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 …

The UK museum building sector is still doing pretty well, despite the economic downturn – this is mostly due to the funds for new museums which are to be completed in 2012 having been agreed, commited and often paid up, well before the recession started.

I have a new article on Museum [Insider] today about the various projects that are set to open to the public this year. The massive Titanic Signature Building in Belfast will open in March and after that there’ll be opening parties in Preston, Chichester, Porthmeor, Birmingham and London amongst others. (I really do hope you’ve remembered to put me on the guest list – my new year’s resolution for 2012 is not to eat standing up, but I make an exception for canapes.)

And there are more celebrations set to come when more and more new museums open in the coming years. We’re presently putting the research together for a third e-book about the future of the museum and heritage sector in the UK and Ireland and it’s astonishing how many projects we’ve managed to include in it. If you’re working on a project set to open between now and 2019 and would like to get a write up in the book, then just email me: steve@steveslack.co.uk.

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.

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?

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.

There’s an article all about what they’re up to, with quotes from me, on the BBC website. (I happened to be down there last week and got chatting to the journalist who was preparing the piece.)

My work on the project has been around the interpretation for the new museum. I worked with staff in Chichester back in February, helping them to think about the tone and style of the text for the displays. Now I’m back helping them with the final push, looking over the text as it is being drafted and doing some little bits of research and writing to help out.

Apart from the early planning phases, I find this part of a project one of the most exciting. The objects are selected, the text is coming together and the designs are coming through from the studio. Everyone is being creative and using their expertise to create a first-class museum product that I’m sure visitors will find really interesting and engaging when the doors open next year.

Watch this space for more updates on the project.

* the name NOVIUM comes from the Roman name for Chichester, NOVIOMAGNUS REGINORUM.

But that’s not stopped some councils in England thinking about alternative ways of delivering library services to the public. I’ve written an article about two councils in London  (Wandsworth and Croydon) who are in the process of contracting out their entire library service to an external provider.

It can’t be much fun trying to balance the books of a local authority at the moment and it’s interesting to see how some councils are coming up with creative ways of funding their core services. But are there also concerns about how this will go down with the public?

Read the article on Museum [Insider] to find out.

Following on from a couple of projects I’ve worked on recently with BBC Learning – curating two small, travelling exhibitions about British history – they asked me to write and present a short clip for their website about how to go about researching history.

I’m not an historical expert – I don’t pretend to be an authority on any one subject. But I have done plenty of research over the years and I know and understand how to use museums, archives, libraries and the Internet as historical sources. In fact, there are so many free resources out there just begging to be used, that I leapt at the chance to tell people about them in this video.

It’s live on the BBC Hands on History website now, or just click on the picture below to see me in action.

I really enjoyed the filming process from writing a script to being on set. And doing many many takes of the same piece of dialogue when I messed up/a dog ran by/ plane went over etc.

Do let me know what you think of the clip. I only did it as a bit of fun, but I think it turned out rather well.

Maybe I’ll have another go soon.

Chances are you think of particular museum – a specific example of one. Or maybe you just think of display cases. Or of visitors looking at objects. Or do you think of people, talking and sharing stories?

I wonder if we’re ever going to figure out how to define what a museum is. The museum community has been trying to define it for years.

According to Wikipedia a museum is ‘an institution that houses and cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits  that may be permanent or temporary.’

The International Council of Museum updates its definition of a museum every so often, the most recent being at the 21st General Conference in Vienna, Austria, in 2007. They say a museum is ‘a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study and enjoyment.’

That’s only two definitions and there are many, many more out there.

I’ve been pondering a supposition that in fact each person will end up defining what the word ‘museum’ means to them in terms of three things 1) how they perceive museums;  2) what they’re into in general and 3) how they use museums.

Someone who perceives museums as old-fashioned and boring place, isn’t interested in heritage and never visits one is probably going to end up giving a rather negative definition of a museum. While someone who sees museums as places of learning and dialogue, is into cultural history and goes to museums a lot is likely to give a largely positive and enthusiastic definition. These two standpoints are, of course, polar opposites and there are a huge range of positions in between.

I’d be interested in exploring the different responses to those three questions and then trying to find a common ground on what a museum actually is. It’d be a hugely social definition of what a museum is, but it’d be interesting to find out.

Hmmm, there’s another PhD project for ever-growing list ….

I was asked by the lovely people at BBC Learning to curate a little exhibition that will go on tour while the programme is airing and it’s about to launch this weekend. It’s a part of Hands On History, a programme of live events and online resources linked to television shows that are airing. I’ve previously worked with them on the Turn Back Time show last year and they’ve also run campaigns related to the Normans, Victorians and the Second World War.

The current live events include a chance to sit in a 1950s mobile cinema, an interactive area and a timeline of British social history, curated by me, with some tv screens showing archive film.

The Reel History Live Experience takes place in …

Glasgow – Fri 9 and Sat 10 September
Grimsby – Fri 16 and Sat 17 September
Peterborough – Fri 23 and Sat 24 September
Leicester – Fri 30 September and Sat 1 October

Do let me know if you go along!