Creative Space:
An International Conference exploring museum and gallery space as a
creative medium

April 5th - 7th 2004
Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester

For further information, please contact:
Barbara Lloyd
Department of Museum Studies
University of Leicester
105 Princess Road East
Leicester
LE1 7LG
Tel: +44(0)116 252 3962
Fax: +44(0)116 252 3960
Email: [log in to unmask]


What kinds of museum spaces do we need at the beginning of the 21st century?

Creative Space is the Department’s 6th International conference.

Through an exploration of recent museum developments and a focus on the
practices and decision-making processes of museum building and exhibition
design, Creative Space will focus on the nature, character and
possibilities for museum space. By bringing together the voices of museum
professionals, architects, designers and academics, this conference will
provide a dynamic forum for thinking about museum space, recognising the
significance and malleability of museum space and reflecting strategically
upon recent developments in museum space.


Speakers

Rafael Vinoly (Rafael Vinoly Architects)
Michael Wilford (Michael Wilford and Partners, Architects)
Professor Tony Bennett (Open University)
Dr David Fleming, (Director, National Museums Liverpool)
Elaine Heumann Gurian (Museum Consultant, Arlington, VA, USA)
Professor Eilean Hooper-Greenhill, (Research Centre for Museums and
Galleries, University of Leicester)
Suzanne MacLeod, (Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester)
Dr Ross Parry (Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester) and
Dr Andrew Sawyer (mwr Ltd)
Richard Sandell, (Department of Museum Studies, University of Leicester)
Stephen Greenberg (Metaphor)
Peter Higgins (Land Design)
Richard Toon (Education and Research Director, Arizona Science Centre, USA)
Jon Wood (Henry Moore Institute)
Sophia Psarra (Welsh School of Architecture)
Kali Tzortzi (Bartlett School of Architecture)
Christopher Marshall (University of Melbourne, Australia)
Sandra Bicknell (Lord Cultural Resources)
Lawrence Fitzgerald (Glasgow Museums Service)
Moira Stevenson (Deputy Director, Manchester Art Gallery)
Alisdair Hinshelwood (Director, Haley Sharpe Design)
Dr Helen Rees Leahy (Centre for Museology, University of Manchester)
Professor Christian Heath (Kings College London)


Session Chairs

Mark O'Neill (Head, Glasgow Museums Service)
Sandro Goppion (Goppion)
Dinah Casson (Casson Mann)
Stuart Davies (Resource)


Conference visit

The visit is to The Public (formerly Jubilee Arts) in West Bromwich, close
to the site of The Public Building, due to open in 2005.  The Public will
host a reception for Creative Space delegates at Re-location, a disused X-
Ray factory which has been transformed into a dynamic artistic community.
Delegates will be given the opportunity to view the progress of The Public
Building, designed by Will Alsop, through a site tour and presentation.


Fees

Full residential delegate (includes all meals and on-site, en-suite
accommodation) from Sunday evening – Wednesday afternoon tea, including
conference dinner) - £300 ($554 approx)
For further information, please contact:
Barbara Lloyd
Department of Museum Studies
University of Leicester
105 Princess Road East
Leicester
LE1 7LG
Tel: +44(0)116 252 3962
Fax: +44(0)116 252 3960
Email: [log in to unmask]


Further information

Creative Space is the Department’s 6th International conference. Speakers
from around the world will contribute under the following overlapping
themes.


On the nature of museum space

What do we mean by and how can we understand the space of the museum? Has
the nature of museum space shifted in recent years and if so how? How can
we describe the broad architectural and spatial developments museums have
undergone in recent years? How can we understand these shifts in relation
to the changing social fabric? What do visitors want from museums and what
are the implications of this knowledge? What kinds of museum spaces do we
need at the beginning of the 21st century?
Speakers grouped together under this theme will explore the nature of
museum space and recent architectural and spatial shifts in museums.


Architectural reshaping

How have architects engaged with the problem of the museum? What traditions
and visions of the museum have architects utilised and how have architects
expanded the possibilities of what a museum might be? What do architects
think about when designing a new museum? How do architects work with the
museum and how does the museum’s own vision of itself and its visitors find
its way into the final design? What other research has helped to shape
recent museum building projects?
‘Architectural reshaping’ groups together a series of speakers broadly
concerned with the architectural structure and physical space of the
museum. The papers here will take an in-depth look at specific building
projects introducing innovative contemporary architectural developments
from a range of perspectives.


Inside spaces

How have the inside spaces of museums been reshaped in recent years and
upon what knowledge and understanding is this reshaping based? How are
museum professionals rethinking the space of the museum in order to achieve
a new vision of museum space and respond to the needs of contemporary
society? What is the role of the designer in the reshaping process and how
have museum designers created new possibilities for museum space? Are
specific spatial solutions preferred by museum architects and designers at
the present time and upon what thinking are these solutions based?
‘Inside spaces’ pulls together a series of speakers who share a common
interest in exploring the redefinition and redesign of the inside spaces of
museums. Papers here will explore and assess a range of spatial solutions
employed to rethink and create new possibilities for museum space with a
particular focus on museum design.


Exploring renewed museum spaces: towards a vision for the future

How can we think strategically about the space of the museum at the
beginning of the 21st century? Have recent developments in museum
architecture and exhibition design resulted in effective museum spaces?
What research has been undertaken into the usability of new museum spaces
or the link between the architecture, its contents and the visitor? What
are the key lessons that have been learnt? What issues and challenges can
be identified for museums through a consideration of recent architectural
and spatial developments? Do specific spatial solutions enable or constrain
learning and social interaction?
Through a series of papers exploring renewed museum spaces, and building
upon the papers grouped under the preceding themes, this final theme
enables us to begin to move towards visions of museum spaces for the future.
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