Curating Cambridge: our city, our stories, our stuff
Monday 20 October – Sunday 23 November 2014
Call for expressions of interest in taking part in the programme
Background
The University of Cambridge Museums consulted with cultural organisations and
individuals in November 2013, to see if there was interest in getting involved in a citywide programme of activity. There was a high level of interest in the project, in
working with the Museums and the opportunities it might afford.
As the University of Cambridge Museums develop the programme they would like to
identify the specific opportunities that organisations and individuals would like to work
with them on. We will provide updates on the programme development and promote
opportunities in our monthly e-newsletter. Sign up here:
http://www.cam.ac.uk/museums-and-collections/collaborative-projects/curatingcambridge
We anticipate that there may be a high level of interest in connecting to the
programme. In which case we may not be able to work with everyone that is
interested in taking part in the programme on an individual basis. However, we will
look to broker relationships between organisations and other related initiatives where
no direct link to Curating Cambridge can be made. For example, where relevant we
might suggest a link to the University of Cambridge’s Festival of Ideas, or the Art:
Language: Location initiative.
Process
The call for expressions of interest is to identify
 organisations or individuals who have a project, artwork or event they would like
to be programmed as part of the initiative
 organisations or people with venues, spaces or platforms they would be
interested in programming or partnering with others to programme to link with the
initiative
To keep the process simple there is a straightforward form to be completed. This
should be submitted to Liz Hughes, Cultural Partnerships Consultant to the University
of Cambridge Museums by Monday 24 February 2014 by emailing completed forms
to lizhughescc@gmail.com
As you consider if your project could connect to the programme it might be helpful to
consider some of the programming ideas outlined overleaf.
Not a funding stream
Please note the University of Cambridge Museums are not able to fund projects and
events, beyond the programme they are commissioning directly. However, they will
be providing some in kind support, broker relationships with interested parties and
also offer significant promotional support. Expressions of interests should be for
projects that are already funded or applying for funding.
www.cam.ac.uk/museums
Overview
Curating Cambridge: our city, our stories, our stuff
Monday 20 October – Sunday 23 November 2014
'Curating Cambridge: our city, our stories, our stuff' is presented by the University of
Cambridge Museums with the Festival of Ideas, cultural partners and community
organisations. Through a public programme of exhibitions, workshops, displays,
talks, performances, trails, digital media and other opportunities to get involved,
‘Curating Cambridge’ brings together a range of approaches and perspectives from
across the city to explore Cambridge’s rich culture and heritage.
The core concepts behind the programme are:
- our relationships to the things and places that surround us;
- the stories and connections that add value and understanding to these things
and places;
- the stories of Cambridge and its treasures, looking to the past and to the
future;
- the process and forms of curation
The starting point for the University of Cambridge Museums is that Cambridge is
home to world class collections from across the arts and sciences. The collections
tell stories about our connections to these objects, one another and the rest of the
world. The collections in museums can connect you to the past, or to an idea, as can
a more personal connection to an object in your daily life. For museums curating is to
select, to organise and to care for things, but it is also to tell a story or to ask a
question, to pause for reflection or to enjoy a connection to those who came before
us.
As well as exploring the core principals of ‘Curating Cambridge’ in our museums we
will be exploring them in people’s homes, in our public spaces, and joining with
cultural partners and their practice. In a way that is both playful and learned, both
contemporary and informed by the past, ‘Curating Cambridge’ will provide a wide
range of opportunities to explore and enjoy the stuff and stories of our city.
In partnership with Festival of Ideas
‘Curating Cambridge’ is a five week programme of events and activity that has been
developed by the University of Cambridge Museums with the University's Public
Engagement team, building on the museums’ established contribution to the Festival
of Ideas. ‘Curating Cambridge’ is the first time the museums have led the
development of a city wide coordinated and thematically linked cultural celebration to
coincide with the Festival of Ideas.
The Festival of Ideas opens up access to the University's research across the arts,
humanities and social science to the public. This provides a strong platform for a
coordinated contribution from Cambridge’s cultural sector. Building on the success
and growing reach of the Festival of Ideas (over 18000 visits in 2013) we are working
together to develop new opportunities and ways to engage for partners and
audiences.
‘Curating Cambridge’ will launch as part of the two week Festival of Ideas,
contributing to its 2014 theme of ‘Identities’ in particular exploring our relationship to
objects, places and nature and the stories that these tell. It will then run for a further
three weeks extending the creative and cultural thought provoking opportunities
initiated by the Festival of Ideas.
Expression of interest in becoming a delivery partner for
Curating Cambridge: celebrating our city, our stories, our stuff
Project enquiry summary sheet
Proposed lead partner
Name of organisation
/individual
Lead contact’s name
Email address
Telephone number
Proposed project/s
What is the project, event or activity that could be part of the
programme
Other partners
Are any other partners
involved in this project]
Festival of Ideas
Please tick if you plan for your project/event to be part
of Festival of Ideas and Curating Cambridge
Resonance
How do you see your project
connecting to the core
themes of the programme?*
Specific links
Are there any specific ways
you would like to connect to
the University of Cambridge
Museums or their collections
as part of this programme?
Dates and venues
Are there specific dates or
venues already booked for
the activity?
Funding
Is funding for the project in
place or have you applied for
funding for this project? If so
when do you hear if you
have been successful?
* The core themes of the programme are:
our relationships to the things and places that surround us;
the stories and connections that add value and understanding to these things and places;
the stories of Cambridge and its treasures, looking to the past and to the future;
the process and forms of curation
Please feel free to attach up to two sheets of background information, this can include
weblinks to relevant background information and return to Liz Hughes, Cultural
Partnerships Consultant for University of Cambridge Museums
lizhughescc@gmail.com by Monday 24 February 2014.
www.cam.ac.uk/museums