Renaissance Subject Specialist Network: Exploratory grants 2006
– Final Report –
Use the following template to provide information about the Renaissance funded
Exploratory work. Please delete the examples provided with your reply.
1. Name of SSN
2. Grant ID number
3. Date of Report
(see funding agreement)
Plastics
3714
30.01.07
3.
What did you plan to do with the Exploratory funding and what was
achieved?
There were 8 inaugural members of the network. Membership now consists of
27 institutions plus two societies: the Plastics Historical Society (PHS) and the
Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). They bring with them a number of private
collectors and representatives of the plastics industry.
We planned to:
1. build on the Survey of Plastics in Historical Collections undertaken by the Plastics
Historical Society and the MGC 1989-1994, a summary of which is available at
www.plastiquarian/com/survey/survey.htm.
2. contact potential participants,
3. organise and hold a seminar with participants from all over the country to discuss
need, feasibility, opportunities and how popular interest in plastics can be built on to
increase use of collections throughout the UK.
4. send out a questionnaire seeking views on the future of the Plastics SSN.
5. Write up outcomes and report for MLA.
We achieved:
1. In the event, neither the Plastics Historical Society or the MLA were able to find the
information that underpinned the Survey of Plastics in Historical Collections and a
number of the museums that had participated turned out not to have plastics
collections of any note. We therefore extended the purpose of our questionnaire. See
4 within this section below.
2. We contacted 60 museums, universities, archives, societies and collectors directly.
Invitations were also sent to members of the 10 most relevant SSNs and to museums
in the 9 Regional Hubs through their managers.
3. The seminar was held at the Design Museum, Shad Thames, on Wednesday 13
December. The programme is attached. It was attended by 42 people from 26
institutions. It also included representatives of the PHS and SPE. Of those who
returned the evaluation form, 93% found the day 'very useful' and 7% 'quite useful'.
Comments included:
'I feel enthusiastic again.' 'Good for contacts. Good for information. Good for provoking ideas.'
'Stimulating and informative.' 'It is very encouraging to see dialogue and sharing of ideas
between curators, scientists, conservators, private collectors.' 'Very stimulating & identifying
realistic outcomes. Excellent!' 'Lets try and get and keep the communication flowing.' 'Very
informative. The networking opportunities were very good and I learnt much more about the
collections within the UK.'' Very hard to come up with hard outcomes from general discussion,
but perhaps that is the point.' 'Nice to have something other than sandwhiches.' ‘A good broad
base of speakers – perhaps came across as a bit design-led due to venue and order.' Very
inclusive. "' Plenty of time for discussion but day remained focused.' 'Very focused on plastic
objects in a design context rather than socio historic.' 'Enjoyed split discussions after each pair
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of talks.' 'Really useful and thought provoking speakers with varied backgrounds and spheres of
work.' 'I was a speaker, but appreciated the diversity of other speakers.' 'Good range of speakers
and different backgrounds/perspective.' 'Useful mixture of familiar faces and new contacts.'
'Confirms information. New contacts. Inspired.'
The spirit of the day was hugely positive; there was no negative feedback. Everyone
who attended felt that plastics was a good subject for an SSN and (except for 2 foreign
delegates) wanted to be part of it.
4. As a result of the loss of the work underpinning the 1989-1994 survey of plastics
collections, we decided to increase the range of the questionnaire in order to begin to
draw up a survey of plastics collections and to send it out in advance of the seminar.
We sent out questionnaires to 50 museums individually. We also posted the
questionnaire on the Social Historians Curators' Group website and cascaded it
through managers of 10 SSN's. 32 Questionnaires were returned. Questionnaire
results are attached.
4.
What was the outcome of the Exploratory work?
There was unanimous agreement that the SSN should be formally established and that
an application for an implementation grant should be submitted. There were no special
conditions attached to the grant.
5.
What is the overarching mission of the network and the agreed aims and
objectives?
Vision: to engage varied audiences with the key role played by plastics in
modern society.
Mission: to share expertise in the history, development, care, display and
interpretation of plastics, within and beyond the museum community, in order
to reduce duplication of effort and maximise audience benefits from plastics in
museum collections in the UK.
Aims and objectives:
6.
●
to reach new audiences for plastics collections.
●
to increase use of plastics collections with an emphasis on teaching and
learning.
●
to improve care, management, display and interpretation of plastics
collections.
●
to collaborate on outcome-based projects.
●
to learn from and involve the plastics and design industries in plastics
collections.
What won’t the network do?
We will not be over ambitious and will restrict activity to distinct achievable planned
outcomes. We will involve the technological /conservation aspects of plastics only so
far as is necessary for the preservation and display of plastics collections. It is too
early to specify in particular things the network won't embrace except that in
accordance with the guidance given in Renaissance Subject Specialist Networks,
Implementation Grants, Application Guidance Notes - November 2006, we will not develop
a website in order to share information and to cascade the work we do. However, we
look forward to creating and managing our own data etc once the common website
framework is available.
8.
Who are the agreed members of the network?
2
Arts Institute at Bournemouth
British Film Institute, London
British Museum, London
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Bradford Museums, Galleries and Heritage
Buckingham Chilterns University College
Croydon Museum and Heritage Services
Design Museum, London
Fleet Air Army Museum
Gunnersbury Park Museum
Hampshire County Council Museum and Archives Service
Hereford Museum & Art Gallery
Imperial War Museum, London
Kingston University, London
Manchester City Art Gallery
Museum of Science and Technology, Manchester
Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising
National Media Museum, Bradford
Plastics Historical Society
Portsmouth City Museum
Royal Cornwall Museum
Royal institution of Great Britain
Science Museum, London
Society of Plastics Engineers
Tate, London, Liverpool and St Ives
Thackray Museum, Leeds
University of Southampton
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Wakefield Museum
9.
