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Archive for the ‘Awards’ Category

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Art Fund Prize long list announced

In Awards, Museums on February 8, 2012 at 11:22 am

It that time of year again when everyone awards themselve a prize! From the Oscars to the museum community.

The longlist for the 2012 Art Fund Prize has been announced – ten museums and galleries from across Britain which are all up for a prize of £100,000.

Bletchley Park – for their exhibition on Alan Turing
The Hepworth Wakefield – a brand new museum designed by David Chipperfield
The Holbourne Museum – a new extension on the back of this beautiful museum in Bath. Isaw it in September and loved it.
MShed – a new museum in Bristol. I ran a training day for the text writers on this project.
Scottish National Portrait Gallery – recently reopened after a major redevelopment – looking great.
National Museum of Scotland – ditto.
Riverside Museum – I visited this new museum last year and was more impressed with the building than the collection.
Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery – not been down for a nosy at this project, but would love to go see it. I hear it’s fab.
Turner Contemporary – a wonderful new gallery (also by Chipperfield) to which I am set to make a repeat visit.
Watts Gallery – another multimillion pound refurb. Must go see it.

I’m not sure what exactly the judges are looking for this year – the judges change each year so it’s hard to compare one winner with another. But my bets are on for one of the new art galleries designed by Chipperfield – either the Turner Contemporary or the Hepworth Wakefield.

You can vote for your favourite project by going to the Art Fund website and choosing one of the ten.

Let’s wait and see who makes the short list …

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International Museum of the Year 2011

In Museums, Awards on December 28, 2011 at 1:29 pm

While I might like to pretend that this instalment of my annual awards serves to highlight some museums you may want to look out for when on your travels, it is actually invented purely to allow me to show off where I’ve been on holiday in the last 12 months.

There were two runners up…

KGB Museum, Vilnius (Lithuania)
Housed in the former home of the KGB in Lithuania, this building has an ominous presence in the centre of Vilnius. The displays present a balanced (well, as balanced as you can get in a country occupied so many times) view of the nation’s experience of the Second World War and the political aftermath for eastern Europe. And the text is in English, which is great! There are some great objects from the Soviet era.

But perhaps most impressive – and certainly most chilling – are the basement cells where inmates were imprisoned, tortured and executed. If you’ve been to the House of Terror in Budapest, this is the next on the list for you.

Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Minsk (Belarus)
Minsk itself is a new experience for many people in so many ways – a Stalinist ideal of what a city looks like. Minsk has been described by various people as ‘where communist architecture works’ and you get a sense of this walking around the city. And this museum is no exception.

Inside the interpretation is all in Russian or Belorussian, so the interpretive layering of information was almost lost on me. But with some basic knowledge we managed to find our way around pretty well. There are some rather exciting dioramas and some great set pieces. Perhaps my favourite part is the orange stained glass window in – pure socialist-realist iconography at work.
It’s a little confusing, but well worth visiting if you’re in the city.

And when you’re done, get a hot (or boozy) drink at Моя английская бабушка (My English Granny) nearby, opposite the British Embassy.

And the winner is

Neues Museum, Berlin (Germany)
Wow, just wow.

I’ve seen some museum buildings in my time, and I’ve visited plenty of cultural institutions which have had architectural interventions breathe life into them (think British Museum, Manchester’s Royal Exchange, Royal Academy) but the renovations to the Neues Museum really are enormously impressive. I’m a good 6ft2in, but I felt utterly swamped by this building – like a tiny ant crawling up the side of a rock.

I don’t want to ruin the surprise for anyone who’s thinking of visiting, but the structural interventions into this historic building have been done with care and sensitivity. And the way the building has been thought out makes the objects it contains make sense.
I was working on a project about Amarna Egypt at the time I visited in October 2011, so I was pleased to see the objects relating to that period, but surely the star of the show has to be Nefertiti herself, presiding over a whole wing of the museum on one of the upper floors.

