̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums

Museum Encounters: Parkinson's Dance Course

jek67 — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 08:08:31 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums (UCM) today launch a ground-breaking Parkinson's dance programme inspired by museum artefacts.

Report highlights ̽��ֱ��’s under-researched African collections

ta385 — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 06:00:00 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ��'s collections include an estimated 350,000 artefacts, alongside natural history specimens and human/ancestral remains, from Africa, according to a new report aiming to promote further research, collaboration and engagement, especially with African scholars and communities. ̽��ֱ��report emphasises that the labour and expertise of countless unnamed African people is hidden in the histories of these collections.

Collections-based research and innovation receives vital investment from Research England

ta385 — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:58:00 +0000

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� cares for the country’s highest concentration of internationally important collections outside London, with more than five million works of art, artefacts and specimens. Together, these collections play a fundamental role in delivering the ̽��ֱ�� mission to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence and encompasses collaboration with and support of world-renowned researchers, game-changing research-led exhibitions and wide-ranging inclusion and learning programmes, promoting wellbeing, creativity and connectivity.

“I’m delighted that Research England has made such a strong statement of support for collections-based research at Cambridge, particularly in a challenging funding landscape,” said Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for ̽��ֱ�� Community and Engagement.

“ ̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� continues to invest in enhanced research infrastructure and services to generate and enable research that spans the arts and the sciences, including via a Strategic Research Initiative, Collections-Connections-Communities that provides a convening space for research that benefits our communities. HEMG funding is critical in ensuring our collections support researchers and students across the UK and worldwide, through infrastructure, services, staffing and equitable collaboration.”

This year, the ̽��ֱ�� Herbarium joins the portfolio for the first time and the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences rejoins the portfolio.

Sam Brockington, academic lead for the Herbarium, which was recently awarded Designated status, said: “It’s fantastic to see the ̽��ֱ�� Herbarium receive investment in this way. ̽��ֱ��Herbarium is the fourth-largest of its kind in the country, and a rich resource that supports a huge range of scientific and humanities research. Research supported by the Herbarium ranges from the discovery of species new to science, to the genomics of crop improvement, and investigations into the history and development of scientific ideas and natural history. This investment will enable us to substantially develop our support for the wider academic community.”

Dr Liz Hide, Director of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, which has been awarded £210,000 a year, said: “I’m delighted that Research England has recognised the strength of the Sedgwick’s collections and their importance to the UK and international research landscape. Over the next five years, this new investment will be transformative for the Sedgwick Museum, ensuring researchers can fully utilise our new Collections Research Centre, and enabling our outstanding collections to inspire many new avenues of research across both the sciences and the humanities.”

Dr Juliette Fritsch, the ̽��ֱ��’s first Director for Collections’ Strategy, said: "I’m thrilled to work across the incredible resources contained within the ̽��ֱ��’s museums, libraries, and botanic garden collections to create strategies together, building on major initiatives, such as the cross-collections Power and Memory programme. These integrated approaches enhance our collective impact and are only possible through the input of our funders, including Research England and Arts Council England.”

̽��ֱ��full list of ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge museums and collections awarded HEMG funding are:

1. Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Botanic Garden
2. Fitzwilliam Museum
3. Kettle’s Yard
4. Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology (MAA)
5. ̽��ֱ�� Museum of Zoology
6. Polar Museum
7. Whipple Museum of the History of Science
8. Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
9. Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Herbarium

Research England has supported nine of the ̽��ֱ��’s museums and collections with £3m a year of Higher Education Museums, Galleries and Collections (HEMG) funding, over the coming five years.

HEMG funding is critical in ensuring our collections support researchers and students across the UK and worldwide

Kamal Munir

©markbox.co.uk

Rhododendron brookianum type specimen from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Herbarium

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution

̽��ֱ�� collections and regional partners secure major AHRC funding to boost PhD research with strong community focus

ta385 — Thu, 18 May 2023 11:30:00 +0000

Fifteen fully-funded PhD studentships based in these collections, and with a strong community focus, will be offered, with the first five studentships beginning in October 2024.

̽��ֱ��Collections and Communities in the East of England CDP consortium, the region’s first, will equip future research leaders with the skills and experience for careers in the creative and cultural sectors, supporting a pipeline of staff into the museum and cultural sector.

