On 5th March 2019 a small but energised group of museum professionals gathered at Woodhorn Colliery Museum to consider how environmental concerns might be focus for connections between a museum and its community. Museums in the Happy Museum community of practice already tackle subjects as diverse as energy use, waste and recycling, food production and […]
Read More →In January 2019, our Affiliate Chester Zoo hosted a session for the Happy Museum (HM) Community of Practice exploring the subject of Co-Production for Social Change. The workshop was an experiment for the HM community – offering the host, Chester Zoo, the opportunity to explore a question of interest to its team, with input from […]
Read More →Relationships with objects are primary to human growth, development and mental health: they are a core element of our psychological metabolism. In therapy, as in museums, as in life, objects are companions in experience; witnesses to the past and present; connectors to people, places and experiences; devices for communion; for holding on and for letting […]
Read More →We hear from Rowan Guthrie and Jane Cockcroft about their experience of playful interventions at the Ashmolean The Ashmolean Museum is an affiliate of the Happy Museum. Over the last year, we have been involved in a series of training days which have helped to shape our thinking about the importance and potential of play […]
Read More →The news has been full of stories about palm oil – with the Rang Tan video going viral and many petitions and campaigns being set up in response. We wondered how museums could respond. Our Affiliate, Chester Zoo, recently blogged about the work they have done in their organisation, and with their community campaigning for sustainable palm […]
Read More →In early 2018 Happy Museum joined Culture24, 64 Million Artists and Battersea Arts Centre on Lets Get Real 6 as partners in an action research project investigating the impact of digital technologies on social impact in Museums. Inspired by a blog written by Sejul Malde of Culture24 Museums doing digital and museums doing good — can we forge […]
Read More →Between 24 and 26 April over 60 members of the Happy Museum community of practice gathered with the HM team, trustees, partners and supporters in the beautiful setting of Stoke Rochford Hall in Grantham. The Happy Museum fourth symposium was a chance to bring together our growing Community of Practice, share learning from our […]
Read More →Breathing Canterbury Happy Museum Affiliate the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge in Canterbury has commissioned a project and exhibition, Breathing Canterbury, exploring the effects of air pollution on Canterbury and beyond. The Beaney commissioned an artist/facilitator, Trudi Field, to work with local partners to create exhibits to raise awareness of this important issue. Workshop participants […]
Read More →SAY IT IN CLAY was a session led by Lucy Neal and Michael Martin from Encounters at the Happy Museum’s 4th Symposium. The session’s genesis lay in previous collaborations between Happy Museum and Clayground Collective – and in particular a 2015 session where a small group of museum practitioners gathered on a canal boat in Kings […]
Read More →Recent years have seen a surge in responses to climate change from museums across the world – a movement that found focus in a Symposium on Museums and Climate Change in Manchester in April 2018 – congratulations to Henry McGhie and the other organisers.. Happy Museum was delighted to present a paper – alongside a fascinating […]
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