We didn’t really have enough time when we visited, so I’d say allow a good couple of hours if you want to take in both the amazing building and the world-class collection of Egyptian, classical antiquities and prehistoric German material.

Next year’s award in this category is likely to be even more exotic as I’ve just booked an incredibly exciting and geeky holiday, which makes our trip to Lithuania and Belarus look like a weekend in the Cotswolds! Come back in December 2012 for an update.

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Provincial Town of the Year 2011

In Awards, Museums on December 26, 2011 at 12:54 pm

This year has seen me galloping around the UK rather a lot for work. It’s been great fun to see so many places and to meet people working in museums up and down the country.

That said I’ve stood on many cold platforms, endured lonely nights in strange hotels and eaten quite a few sorry meals on my own. Spending time in a British provincial town solo is a good way to try and understand a place – to figure out what makes it tick and to see if it’s the kind of place I’d want to live ever. I have to say, there are very few that are looking to beat London, even if there are a lot of museums around the place.

So I thought that as part of my annual awards I ought to create a new category for Provincial Town of the Year.
Here’s the short list of where I went (and what I was doing there):

Margate – to see the new Turner Contemporary
Hmmm, people say there’s a renaissance happening in Margate. They’ve got a great new art gallery and some lovely tea rooms, but I think I’ll wait and see on this one. (They are planning a rollercoaster museum, however, so let’s watch this one with interest!)

Oxford – to work on a multimedia guide for The Ashmolean
I always enjoy a trip to Oxford and feel I now know if well enough to hang out there at night as well as during the day. But not sure I could live there full time.

Petworth – to work on a multimedia guide of Petworth House
This is charming little village in West Sussex, dominated by the massive National Trust property and overrun with antique shops. It’s cute, but it’s far too small for me. (And I suspect property prices aren’t far off London!)

Glasgow – to see the new Riverside Museum
The museum itself (designed by Zaha Hadid) on the banks of the river is an architectural triumph and a great visitor attraction to the area. It’s rather out of town, so it won’t add that much to the regeneration of the city, but we had time to jet into the centre to see the much-heralded Kelvingrove Museum. And to sample some fab Scottish food!

Cambridge – to chair focus groups for a piece of research
If I were an American I’d say Cambridge felt cuter and OLD-er than Oxford, and certainly has more charm. But it’s perhaps lacking the pace and city attitude that Oxford has. The Fitzwilliam Museum is a pretty fab museum though – like a mini-British Museum.

Manchester – to interview the public about the First World War
This is where I grew up, so am likely to always hold a soft spot for Manchester. This is perhaps the only place on the list where I’d move tomorrow. I visited this year in the sunny September heat wave so was thoroughly entertained by the Mancunians, who weren’t entirely sure what the large yellow thing in the sky was!

Bristol – to see the new MShed
I’ve been to Bristol a few times over the last five years or so and find I like it more and more. There’s certainly a very vibrant cultural life there. But is it just too far away from London, perhaps?

Bath – to see museums and eat lovely food
I can’t believe I’d not been to Bath before. If you’ve not been, it’s a cute as you think it is. And then some. Great museums and great food. My top tip would be to take the tour of the freemasons’ hall – it’s a great space and well worth spending a few hours having a nosy around. And the Holbourne Museum is definitely worth the trip.

Edinburgh – to work on a multimedia guide for National Mining Museum Scotland
I went a few times to Edinburgh for work this year. Alas, I was on the outskirts of town which, charming as they are, aren’t quite comparable to the centre of town. I think I’m due a trip back there for the festival in 2012, Olympics permitting.

Belfast – to see the great museums there and visit the site of the new Titanic Museum
It was great to get back to Northern Ireland this year and to get under the skin of Belfast. It’s a city which has had its (un)fair share of troubles over the last 40 years, but it’s still a hugely welcoming place. Some people forget that NI is part of the same landmass as the rest of Ireland and that it’s simply beautiful. The developments on the docks are set to revitalise the city even further and I can see some more trips back there coming soon.