̽��ֱ��Consortium holds extraordinary collections of over 20 million items, spanning the globe and hundreds of millions of years, including art and archaeology, anthropology, social history, natural history, books, archives, photography, born digital material, buildings and living plants.

In line with the priorities of the new ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Strategic Research Initiative Collections-Connections-Communities, the PhD students will undertake research around today’s societal challenges, with a focus on health and wellbeing, environment and sustainability, and identity.

Each student will benefit from a cross-consortium training programme, providing experience in both ̽��ֱ�� and local authority museums, as well as professional internships in organisations including BT. Consortium members will also ensure that students are equipped to undertake interdisciplinary research using participatory methodologies, where local communities play critical roles as co-researchers.

This CDP will create an inspiring, diverse, transdisciplinary, inclusive and supportive environment for doctoral students that will shape the provision of doctoral training for the 21st century.

Dr Neal Spencer, Principal Investigator of this award and the Fitzwilliam Museum's Deputy Director (Collections & Research) said: “Collections are ever more prominent in the debates around our history, present and future. We’re thrilled to be able to offer the next generation of researchers the opportunity to use these incredible collections to ask questions that will help shape our collective future.

“These PhD projects will engage our communities and employ a truly interdisciplinary approach. We look forward to welcoming the first students next year, who will benefit from the rich diversity of collections, institutions, expertise and training support provided by this partnership.”

̽��ֱ��Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) offers up to 50 collaborative research studentships per annum to galleries, libraries, museums and archives, the creative industries, and public and third sector organisations. This new consortium will collaborate with CDP organisations across the UK.

Frank Hargrave, Colchester + Ipswich Museums manager, said: “Collections and Communities in the East of England offers the unrivalled opportunity to look at our collections differently, researching themes that are of particular relevance to our changing communities. To work with world-renowned academics on this research is an unrivalled opportunity and Colchester + Ipswich Museums are delighted with the funding announcement.”

Sarah Wilson, Heritage Manager at Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery, said: “Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery is delighted to be involved. ̽��ֱ��museum collections are hidden gems, a treasure trove for researchers that span 150 million years, cover a diverse range of subjects and offer endless opportunities for learning.”

Steve Miller, Director of Culture & Heritage, Norfolk County Council, said: “Norfolk Museums Service is delighted to be a partner in the Collections & Communities in the East of England consortium. ̽��ֱ��initiative supports our commitment to building the skills and experience of a diverse workforce in the museums and cultural sector and we look forward to supporting the researchers to work with our local communities to gain important new insights into our collections.”

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge collections, together with Colchester + Ipswich Museums, Norfolk Museums Service and Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery, will join the Collaborative Doctoral Partnership (CDP) scheme funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

These PhD projects will engage our communities and employ a truly interdisciplinary approach

Neal Spencer

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge / Julieta Sarmiento

Visitors are welcomed to Cambridge's Zoology Museum beneath its fin whale skeleton

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Cambridge collections awarded Arts Council England funding

ta385 — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 08:00:00 +0000

ACE has awarded renewed National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status to the consortium of seven museums (£617,534) and to Kettle’s Yard, the ̽��ֱ��'s contemporary art gallery (£296,107).

Together, they form an international tourist attraction and the largest cultural provider in the East of England, one of the country’s most rapidly growing regions.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� museums work closely together with the ̽��ֱ��’s Botanic Garden, Library and other collections, and Cambridge’s independent museums and cultural organisations, providing vital sector support across Cambridgeshire and the region.

“ ̽��ֱ�� collections have a unique power to bring people together from across the world to explore today’s big questions, looking at the past and present to help determine our future," said Kamal Munir, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for ̽��ֱ�� Community & Engagement.

"This is a difficult funding landscape and we know that ACE were faced with hard decisions during an investment round that received more applications than ever before. In that context, we’re especially pleased to have received further investment in the ̽��ֱ�� collections.

"While this grant represents a reduction of 40% from current funding levels, it is heartening to see this continued recognition of the important role the collections play within our local communities," Munir said.

Driven by research and shaped by communities, the work of the museums is grounded in the ̽��ֱ��’s commitment to contribute to society through education, learning and research at the highest levels of excellence, and encompasses collaboration with world-renowned contemporary artists, game-changing research-led exhibitions and wide-ranging inclusion and learning programmes, promoting wellbeing, creativity and connectivity.

