Travelling Together: Museum Journeys Towards Inclusion and Collaboration is our big investment into the skills, confidence, and aptitudes of our vibrant museum sector to help museums to reach a wider range of people.
This year-long project has taken eight museums on a learning journey and supported them to make changes needed to grow in accessibility and relevance for their communities. We recruited seven Champions who, as part of the project, helped to organise peer network meetings, as well as designed supportive sessions for museums on accessibility, engagement and inclusive programming.
We know that museums of all sizes have both the potential and appetite to put themselves at the heart of their communities. By taking part in Travelling Together, the project participants built on existing work and access the funding, training, and peer support to go further, in line with their individual organisational goals and needs.
This project was made possible thanks to a grant from National Lottery Heritage Fund and funding from Arts Council England.
The cohort participated in a series of intense training workshops and peer networking opportunities to support them to grow in accessibility and relevance for their communities. They received a grant of £1,500 and access to relevant experts and mentors to help kick-start projects which challenge the barriers faced by their audiences. The cohort museums were:
Champions were individuals who have been given the opportunity to start their own personal learning journey as well as create opportunities to share good practice with others through a series of peer network sessions. Our seven champions used their own lived experience to spark new discussions and encourage a deeper understanding of what true inclusivity looks like in the heritage sector. The Champions joined us from:
Introducing Sam, a Creative Collaborative Facilitator and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion consultant with experience in education, heritage, and museums. With a deep understanding of neurodivergence and a commitment to empowering marginalised voices, Sam is dedicated to driving impactful change through his work.
Louisa Adjoa Parker is a writer and poet of English-Ghanaian heritage who lives in South West England. Louisa has written extensively about ethnically diverse history and rural racism, as well as writing works as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion consultant. She is a sought-after speaker and trainer on rural racism, black history and mental health.
Nina is interested in the work the heritage sector is doing to welcome and include marginalised voices. She was the Curating for Change Trainee at Horniman Museum and Gardens. She has supported the archiving of the National Disability Arts Collection and Archive (NDACA) and has advised on accessibility at the V&A, British Ceramics Biennial and The British Museum. She is also a trustee at Stagetext.
Inclusive Recruiting is an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion consultancy with experience of supporting arts organisations and third sector organisations. Their mission is to embed true equity, diversity and inclusion within organisations now to create belonging and an empowered workforce to lead the future. Their training aims to break barriers to create equitable workplaces for organisations and the people powering them.
Sign up to our newsletter to keep up-to-date with the latest news on Travelling Together.
Team members, participants and supporters recently gathered in Taunton to celebrate our project Travelling Together. Find out how our participants have got on and what they will be doing differently as a result of the project.
Find out what the Travelling Together cohort have learnt and how you can take part in peer networking sessions.
We are delighted to announce that the participants of Travelling Together have been onboarded and the project will now enter its training and networking phase.
Travelling Together is taking off this month with our steering group now on board. In this newsletter you can find out more about becoming a Champion, news on our Arts Council England bid and new resources.
Our National Lottery Heritage Fund project will develop museums’ skills and confidence to listen and create change across the communities they serve.