And the winner is …

Chichester
I visited a few times to work with the team building The Novium, a new museum due to open in Chichester in 2012.
It’s just such a cute town. There isn’t a whole load of things to do, but as a town (sorry, city) it all seems to work rather well, sitting together in a very happy medium.

Working on the museum content I got to learn plenty about the history of the place. And I also sat in on choral evensong in Chichester Cathedral, which is well worth it if you’re in town.

Where have you been to in the provinces in 2011? Any good tips?

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Sandwich of the Year 2011

In Awards on December 23, 2011 at 10:03 am

2011 has been another year of travelling around the country for me, mostly with the intention of visiting museums, of course. As a freelancer on the go, I find I eat a lot of sandwiches, so for the third instalment of my annual awards, I’ve chosen my favourite three.

First runner up goes to the Marks & Spencer (the staple of any train-reliant freelancer) Roast beef and horseradish sandwich which has long been a favourite comfort food of mine, especially if you’ve had a hard day and all you want is a hug in a sandwich.

Second prize goes to the cafe of the Ulster Museum, Belfast who have a charming new cafe in their redeveloped museum. After marching around their fabulous displays you need to stop for soup and a sandwich which is served in traditionally Irish generous portions.

But first prize goes to the cafe bar of the Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol. This place reminds me of the kind of place I like to find if I’m visiting Europe – it has that special the kind of laid back and arty environment that we don’t tend to do that well in the UK. Sip a glass of wine with their tasty fresh sarnies (and many other things beside) and be sure to try the polenta chips. And when you’re done, go look at the art or one of the other world-class museums within a few minutes.

Lunch. Museum. Done.

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Audioguide of the Year 2011

In Awards, Museums on December 19, 2011 at 8:15 am

Audioguides are like marmite – people tend to either like them or hate them. Some people will always take the option of an audioguide if it’s available while others will do everything they can to ensure they don’t have to use one.

I suppose I’m on the fence a bit – I tend to take them if I know I’ve got enough time to listen to everything in the tour and also am in the mood to read more as well and make my own meaning. Maybe it just depends what mood I’m in. As a writer of audio and multimedia guides it’s important to me to take plenty of audio tours, to hear what’s working and what’s not and to pick up new tips. And fashions seem to change as well, so it’s worthwhile keeping up to date with the latest styles and techniques.

So I decided to award a prize this year to three audio guides I rated as successful tours.

The runners-up were the tour for the Royal Manuscripts exhibition at the British Library which really helped me to focus and look in detail at some of the finer points of objects which I wouldn’t naturally find that interesting; and the tour of the Roman Baths at Bath, which I visited for the first time this year . It was great to be given the option of hearing from people like Bill Bryson as I moved around the baths – he’s always got something interesting to say. This tour stood out for me as being strong on direction – I always knew exactly where to stand and what to do.

But the winner for me this year was the guide for the Scott and Shackleton photography exhibition, currently on at the Queen’s Gallery. The audio tour took me on a journey with these brave explorers as they faced their various challenges along the way. The way the guide was written left me wondering what was going to happen next in the adventure – I was sometimes looking desperately for the next stop on the tour so I could find out what came next, like flipping the pages of a good novel.  It was really quite personal and I was almost in tears at the end of the exhibition.

An audio guide that moves visitors to tears? Great work!

Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination is open at the British Library until 13 March 2012.

The Roman Baths at Bath are open every day.

The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton & Antarctic Photography is open at the Queen’s Gallery until 15 April 2012.

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Audioguide of the year

Audioguides are like marmite – people tend to either like them or hate them. Some people will always take the option of an audioguide if it’s available while others will do everything they can to ensure they don’t have to use one.

