AIM  20TH  ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE

'SPIRIT  OF  TIME  AND  PLACE'

IRONBRIDGE, UK : 16-18th May 1997


The Association of Independent Museums will be celebrating its 20th
Anniversary in 1997.  Joint hosts for this special anniversary conference will be the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and the Ironbri
dge Institute (University of Birmingham).  The historic Ironbridge
Gorge provides a fitting venue for this year's theme of 'Spirit of Time and Place'.

The seminar programme will be extended this year to include a focus
on current management initiatives at UK World Heritage Sites (the Ironbridge Gorge being one of UNESCO's designated World Heritage
Sites) and to look at new provisions for training heritage managers.


The conference will include the 'behind the scenes' study tours and
social programme expected from the annual AIM conference.  In keeping with the AIM tradition of holding the Annual Conference Dinne
r in unusual places, this year we will be wined and dined on the
Severn Valley Steam Railway as we travel down the valley from the Bridgnorth to Kidderminster.  The grand finale will be a visit to Ha
wkstone Park to experience the recently restored eighteenth century
landscape walks, designed to challenge the senses !


Main Conference Themes :

-  Response to 'Treasures in Trust' - UK government strategy for museums
-  The interpretation of collections in context
-  Designation of museums & landscapes of regional, national and international importance
-  Cultural landscapes
-  Strategies for cultural tourism
-  World Heritage Sites - Designation and management
-  Training for heritage managers

PROGRAMME

DAY 1:          FRIDAY 16th MAY 1997

9.30 - 10.30            Registration at the John Rose Centre, Coalport

SESSION ONE     MUSEUMS IN CONTEXT    (10.30 - 13.00)
Chair : Jonathan Bryant, Director of River and Rowing Museum
Foundation. Chairman of AIM
Opening Address :  Loyd Grossman
Speakers :
Tim Mason, Museums and Galleries Commission.
TREASURES IN TRUST.  WHERE TO NEXT?

Patrick Fallon, Museums & Galleries Div., Dept. of National Heritage.

GOVERNMENT POLICY & MUSEUMS

Patrick Greene, Director, Museum of Science and Industry in
Manchester.
A RESPONSE TO TREASURES IN TRUST

Geoff Ward, Secretary & Director, Eyam Museum
THE VIEW OF TREASURES IN TRUST FROM A SMALL INDEPENDENT MUSEUM

Kathy Gee, Director, West Midlands Area Museum Council
THE AREA MUSEUM SERVICE PERSPECTIVE

Glen Lawes, Chief Executive, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
SPIRIT OF TIME & PLACE - COLLECTIONS IN CONTEXT

SESSION TWO     SPIRIT OF PLACE          (14.00 - 16.35)

Chair :  Chris Zeuner, Director, Weald and Downland Open Air Museum.
Speakers :
Professor Peter Fowler, University of Newcastle
CULTURAL LANDSCAPES - SPIRIT OF PLACE

John Hume, Chief Inspector of Historic Buildings, Historic Scotland.

A STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPING CULTURAL TOURISM

Professor Alan Day, University of Bath
A VIRTUAL REALITY TOUR OF BATH

Jane Brantom, Hadrian's Wall Tourism Partnership
PRIVATE & PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS

Evening:
20th Anniversary Conference Dinner on the Severn Valley Steam
Railway.  Including: After
Dinner Speech by Sir Neil Cossons, Director, Science Museum (London)
& visit to Kidderminster
Railway Museum


DAY 2:          SATURDAY 17th MAY 1997
For Saturday there is a choice of programme.  You may elect to attend
either the two formal sessions at the Ironbridge Institute or to undertake the "behind the scenes" tours of the Ironbridge Gorge
Museum.

