Thursday 19 January 2017

CAGE Conference 2017 Invitation

Hi HME members! Ever consider attending a Canadian Art Gallery Educators conference? This year's is now open for registration! 
Cheers!

Dear Colleagues & Friends,

I am delighted to share with you news about the next Canadian Art Gallery Educators Conference. For April 20-23, 2017, we are headed to historic Halifax, hosted by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, to explore the themes of accessibility and advocacy in the context of art gallery and museum education.

Highlights of the conference include: A kick-off and a special keynote presentation by Amanda Cachia, an independent curator & critic specializing in bridging the arenas of contemporary art practice, politics and disability studies; a panel discussion moderated by Visual Artist & Disability Art Professional Elizabeth Sweeney, and hands-on art-making at artist studio & community hub Wonderneath. All this and more alongside stimulating conversations, AGNS programming and networking opportunities!

Do you have a recent program or project that relates to our topic? We would love to hear all about it! Please consider presenting a case study during the conference. All accepted case study participants will receive a discount on registration and the gratification of sharing your unique program with colleagues from across the country!

Full Conference Details: http://cageart.ca/

Sincerely,
Dara Armsden

Senior Chair, CAGE
Head of Education & Learning, Art Gallery of Alberta

Travel Grant Opportunities:


Thursday 5 January 2017

Letter from a New Member

Hi everyone! A new HME member, Amy Hetherington, has a message for us all. Please read below!


Dear Hamilton Museum Educator Group Members,

A few months ago you had an evening session all about social media.
Unfortunately, this was about two days after I joined the group and I
already had plans for the night and was unable to attend! However, it
left me thinking and certainly encouraged me to come out to an evening
gathering in November. It was wonderful to meet the people who were able
to attend.

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr Amy Hetherington and I’m a
Burlington-based freelance heritage consultant. I’ve recently moved back
to Canada from the UK and have decided to continue my freelancing over
here, and naturally that means I’d like to network with more museum
people, especially in Ontario.

My speciality is in audience research and visitor studies, aspects of
museum work that often fall by the wayside during projects or programs
and that most museums never quite get around to (the same thing happens
in Europe). However, as an extension of this, I have also become heavily
involved in social media over the years (going on 7 years now that I
have been doing social media assistance and marketing for non-profits
and for conference/event organisers). I know many of you are probably
struggling with one or both of these issues in your organisation
(museum, gallery, cultural centre, arts organisation, etc.).

Getting in touch with a consultant can seem daunting, and many people
have the assumption that we’re very expensive! We’re really not,
especially those of us who work in the cultural sector. And we are
generally happy to talk with you upfront, for free, to see how we could
help. I certainly am.

If anyone would like to get in touch to talk about social media issues
in your organisation, or you are wondering about doing visitor research
or want to revisit your audience (or the audience you aren’t getting!)
then please feel free to drop me a line.

My email is amy@dramyhetherington.com and my website is
www.dramyhetherington.com. You can see all my services listed, projects
I’ve completed, and testimonials from previous clients. Don’t hesitate
to get in touch, even if you aren’t sure what you’re asking for!