I suppose I’m on the fence a bit – I tend to take them if I know I’ve got enough time to listen to everything in the tour and also am in the mood to read more as well and make my own meaning. Maybe it just depends what mood I’m in. As a writer of audio and multimedia guides it’s important to me to take plenty of audio tours, to hear what’s working and what’s not and to pick up new tips. And fashions seem to change as well, so it’s worthwhile keeping up to date with the latest styles and techniques.

So I decided to award a prize this year to three audio guides I rated as successful tours.

The runners-up were the tour for the Royal Manuscripts exhibition at the British Library which really helped me to focus and look in detail at some of the finer points of objects which I wouldn’t naturally find that interesting; and the tour of the Roman Baths at Bath, which I visited for the first time this year . It was great to be given the option of hearing from people like Bill Bryson as I moved around the baths – he’s always got something interesting to say. This tour stood out for me as being strong on direction – I always knew exactly where to stand and what to do.

But the winner for me this year was the guide for the Scott and Shackleton photography exhibition, currently on at the Queen’s Gallery. The audio tour took me on a journey with these brave explorers as they faced their various challenges along the way. The way the guide was written left me wondering what was going to happen next in the adventure – I was sometimes looking desperately for the next stop on the tour so I could find out what came next, like flipping the pages of a good novel.  It was really quite personal and I was almost in tears at the end of the exhibition.

An audio guide that moves visitors to tears? Great work!

Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination [http://www.bl.uk/royal] is open at the British Library until 13 March 2012.

The Roman Baths [http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/]at Bath are open every day.

The Heart of the Great Alone: Scott, Shackleton & Antarctic Photography [http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/microsites/HOTGA/] is open at the Queen’s Gallery until 15 April 2012.

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Word of the Year 2011

In Awards on December 15, 2011 at 3:14 pm

As 2011 draws to a close I’m publishing, once again, my annual awards of the year. There’ll be a few prizes being given out over the next few weeks covering a range of topics. Regular followers of these awards will be familiar with the standard categories such as Museum Object of the Year and Sandwich of the Year. And there’ll be some new categories this year too. Turner Prize, this aint.

At a festive gathering of other freelancers this yuletide, I posed the regular question about Word of the Year.

What word or phrase sums up the last twelve months? In years to come when we look back at 2011, how will we sum it up, or describe it in one word?

Last year seemed to be a bit simpler. 2010 was defined by words like coalition, deficit, wikileaks and vuvuzela. But 2011 has been a bit more tricky.

Runners up in our incredibly scientific vote were RIOT, PHONE HACKING, ARAB SPRING and FENTON!

But the winner was UPRISING.

That’s a bit of a surprise to me – I mean it’s been a hugely important year in terms of people taking to the streets and making their voices heard (or not heard in some cases) but it seems a bit strong to say that 2011 is the most significant year in terms of uprisings.

I’d probably cite 1789, 1917, 1956 and 1989 as years of pretty impressive uprisings, if asked. I wonder if 2011 is really as impactful as those years?

Reflecting on this, I suppose that those four years stick out in our minds as individual instances of uprisings – be it in France, Russia, Hungary or East Germany. 2011 stands out from these years as a time when people felt the need to rise up and seek to overcome their oppressors – be it in Egypt, Libya, Syria or Wall Street. It’s been a year of amazing change across the Middle East and the wider world and the ways in which uprisings have been coordinated – using the Web, facebook and twitter – and the speed with which we have learned about them has been unprecedented.

So maybe UPRISING does sum up this year pretty well.

Strangely DOWNTON ABBEY didn’t get a vote. But PANDA did.

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Word of the Year

In Awards on December 21, 2010 at 9:41 am

The final instalment in my annual award ceremony is here. Unlike the other awards Word of the Year 2010 hasn’t simply been decided by me in my ivory tower. Instead, I invited some other people round to my ivory tower to tell me what they think the most important word of this year has been.

