“We gain valuable, important and relevant industry knowledge to inform us contextually, so we can better understand, share, service and contribute right across the sector with the digitisation, community engagement and consultancy work we do for museums – and the rest of the cultural heritage (GLAM) sector… it also nurtures the professional development of our people; digitisation technicians, management and the Managing Director all benefit.”
Some of the NZMS team share their personal insights from the conference
Ella Beckett – NZMS Digitisation Technician, Christchurch
(Emerging Museum Professionals (EMP) Conference committee member) “I joined the EMP18 conference committee when it was formed back in July of last year. The committee consisted of eight of us from various locations around Canterbury. The theme of our conference was Inside Insights, a reference to the main MA conference theme of Outside Insights.We were very lucky to have a beautiful overnight stay at Wheke Marae, Rāpaki where we were visited by the lovely Kārearea, ‘Hera’, from the Marlborough Falcon Trust and her handler Vicky Smith. We were given a presentation about conservation of the New Zealand Falcon as living taonga, and the challenges of training Kārearea.
On the Sunday we left Lyttelton Harbour (and a beautiful sunrise!) and headed to the New Zealand Air Force Museum for a morning of workshops on conservation cleaning, education in museums, inclusion, and entomology/insect pinning. In the afternoon, we had a series of EMP’s speaking about their experiences and ‘inside insights’ in the sector. It was a great opportunity for those willing to get public speaking experience, and for the rest of us to hear some great stories!
Having the conference in Christchurch this year has been such a treat for us living here. As both the EMP and MA conferences move to Wellington for 2019 I would absolutely recommend those in the capital get involved in any way they can. It’s a great way to hear about what successes and challenges are happening in the sector and if you’re interested, there’s usually something for everyone!”
Siobhan O’Brien – NZMS Digitisation Technician, Christchurch
“I found the 21st Century Curator workshop I attended very insightful. It was great to hear from various curators around the country talking about aspects of the job, current challenges, and opportunities. The workshop covered a variety of topics around curation, with a focus on what participants wanted to gain from the session – which was impressive. Since there was a large attendance for this workshop, we were split into groups. The workshop ended up comprising three main parts, beginning with a discussion around collecting, accessioning and deaccessioning objects, and the Collection Policy which governs these decisions. As part of this discussion, each group came up with an object in a collection they are familiar with that could be considered for deaccessioning, by assessing its viability to remain in the collection using the criteria of the current Collection Policy. I particularly enjoyed this part due to the interesting objects that came up for review – some were quite controversial, but the importance of their provenance and other factors nevertheless deemed them important items of the collection. The second topic was how research is conducted in museums, which involved a lengthy discussion regarding the differences and similarities between academic and museum research. Finally, we arranged ourselves into groups based on experience, and there was a more general discussion around curation and moving forward with it. I would highly recommend that other team members attend MA conference next year. If you have an interest in a particular job or position in the GLAM sector, I think it’s a really good way to find out more about it through hearing from a range of people with experience actually doing it. It is also an opportunity to meet and get to know people – contacts which could prove useful for professional development and collegiality in the future.”Leigh Rout – NZMS Southern Regional Manager
“Going to the MA conference reinforced how mindful we must all be regarding any cultural protocols required when working on a project and the importance of asking best practice instructions and advice before commencing. Much of our work involves the careful handling and unpackaging of heritage material, so it is tremendously important for us to keep up to date on handling different mediums. The EMP conservation workshop lead by Becky Helliwell was a good reminder on what to consider when cleaning material, things to look out for and who to contact if you need advice. Tā Mark Solomon’s keynote was a surprising topic. He discussed his commitment and passion for supporting whānau to speak up about family violence and how he has conducted many gatherings to raise awareness of the issue and encourage whānau to take action in a programme called Tū Pono (stand in truth). I had never heard of FAFSWAG (which is a collective of Maori and Pacific LGBTQIA+ artists in Auckland, who “battle” through vogueing – a dance form that originated in black and Latino communities in Harlem in the 1980s) until attending the “What’s at the end of the rainbow” parallel session, where it was discussed how Museums can support inclusivity. My favorite part of the conference was the dinner and no, not just for the food (although I do now have a new love for pretzel buns)!! It’s the part where people connect on a more personal level plus it was great having the band (RNZAF Jive Bombers) and activities such as the quiz, which was extremely challenging thanks to Tim’s quirky questions. The toy propeller contest was a laugh as no one hit the target even when following the instructions, and the option to take control of the Mosquito Mission flight simulator if you were brave enough – I now know why I would not suit being a pilot!!!”Andy Fenton – NZMS Managing Director
“What will come of #MA18NZ? Lessons, networking, experiences BUT I hope after the repatriation wānanga in front of Minister @CarmelSepuloni we might see #leadership, guidance & a national kiwi Register so we can learn/coordinate a respectful approach TePapa? MCH? #RiseUp”
“WTF? Tā Mark Solomon tells us … women’s refuges nationwide fill up if the @AllBlacks or local rugby team lose #Shameful! Museums can join the conversation, raise awareness #MA18NZ
Tā Mark Solomon tells us we must “do our job, protect our Whānau” #MA18NZ Here’s one way Museums can help raise awareness: canterburymuseum.com/whats-on/the-b…”
“If aliens ever land on earth I want #MA18nz keynote Elizabeth Connor in the advance comms party… if anyone can ‘connect’ she can! #Sentience”
“It’s a healthy alternative to black and white thinking is based on the idea that most things have gold in them somewhere. They’re just caked in shit.”
It seems appropriate to finish with one of Andy’s tweets:
“And a BIG thank you to you @phillipatocker & @MuseumsAotearoa Admin, volunteers and Board – your efforts to provide us with a rewarding & thought-provoking conference are VERY much appreciated #MA18nz See you in Wellington next year”