Museums Northumberland

Shaping the future of collections with the community through Femmer to Firmer

The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund provided Museums Northumberland, through Femmer to Firmer (‘femmer’ means ‘fragile’ in Northumbrian dialect), with an opportunity to collaborate with its local communities to amplify their voices and shape the future of the collections.

Museums Northumberland’s collections are formed from separate collections at four sites, previously owned by different local authorities. Historic cataloguing issues meant that there was no complete inventory of what Museums Northumberland owned.

A team of community volunteers made a complete inventory of the collections. Others responded to Museum Northumberland’s call-out to form a community panel to advise on and make decisions about disposals, and to co-develop a collections development policy identifying themes and priorities for rationalisation, disposals and acquisitions reflecting Northumberland and its people.

The panel’s work was structured around regular sessions facilitated by museum staff. Conversations and consultation were key. From the outset staff involved panel members to inform how they wanted sessions structured, which informed the timing and location of sessions so that those with different commitments and resources could take part, and expenses were met.

In sessions, using objects from the collection, members engaged with issues, ethics and practice relating to disposal and acquisition. People’s stories and how they related to collections were explored across different parts of Northumberland. The panel informed creation of hands-on sessions using objects from the collection.

Time was vital for effective collaboration. This included time to discuss objects in sessions and to share stories and knowledge, time to build relationships and trust, and time to establish objects’ ownership and determine disposal routes.

Panel sessions also focused on museum staff sharing curatorial skills and knowledge and supporting the community to look after their collection.

Museums Northumberland prioritised staff time for working alongside panel members as one team. Museum board members were also knowledgeable about this work and it is exciting for Femmer to Firmer staff that other parts of Museums Northumberland have also benefitted from the value and expertise the panel brings. The panel has since advised the retail team and contributed advice on exhibitions and programming.

A new role of community connector to lead liaison with the panel and wider community is now exploring with them how else they may want to influence and engage with the organisation, and the success of the panel and its work has transformed the approach to future engagement for the museum.

Local communities’ voices in acquisitions are written into the co-developed collections development policy. Panel members recently referred to it when it considered the offer of a group of paintings for the collection. With contextual information about the paintings provided by staff, and guided by their co-authored policy, they decided not to accept the donation.