I was looking for a word that will sum up the spirit of the last twelve months when we look back at 2010 in, say. a decade or so. Will we remember this year for a landmark shift in British politics, for the ash cloud which dominated and disrupted our travel plans or for a previously unheard of musical instrument?

It turns out there is a three-way tie between the largest words in this picture:

You can view the wordcloud (which is one of my favourite words of the year) in full at Wordle.net.

Thanks to all those who took part. The voters are all freelancers who I’ve met through various connections over the years. They are lovely people who, like me, celebrate the freedoms (and appreciate the frustrations) of being a self-employed creative. They all deserve a quick mention, so if you fancy a browse of the cream of the creative and entrepreneurial talent in London right now, just scroll down here and take a look at their websites.

The voters were:
Alan Shaw, developer of the iPhone app GPSMS
Tegwen Tucker, actress and voice over artist
Alyson Webb of the cultural app consultancy Frankly, Green and Webb
Ann Curtis, editor of the online magazine Museum [Insider]
Gerlinde Gniewosz, owner of educational app developer Zuztertu Ltd
Yang-May Ooi, business coach at ZenGuide Coaching
Sue King, designer of bespoke glassware pieces
Kath Cockshaw, freelance curator and project manager
Debbie Bartlett, 3D design guru
Catriona Ryan, director of the Armchair Theatre Company
Cathleen Taylor, Events Director at the Association of Celebrity Assistants
Kate Paul, author of many museum and gallery audio guide scripts
Tim Groves, theatrical marketing guru
Angie MacDonald, owner of ZenAngie website design studio
Maria Blyzinski and Sian Flynn of the creative cooperative The Exhibitions Team

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Exhibition of the Year

In Awards, Museums on December 15, 2010 at 9:48 am

What has been your favourite museum/gallery exhibition of 2010? Here are my top four…

Runners up:

Henry Moore (Tate Britain, London) – This beautiful show brought together a huge range of Moore’s work into one space – not an easy task when there are some enormous sculptures needing to be displayed alongside incredibly detailed drawings. But I hugely appreciated the sensitive juxtaposition of both large and small sculpted objects along with his moving drawings of the lives of miners and people living in the London Underground in the Second World War. The display even persuaded me to invest in the catalogue, which is almost unheard of.

The Science of Painting (National Gallery, London) – This exhibition was a real diversion for the gallery in terms of their temporary displays. It unpacked the conservation stories behind some of the paintings in the Gallery in an engaging way, explaining complex terminology and really making visitors look at the pictures. The lively and well-structured interpretation meant that viewing the exhibition was effortless and I even saw someone using the printed glossary leaflet next door in the NPG to look up an art term she didn’t understand in one of their labels! It’s a shame there’s no online legacy for the project. Nothing, not even a page on their website for me to direct you to. They lose out.

Haus der Musik (Vienna) – This interactive exploration of the nature of sound – with lots of toys and musical interactive to play with – is followed by an explanation of Vienna’s significance in the history of Western music. The culmination is a chance to get up on the rostrum and conduct the Vienna Phil!

And the winner is…

Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes (V&A, London) – There was a good chance I was always going to love this exhibition. I remember getting excited about seeing it when it was first announced a few years ago. But because I’m interested in the subject matter it did make me somewhat nervous going in. Would it be the same as all the other V&A exhibitions? (I like them, but I rarely rave about them.) Would it match my expectations?

Wow, it did. And more. It’s a really well-told story about the development of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes project. Although not that many objects belonging to him remain, the V&A have managed to bring out some of the back story of the man – his personality, his foibles, his peculiarities.

While the exhibition does tend to stick to the V&A’s usual interpretive format of ‘storytelling –> pretty dresses –> storytelling –> pretty dresses’ (I’ve ranted before about how I’d prefer to see costume and fashion used as storytelling devices, rather than illustrative of the point they’re trying to make) it manages to present a strong and – I think – captivating story through art, posters, design, personal belongings and fashion. I finished each section with the same question – what happened next?!