How will the network achieve the aims and objectives outlined above?
As a preliminary it is necessary to build curators confidence in the care, display and
interpretation of plastic artefacts. Many are aware of the auto-destructive nature of
some plastics but knowledge of their preservation and display needs is much more
restricted. Network members believe there is a need to learn from each other before
they will be able effectively to care for, and thus be in a position to increase public
knowledge and enjoyment of the plastics in their collections.
We therefore propose to share information by:
1.
holding 9 (one for each Hub) workshops on the identification, care, use, display
and interpretation of plastics, to be completed by 31 March 2008. The workshops will
take the form of a dialogue between people in the plastics industry, plastics scientists/
conservators, curators, educators and private collectors. The workshops will inform
and benefit from the work towards the handbook outlined at 2 below. Success will be
measured by attendance and feedback.
2.
publishing electronically a handbook to plastics: their identification, care, use,
display and interpretation, also to be completed by 31 March 2008.
It will draw on expertise gathered from attendees at the workshops to provide:
A.
a brief outline of the histories, characteristics and identifiers of different
plastics.
B.
guidance on handling, storage and display requirements.
C.
strategies for interpretation, presentation and enjoyment of and
interaction with plastics in the museum environment.
D.
annotated bibliography, expertise resource and collections’ survey.
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It will set standards within its subject area and be suitable also as an ongoing training
tool.
Success will be measured by feedback as to its usefulness. Being digital it will be
possible to make changes in the light of evaluation and update the publication as use
demands.
An SSN Implementation Grant is being sought for 1 and 2 above.
Future planned projects are:
3.
introduction of a regular 'Plastics' month. Trial month July 2007.
The Plastics Historical Society (PHS), which is a member of the Network, is organising
a plastics fair, exhibition, and lecture over a few days at Stratford upon Avon in July
2007. Network members will build on this by organising plastic events at their
institutions thus drawing attention to plastics collections in UK museums. Learning from
the example of such events as Black History Month or the Big Draw we hope to make it
a regular event although which month it should be long-term has not yet been decided.
It will allow member museums to focus on plastics in as big or as little a way as is
useful and appropriate for their audiences. For example contributions might include a
single object in focus, a selection of objects offered by the local community
accompanied by the memories they evoke, a trail through galleries which include
objects made of plastics or a fully fledged exhibition relating to plastics. It could even
involve a children’s workshop making things with plastic. Success will be measured by
attendance and media interest. Larger events will be formally evaluated.
Network Funding is not sought for this event but it is possible that members will seek
funding from a variety of different sources as relevant for the 'plastic' events they hold.
4.
introduction of a touring Plastics Van. Preliminary tour October 2008.
This project based on the USA's mobile Plastics Museum is being developed by the
Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), a member of the Network and, and has aspects in
common with the AIB's existing 'taking design to schools' suitcase project. The SPE is
confident of raising funding for the vehicle and its fit out but were without objects or the
expertise with which to interpret them . As a result of the Plastics SSN day and further
discussion it has been agreed that members will provide the objects and interpretation.
Story lines will target subject matter key to the national curriculum and will change in
the light of user comment which will, long term, play an important part in how the
service develops. Success will be measured by take up of the van and evaluation by its
users.
5.
biennial conference. From 2009.
Plastics SSN members believe that it is important that they should meet up from time
to time. They are more interested in doing so to further their knowledge and
understanding of plastics than to talk about network administration. We therefore
intend holding a conference every two years with some aspect of plastics as the
theme. The conference will be open to everyone but include special events for
members. It will run alongside a regular trade plastics event. Success will be measured
by the calibre of the papers and the number of and feedback from delegates.
Ideally the conference venue would circulate amongst members' institutions and thus
funding might be required. However, the Arts Institute at Bournemouth is refocusing its
museum of 20th century material culture on plastics and plastics play an important part
in its teaching practice. The institute hosts regular conferences and is happy to devote
one conference slot every two years to this subject. This means that as a fall-back
position the conference can happen on a 2 yearly basis in Bournemouth.
Our Aspirations 2007-2010 plus key actions for 2007-8 is attached.
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10.
What working structures are you putting in place in order to deliver the
aims and objectives outlined above?
The network will be managed by a steering group of 9, representative of social
history, art & design, science & technology, specialist subject and university
museums; conservation; learning; and the PHS and SPE. It will meet twice a
year.
The steering group will take decisions in consultation with members.
Dialogue will be largely through telephone and email supplemented by biannual steering group meetings, and a biennial conference for all members
(see 9.5 above). A newsletter will be produced three times a year.
Members of the Network will meet physically, as a minimum, once every two years but
it is expected that in practice many will meet more often through attendance at PHS
and SPE events and at other events of mutual interest.
The Network will not charge for membership.
11.
What lifetime do you plan for the network?
Its lifetime will depend on its usefulness. The steering group will review the usefulness
of the network on a yearly basis. We currently have plans for 3+ years. We envisage it
lasting for at least 5 years and, perhaps, adapting its nature to circumstances,
indefinitely.
12.
What has been the biggest challenge in setting up the network?
Although most museums that contain 20th century objects have interesting plastics
collections (whatever they collect from aircraft to fashion) the biggest challenge has
been finding museums that know that this is the case.
13.
Total Awarded
14. Total Spent
(please attach a statement of expenditure)
15.
£ 4000
Name of individual who completed
the report including an email
address
£ 3962.87
Susan Lambert
slambert@aib.ac.uk
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