“While there is no doubt that this significant reduction to our current level of Arts Council England funding represents a major challenge, we’re grateful for the support announced today, especially given the difficult times that many people are facing," said Luke Syson, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, lead partner of the museums NPO.

"As we look ahead to our future, we remain committed to continuing to engage the widest possible audience, both in the enormously unequal region of Cambridgeshire and beyond, and look forward to working with ACE and other partners and funders to deliver our ambitious programmes.”

̽��ֱ��museums are undertaking a long-term investigation into the legacies of empire and enslavement, and are currently sharing findings and inviting challenge and conversation with audiences and communities through a major public programme, Power and Memory. An upcoming collaborative programme will also inspire action to mitigate the climate crisis through engaging audiences with innovative environmental research.

Andrew Nairne, Director of Kettle’s Yard said: “We are proud to continue to be an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation. This core funding supports our work making outstanding exhibitions, conserving and animating the house and collection, engaging with diverse community groups and providing a learning programme - so contributing powerfully to the Let’s Create strategy.”

Jo McPhee, Head of Partnerships, added: “Cambridge is frequently ranked as the most unequal city in the country. Our communities and the sector are facing increasingly challenging times. Despite a reduction in our funding, we will continue to work with delivery partners, including the City and County Councils, and cultural sector colleagues to support our communities and create a flourishing cultural offer that’s open and accessible to everyone.”

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums are

Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Museum of Classical Archaeology
Fitzwilliam Museum
Kettle’s Yard
Polar Museum
Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences
Whipple Museum of the History of Science
Museum of Zoology

Culture in Cambridge receives a boost with a £913,641 Arts Council England (ACE) award to the ̽��ֱ��’s museums and collections.

It is heartening to see this continued recognition of the important role the collections play within our local communities

Kamal Munir

Visitors in the Fitzwilliam Museum

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Unexpected experiences: George Doji reflects on putting museum storytelling into the digital world

zs332 — Thu, 20 Aug 2020 08:00:22 +0000

George Doji, host of Museum Remix at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums, describes the digital experiment in museum storytelling that began when the collections were forced to close their doors.

Queer History: a tour of gender and identity through time and culture

alm93 — Fri, 21 Feb 2020 16:23:57 +0000

̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Museums are running a series of LGBT+ tours across their seven museums. We join a tour at the Fitzwilliam museum and learn more about the project.

Rainbow flag to fly over ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge to mark start of LGBT+ History Month

cjb250 — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 00:01:33 +0000

Apart from the ̽��ֱ�� flag, no other flag is normally flown over the building, although the flags of the Sovereign or other Heads of State have been raised when they have visited the Old Schools or the Senate-House.

“LGBT+ History Month provides an opportunity not only to remember the struggles faced by LGBT+ communities around the world, both in the past and the present, but also to celebrate the contribution they have made to society,” said Vice-Chancellor Professor Stephen J Toope.

“Our university comprises a diverse range of nationalities, religions and opinions. Many of our members come from countries in which to be openly LGBT+ would result in discrimination, violence, imprisonment or even execution.

“I hope that flying the rainbow flag over the Old Schools will send out a message that we are committed to helping create a society where everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, is able to reach their full potential.”

Professor Toope is a strong advocate for civil and human rights and has been publicly supportive of the LGBT+ community, speaking on the main stage at last year’s inaugural Cambridge Pride.

In recent years, an overwhelming majority of colleges, as well as ̽��ֱ�� departments and institutions, including the ̽��ֱ�� Library, have shown their support for LGBT+ History Month – and for their LGBT+ members, their friends and families – by flying the rainbow flag as well as hosting a wide range of events. At Trinity College this year, Professor Dame Sally Davies, the College’s first female Master, will raise the rainbow flag to herald the start of the month.

Dr Miriam Lynn, Equality and Diversity Consultant, added: “It’s wonderful to see so much support for LGBT+ History Month across the ̽��ֱ�� and its Colleges. This year’s nationwide theme is Poetry, Prose and Plays. Cambridge LGBT+ alumni have made a huge contribution in these fields, from playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe and writers including EM Forster and Ali Smith through to acting giants such as Sir Ian McKellen and Miriam Margolyes.”

̽��ֱ��rainbow flag – the international symbol of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community – will fly over the Old Schools, at the heart of the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, for the first time on Monday to mark LGBT+ History Month.