The star of the show – and indeed the year, for me – was the ‘staging’ of the V&A’s largest object in a dramatic audio-visual presentation (by Newangle). That has to be one of the finest combination of sound and images I’ve seen in 2010. I won’t ruin the surprise, but do go and see it.

You’ll have to hurry though as the exhibition closes on 9 January.

The newly inaugurated Interpretive Catastrophe of the Year award goes to RMS Titanic Inc. They clearly have some great objects in their ‘collection’ and they’ve put on a very showy display at the O2, but they completely forgot to tell a story in their exhibition about the ship. Boo – that’s £15 I won’t get back.


Other awards already announced this year are:

iPhone app of the Year
Museum object of the Year
London terminus of the Year

More to follow before Christmas…

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Museum object of the year

In Awards on December 11, 2010 at 10:04 am

The third instalment of my 2010 awards is a new category for this year. It celebrates an iconic object I’ve seen for the first time with my own eyes in the last twelve months. It is, of course, completely dependent of where I’ve been and what I’ve seen. And what I find impressive.

Runners up

The Alfred Jewel (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford)
I’d never really wondered about why it was so significant, but it’s actually a hugely beautiful piece. And it’s one of the most significant archaeological finds in the UK, ever.

Gutenberg Bible (Lambeth Palace Library, London)
There’s something strangely humbling about being in front of one of the first books ever printed. It looks just like any other book, but it’s certainly got a special something about it. It was printed in 1455. As our American cousins might observe, that’s so old!

Titanic bell (O2, London)
This object, on its own in a spotlit display case, was a great way to start an exhibition. Raised 2.5 miles off the Atlantic seabed, it’s an amazing icon of the fated ship. It’s just a shame that the rest of the exhibition was such a let down.

And the winner is…

Michelangelo’s David (Accademia Gallery, Florence)
Well there aren’t many more iconic pieces of sculpture in the world than this. Of course in Florence we saw countless other masterpieces, but this one really does stick out (no pun intended). I’ve marvelled at the cast of this in the V&A for years, but it’s even more special when it’s in the beautiful setting of the Accademia, where it belongs.
(NB: if you’re ever there, don’t forget to turn around and look at the collection of amazing half-finished Michelangelo sculptures , also known as the Gallery of the Slaves.)

Getting to see such amazing objects as these is one of the reasons I love working in the museums and heritage sector.
What have you seen this year that impressed you? Drop me a line with your favourites.

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London rail terminus of the year

In Awards on December 9, 2010 at 9:10 am

As a freelance museum consultant I spend a lot of time on the road – or more precisely the rail – travelling around the country to see clients. I’m based in London, so I find myself quite regularly using the various terminus stations around the edge of the city centre to get trains out to farflung places. At the moment I’m spending a lot of time in the southwest region, working on audioguide and multimedia guide projects.

So, for the next instalment in my annual awards, which started earlier this week with my favourite iPhone apps of the year, I ask you to consider your favourite London train station (no really). Here’s my verdict…

Runners up

Paddington – The judge(s) noted the excellent range of facilities and shopping opportunities when en route to the west country. Favourites include a very compact – yet well-stocked – M&S Food and an outlet of Paul.

Waterloo – ten years ago you wouldn’t have rated Waterloo as one of the top stations in London, but it’s sharpened up its game of late. I find it particularly good for promotional freebies. Best win this year was a pot of hot porridge on a cold morning.

And the winner is …

St Pancras – An easy choice, really. We all know you can have champagne before a train journey. But did you know there are TWO M&S Food stores in the station? It’s an iconic building in London and it will be for years to come. Plus with trains about to run direct to Germany in 2011, it’ll be even more useful. And the building work taking place next door at Kings Cross means it’ll soon be even better.
Do you agree? Got a better nominee? Let me know.

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