Applications Open: Museum Interpretation Conference, Aswan 2018
Conference and workshop: Museum interpretation
Aswan, Egypt
Conference dates: 4 – 7 April 2018
Travel dates: 3 April / 8 April 2018
Application deadline: Thursday 21 December 2017
Application form to itp@britishmuseum.org
Open to fellows who have attended the ITP summer programme
Background
The British Museum’s International Training Programme (ITP) has, since 2006, sought to provide opportunities for shared learning, discussion and collaboration between museum and heritage professionals from across the globe. To date, our growing global network totals 253 fellows from 39 countries.
Following on from discussions at the two-day conference Archaeology in Egypt and Sudan: Opportunities for Future Collaboration (Cairo, May 2016) – during which ideas were shared on how Egyptian and Sudanese archaeological institutions might work together in the future – the Ministry of Antiquities has kindly agreed to host an ITP+ workshop at the Nubian Museum in Aswan, looking at new thinking in interpretation and object display.
The course
Museum interpretation will be a conference and workshop that focusses on audience engagement and object display, and will be led by two curators specialising in Egypt and Nubia and two exhibition/interpretation specialists from the British Museum and our UK Partner museums.
There will be a maximum of 14 places on the course (for the breakdown, see below) to enable productive discussions, breakout groups and project work in specific subject areas, with places awarded through an open and competitive application process.
5 places for ITP fellows from Egypt
5 places for ITP fellows from Sudan
4 places for ITP fellows from the rest of the world
We will be joined by 10 curators or other museum staff from the Ministry of Antiquities.
Our brief
Within the ITP network, the event will reaffirm existing relationships made during the Summer Programme and externally, it hopes to increase the potential of the Programme. It will offer further opportunities to cascade skill sharing outside the ITP network as well as helping selected ITP fellows and their institutions to continue to develop new skills and experiences. It will also create networking opportunities with the hope of stimulating potential future collaborations.
The schedule
The conference and workshop will run from Wednesday 4 – Saturday 7 April 2018. Participants will fly in on Tuesday 3 April and leave on Sunday 8 April 2018.
As with the ITP Summer Programme, all costs will be covered by the British Museum, including visas, flights and accommodation.
The programme
The conference will look at case studies from selected delegates on new thinking around the following key areas:
- Museum interpretation – looking at label and panel text, in-gallery information and interactives etc.
- Community engagement
- Object display and audience engagement
The workshop will focus on discussions, breakout groups and project work in specific subject areas including:
- Identifying audiences
- Defining key messages
- Constructing narratives
- Label and panel writing and the potential use of ‘gateway objects’
- Incorporating other voices and perspectives
- The methods, benefits and challenges of internal and external evaluations.
Your application
If you would like to apply, please complete the application form and return it to itp@britishmuseum.org by Thursday 21st December 2017.
Application form – Word
Application form – PDF
Please ensure you have the permission of your institution/employer to attend this course.
Also please note that, if required, you will be responsible for applying for a valid visa to visit Egypt (including passport renewal if necessary).
If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact Rebecca Horton (rhorton@britishmuseum.org) or Claire Messenger (cmessenger@britishmuseum.org): we will be happy to help, advise and provide more information!
