"Open Up: Museums for Everyone" Toolkit Available

Resulting from the collaboration between several British museum organisations, 20 museums across the UK, and Julie Aldridge Consulting, and with support from several public bodies, this month has seen the launch of a new website and a series of free resources emerging from the 'Open Up: Museums for Everyone' project.

The project and resulting resources were designed to help all size museums to increase the diversity of their visitors to make real and lasting change in the museum sector.

Co-created with twelve pioneering museums, the new resources can be downloaded in PDF and are available in English and Welsh. They include:

• A practical guide to support museums to increase the diversity of their visitors; and an introduction to the guide
• Case studies from participating museums
• A checklist on factors for success when developing greater visitor diversity in museums

By working with the participating museums, the project captured stories of change – the factors of success that have led to museums significantly diversifying their visitors and the questions that they regularly ask of themselves to continue to improve. Case studies are drawn from Derby Museums, Beamish Museum, Museum of Cambridge, Glasgow Women’s Library, Black Country Living Museum, Whitworth Art Gallery, Cardiff Story Museum, Colchester and Ipswich Museums, Victoria & Albert Museum (an ASEMUS member), National Museums Northern Ireland, National Museum Wales and National Museums Liverpool.

"Open Up: Museums for Everyone" began in 2017 at the initiation of the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and as a partnership between AIM, Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Association, Museums Galleries Scotland, National Museums Northern Ireland and the Welsh Government.

The study was led by Julie Adridge Consulting and the Guide is written by Julie Aldridge, Mel Larsen and Pam Jarvis and co-created with 20 museums across all four countries of the UK.

The project also invites museums across the UK to get involved, offer their own advice and expertise and receive further project news by registering on the project's website. For additional information about 'Open Up: Museums for Everyone' and access to the resources, please visit http://www.openupmuseums.com/  

Sources: Network of European Museum Organisations - NEMO; and Association of Independent Museums, UK