Northampton Museums & Art Gallery
Designated Collections Research Framework
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Introduction
For centuries, Northampton's name has been synonymous with quality
footwear, a reputation which still lives on even though shoemaking is no
longer the town's largest industry. Northampton Museums and Art Gallery's
Boot and Shoe Collection was founded during the Museum's early years
forming the core for its present day status - as a home of comprehensive
footwear and footwear related collections and expertise, and a centre for the
research and study of footwear use, manufacture, creation and consumption.
The UK Museums & Galleries Commission bestowed ‘Designated’ status to
the collection in 1997 endorsing the museum as holder of the most significant
collection of footwear and footwear related material culture in the United
Kingdom. The conferring of ‘Designated’ status to the collection in relation to
the UK is only a local endorsement of significance. The significance of the
collections is actually international in scale, there being no other
acknowledged collection anywhere else in the world that can equal the width
and breadth of the collections held in Northampton.
The museum service has both assisted and lead research into both the
material holdings held at Northampton, and wider research related to footwear
creation, consumption and cultural significance. This framework provides a
structure for continuing research into the material culture held in Northampton,
highlighting priority areas for research and gaps in knowledge, and pointers
for wider research into the economic, social and cultural significance of
footwear and footwear related material in general.
Driving this specific research imperative lies an overall ambition to deliver
excellence as a museum service in all aspects, with the social role of the
service at the core of operating philosophy. This is reflected in the
overarching ambition for how the museum wishes to be recognised:
Northampton Museums & Art Gallery: An International profile
with community values
The shoe and shoe related collections have been at the very core of the
museum service since its development in the 1860’s. They pertain to an
industry that was and is at once both local and international in scope; the local
collections relating to Northampton and the surrounding area are one part of
international jigsaw, with footwear holding a social and cultural significance
that is universal and without geographical boundaries.
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Museum Research Policy
2.1
Northampton Museums & Art Gallery Mission
The shoe heritage collections which relate both to Northampton and the rest
of the world form the core business of all activity for the museum service. The
imperative for the museum service is to effectively develop and promote the
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historical and cultural significance of the collections, and extend and widen
their ongoing relevance in the present. This has been summarised into the
following mission statement:
To create an international profile with the objects, information and
collective knowledge of Northampton and its people
Which is encompassed within a wider vision:
To put Northampton’s unique history and heritage on the national and
international stage
2.2
Northampton Museums Service Strategic Priories
To deliver the overall vision and mission for the museum service there are
four key strategic priorities:
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Resilience/Sustainability
Delivering a social role
Excellence – in all aspects of core museum business
Profile/engagement – from a local to an international level
The service is structured to ensure these priorities underpin all museum
activity.
2.3
Ethical framework for Research
The research that museum undertakes, facilitates, collaborates in and
commissions will comply with the overall framework of the Code of Ethics of
the UK Museums Association:
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Hold collections in trust for the benefit of society
Focus on public service
Encourage people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and
enjoyment
Consult and involve communities, users and supporters
Acquire items honestly and responsibly
Safeguard the long term public interest in the collections
Recognise the interests of people who made, used, owned, collected
or gave items in the collections
Support the protection of natural and human environments
Research, share and interpret information related to collections,
reflecting diverse views
Review performance to innovate and improve
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Museum Research Strategy
3.1
Guiding principles for research
The strategic priorities in of the service in relation to research are to:
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Generate innovative research into and around the collections and wider
footwear related subject matter through building partnerships with
Universities, and other institutions and individuals.
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Make the results of research and the knowledge and expertise of staff
widely available to the public through the museum by means of
publications, website, and ongoing public programme.
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Fully utilise and exploit the collections as a resource for developing
material as well as theoretical benefits for both the academic world and
wider society
3.2
General priorities for research
The research that museum undertakes, facilitates, collaborates in and
commissions will:
1)
Create, strengthen and sustain intellectually accessible links
between the museum and wider society, though presentation of the
research to a wider public (via publications, website, and ongoing
public programme).
2)
Contribute to or draw on one or more of the following:
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Seek to increase or refine knowledge in one or more of the
following areas of enquiry:
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3.3
The collections, data and archives
The public programme and audience development/outreach
General museological practice
Typology and descriptive praxis in relation to material
evidence
The wider context of the footwear and footwear related
collections
Conceptual Framework for Footwear Research
The archive and material culture held by Northampton Museums are products
of a wider sphere and lifecycle that encapsulates creation, use/consumption
and finally destruction. Research relating specifically to the collections is one
element of wider research into footwear and footwear related material.
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Figure 1 summarises the overall conceptual framework within which footwear
research can be structured.
Creation
Intangible/ Immateriality
Tangible/Materiality
Artistic/Cultural
sphere
Scientific/
Technological
sphere
Artistic/Cultural
sphere
Scientific/
Technological
sphere
Conception theory
Design theory
Conception
practice
Design practice
Creation theory
Production
theory
Creation practice
Production
practice
Communication
and distribution
theory
Marketing &
Retail theory
Communication
and distribution
practice
Marketing &
Retail practice
Use theory
Consumption
theory
Use practice
Repurposing
theory
Recycling
theory
Repurposing
practice
Consumption
practice
Recycling
practice
Destruction
Fig. 1: Structure for Conceptualising ‘Footwear’
This can be refined and expanded out into more a more concrete framework
focused on conception, creation and consumption, and related material
evidence (Figure 2).
Theme
Detail
Design/conception
Footwear and footwear related material culture
design/conception and formulation material
evidence
Individual and collective production of footwear and
footwear related material culture; related wider
infrastructure and background/ source material
Footwear and footwear related material culture as
signs/signifiers; psychology and sociology of use,
consumption and meaning; individual and
shared/collective culture; historical, cultural,
mythological meaning
Manufacture/creation
Use/consumption
Fig. 2: Overall framework for research – footwear and footwear related material
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3.4
Specific areas for research
Design/conception
The processes involved in creating/conceiving footwear
Use and reuse of design features
The communication of design elements between individuals, cultures,
geographical areas, and between generations
Changes and morphing of creative elements
Manufacture/creation
Manufacturing/making process – from individual/localised concerns to global
industry:
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Economics of manufacture
Social and cultural impacts
Geographical and historical differentiations
Technological development
Use/consumption
Psychology and sociology of use and consumption
Consumption and the creation of shared cultural meaning
Individual and shared/collective culture
Historical, cultural, ‘mythological’ meaning
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