We are committed to helping create a society where everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, is able to reach their full potential

Stephen J Toope, Vice-Chancellor

sps1955

Cambridge - Old Schools (rainbow flag added)

This year’s LGBT+ History Month events include:

LGBT History Month Lecture: 'Sex, Laws and Violations' – Gay rights from the 1960s to the present day

5.30-6.30pm, 26 February

Faculty of Law, ̽��ֱ�� Of Cambridge

Martin Bowley, QC, was called to the Bar in 1962 and served as a Recorder from 1979 to 1988, when he had to stand down after being outed by the Sun newspaper. Since then he's been a passionate advocate for gay rights and supported the campaign group Stonewall from its earliest days. In the late 1990s, he served on a government committee which led to the reform of the UK's sexual offences legislation. Martin will be in conversation with Paul Seagrove, Communications Manager and former BBC broadcast journalist.

Book here

LGBT+ Staff Network History Month social

6pm, 5 February

Saloon Bar, ̽��ֱ��Maypole, Portugal Place, Cambridge

Join us for a special History Month staff social - your chance to meet colleagues from across the ̽��ֱ��, Cambridge Assessment, Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Press and beyond over a relaxing drink.

Diversity cinema

12:30pm – 1:30pm, 13 February

Norwich Auditorium, ̽��ֱ�� Information Services

Celebrating LGBT+ History Month with a selection of films looking at queer trailblazers from the past.

Book here

Bridging Binaries: Thinking Beyond Borders

4-6pm, 18 February

McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3ER

̽��ֱ��Department of Archaeology's second annual LGBT+ History Month lecture Queer(y)ing the Past, this year delivered by Dan Vo (V&A). All are welcome to attend. Drinks reception to follow the talk.

More information

Rainbow crossings: safe spaces for LGBT+ at home and abroad

4.00-5.30pm, 19 February, Michaelhouse Cafe, Trinity St., Cambridge CB2 1SU

An enduring search for safe spaces has defined the precarious movement of the LGBTQI+ communities and minorities. Organised by Newnham College, this event seeks to discuss safer spaces within Cambridge. ̽��ֱ��panel and workshop will bring together activists, artists and academics to create a map of safer routes and spaces for LGBTQI+ people in Cambridge.

Details here

LGBTQ+ Engineering Coffee Morning

10:30-11:30am, 24 February, North Room, Department of Engineering Library, Trumpington Street

Join us for a coffee to celebrate LGBT+ History Month. All welcome!

Killing Patient Zero UK Premiere and Q & A

7:30pm – 10pm 28 February 2020

Cripps Court, Magdalene College

̽��ֱ��UK premiere of Killing Patient Zero, the new Canadian documentary feature film directed by Laurie Lynd and winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at Sydney’s Queer Film Fest 2019. ̽��ֱ��film is based on the award-winning book, Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic, written by Dr Richard A. McKay, a Magdalene College Lecturer and Wellcome Trust Research Fellow in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

Notoriously (and erroneously) known as “patient zero” of the North American AIDS epidemic, Gaétan Dugas has often been portrayed as a psychopath, wilfully infecting other gay men with HIV during the early 1980s. By exploring how Dugas’s infamy came about, this powerful documentary challenges that stereotype and paints a portrait of how gay men and women challenged rampant homophobia during the worst years of the epidemic.

̽��ֱ��event is free to attend.

Book here

CamQueerHistory

Throughout February, CamQueerHistory – a group of Cambridge undergrads, grads and staff – will be running a series of events on topics including: Queer activism and the rise of the right, Queer Clothes: Sartorial Non-Conformity and Gender Expression, Essentialist Epistemology and the Exclusion of Bisexuality from Islamic Theology of Same-Sex Desires and Acts, and Rebel Dyke Histories.

Details here

Bridging Binaries: LGBTQ+ Tours at Cambridge Museums

February – June 2020

From queens, emperors and divine beings, to scientists, artists and global communities, explore the spectrum of identities that exist across time, place and culture in Cambridge collections. How do labels and categories affect the stories we choose to tell, or how we connect with each other? How do they affect our interaction with the natural world, and how we imagine the future?

With tours running across an impressive seven museums, volunteer guides will share their personal selection of fascinating stories about gender and sexual identity through a range of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-related objects.

Details here

For the full line-up of events across Cambridgeshire during LGBT+ History Month, visit the Encompass Network website.

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution-ShareAlike