and sustainability – what do they mean and why do we need them?
- strategy and change – how do you create museums with purpose?
- leadership – what does strong leadership look like for today’s museum leaders?
- creativity and innovation – how can you develop an agile response approach?
- the entrepreneurial museum – do you understand your museum ‘business’?
- negotiation and advocacy – how do you sell your ideas and influence stakeholders?
Course Leader: Sara Hilton Associates
Freelance Museum and Culture Consultant Sara Hilton was previously Director of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Director of Projects at the National Museums Liverpool. She is the founding member of Capital Projects Network. Sara set up Sara Hilton Associates in 2016 after a long and respected career spanning television, museum design agencies, and regional and national museums. She has excellent facilitation and coaching skills, and supports clients to develop robust and innovative proposals around organisational change and transformational projects.
Dates and venue
| Athens 18–22 October 2017 |
Thessaloniki 8–12 November 2017 |
| Benaki Museum 138 Pireos Street & Andronikou 118 54 Athens |
Museum for the Macedonian Struggle 23 Proxenou Koromila Street 546 22 Thessaloniki |
Digital Skills
A thriving, successful museum needs a team that understands the ways in which digital tools and technologies can best serve its mission. Opportunities around digital are huge but it is a fast-changing, multi-layered environment. This course will support museum practitioners with these challenges, providing strategic guidance, expert insight, practical advice and peer support. The course will build participants’ confidence, knowledge, network and skills, helping them make the most of digital in their museum.
The course will focus on a range of topics, including:
- strategy – what ‘digital’ means for museums and why it matters
- audiences – understanding people’s digital behaviours, motivations and needs
- engagement in digital channels – theory and practice of creating and tailoring content
- measuring engagement – gathering, analysing and using evidence to drive change
- digital plans – applying digital tactics and tools in museums
- networks – sharing learning and building skills with colleagues and peers.
Course Leader: Culture24
Culture24 is an independent charity that brings museums and galleries together to do amazing things that they would not be able to do on their own. Its small, dynamic team of writers, thinkers and producers love the arts, understand digital and believe cultural organisations have a vital place in a better world.
Anra Kennedy, Content & Partnerships Director at Culture24, is a specialist in digital cultural literacy, strategy and content. She works nationally and internationally to help museums and galleries connect with audiences online, leading and advising on a wide range of publishing, audience engagement, education, research and professional development initiatives.
Dates and venue
| Athens 18–22 October 2017 |
Thessaloniki 8–12 November 2017 |
| Technopolis City of Athens Industrial Gas Museum INNOVATHENS 100 Pireos Street 118 54 Gazi |
Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art 154 Egnatia Street (Helexpo) 546 36 Thessaloniki |
Overview
| Duration |
Each course consists of five workshops:
Skype follow-up sessions will take place three and six |
| Language | The courses will be held in English. |
| Registration fee | €25 per course |
How to apply
Email the completed application form to Dina.Ntziora@britishcouncil.gr by the following deadlines:
- Athens courses: Sunday 1 October 2017 (23.59)
- Thessaloniki courses: Monday 30 October 2017 (23.59)
You can apply for up to two courses (your 1st and 2nd preferences) but you will only be selected to attend one course. Applicants from last year’s Academy are welcome to re-apply but priority will be given to new applicants.
Please note that there is €25 registration fee per course, which successful applicants will be asked to pay once their participation has been confirmed.
How do I pay the registration fee?
Once we’ve confirmed your participation in the course(s) of your choice, you can pay the registration fee in one of the following ways:
- in cash, or by credit or debt card at our Athens office (17 Kolonaki Square, 106 73 Athens), Monday to Friday, 09.00–14.30
- by direct deposit at any branch of Alpha Bank quoting transaction ‘ΕΠΕΣ’, or by bank transfer or e-banking to the British Council bank account:
Citibank account number: 0/444215/003
IBAN: GR 5108400010000000444215003Please quote your name followed by ‘IMA’ in the ‘Αιτιολογία’ field on the deposit slip (e.g. Eleni Papanikolaou, IMA).
Scan the bank deposit slip and email it to Dina.Ntziora@britishcouncil.gr.
General Conditions
- We reserve the right to make changes to the course content and programme details.
- Places cannot be guaranteed until registration fees have been paid.
- Registration fees must be paid no later than five days before the start of the course.
- No refunds will be made after the course has started.
- The maximum number of participants per course will not exceed 20.
- Participants are required to attend the full five days of the courses.
Information
For further information, please contact Dina Ntziora:
| Dina.Ntziora@britishcouncil.gr | |
| Telephone | 210 369 2358 |