SESSION THREE   WORLD HERITAGE SITES (10.00 - 13.00)
Venue:                  Ironbridge Institute, Coalbrookdale
Chair :         Marion Blockley, Programme Director, Ironbridge Institute.
ICOMOS (UK) World Heritage Sites Committee.
Speakers :
Philip Whitbourn, ICOMOS (UK).
THE SELECTION PROCESS - THE PROPOSED WORLD HERITAGE SITE AT GREENWICH

Philip Davis,Chair, Local Authorities Forum on World Heritage Sites.
WORKING TOGETHER :  LOCAL AUTHORITIES & WORLD HERITAGE SITE
MANAGEMENT

Christopher Young, Director for Hadrian's Wall World Heritage Site.
HADRIAN'S WALL WORLD HERITAGE SITE : THE VIEW FROM ENGLISH HERITAGE

Prof. Peter Fowler, University of Newcastle
STONEHENGE & AVEBURY

Dave Batchelor, English Heritage
THE USE OF G.I.S. AS A TOOL FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF LANDSCAPE WORLD
HERITAGE SITES


SESSION FOUR    TRAINING TO MEET NEW CHALLENGES (14.00 - 17.10)

Chair : Michael Lowe, Chairman Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
Chairman Shropshire TEC
Speakers :
Marion Blockley, Programme Director, Ironbridge Institute.
MANAGEMENT TRAINING FOR CURATORS, HERITAGE MANAGERS & VOLUNTEERS

Lester Borley, Europa Nostra. ICOMOS(UK) Cultural Tourism Committee.
TRAINING FOR MANAGERS OF CULTURAL LANDSCAPES

Victor Middleton, Visiting Professor at Oxford Brookes University.
ICOMOS(UK) Cultural Tourism Committee.
MANAGEMENT TRAINING & NETWORKING

Richard Harrison, Museum & Heritage Consultant. SIBH Education
Committee.
NVQ'S/SVQ'S AT LEVELS 2,3 & 4 IN ENVIRONMENTAL & HERITAGE
INTERPRETATION

Rob Shorland-Ball, Museums Consultant.  Former Hon. Secretary of AIM.
TRAINING FREELANCES - WHO FOOTS THE BILL ?


OPTIONAL STUDY TOURS - BEHIND THE SCENES AT IGMT

AM
Study visits of Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust sites :
Broseley Pipeworks Museum; William de Morgan Exhibition at Jackfield
Tile Museum ; Coalport
China Museum

PM
Visits to : Refurbished Museum of Iron at Coalbrookdale & Blists Hill
Open Air Museum.
Opportunity to see the working replica of the Trevithick steam
railway locomotive.

EVENING
Launch of the Wrekin District Museums & Heritage Strategy at the
Museum of Iron, Coalbrookdale.  Followed by a barbecue with live music, hosted by Wrekin District Council.


DAY 3:          SUNDAY 18th May 1997

VISIT TO HAWKSTONE PARK

A social outing to Hawkstone Historic Park and Follies to celebrate
the 'Spirit of Time and Place' theme of this anniversary conference.  Hawkstone, a Grade One listed eighteenth century landscape, i
s a celebrated romantic landscape complete with follies, caves,
tunnels, a castle, and the 'awful precipice'.  Delegates will be able to experience the recently restored landscape walks of Hawkstone,
 designed to challenge the senses !  The day will include a guided
tour of the Red castle, a 'romantic ruin' not usually accessible to visitors.  A picnic lunch and hermit will be provided !


CONFERENCE FEES :

Conference Sessions - stlg40 (AIM Member), stlg55 (Non-member) per day
Anniversary Dinner - stlg30
Guided Study Tour of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum sites - stlg25
Social Visit to Hawkstone Park - stlg18

Lunch and refreshments are included in the prices for the conference
sessions, the guided study tour and the social visit to Hawkstone Park.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, &  BOOKING FORMS  PLEASE CONTACT :
Sue Jopling at the Ironbridge Institute, Ironbridge Gorge Museum,
Ironbridge, Telford, Shropshire, TF8 7AW, UK.
Tel. (44) 1952 432751  Fax : (44) 1952 432237  E-mail :
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