Some of the UK museum industry’s strongest voices, have been appointed as a new advisory board at mima, (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) to help drive its new vision to become the ‘useful museum’.
The new Curatorial Advisory Board will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to providing a sounding board for the team at mima as they shape the exhibitions and public activity of the museum.
The Board comprises four members including a BBC TV presenter and the director of Tate Liverpool. It will offer guidance to Teesside University’s board of governors and support mima Director, Alistair Hudson and his team in developing exhibitions, events, education and engagement of the highest possible quality and reach by providing advice around opportunities, contacts and new practice.
The board is made up of Kieran Long, Head of Architecture, Design and Digital at the Victoria and Albert Museum and presenter of BBC2’s Restoration Home and The House That £100k Built; Bernadette Lynch, freelance academic and consultant, and previously Manchester Museum and University College London; Francesco Manacorda, Artistic Director of Tate Liverpool; and Janna Graham, Head of Public Programmes, Nottingham Contemporary.
Alistair Hudson said, “I am so pleased we could gain the interest of such key players to join our Curatorial Advisory Board and would like to take this opportunity to welcome them to the mima team.
“The museums sector is changing dramatically, along with broader culture and the economy so it is vital mima takes a driving seat in making sure our cultural institutions play a vital and vibrant role in civic society – shaping our future as well as looking at the past.
“The Board understand this. They have built fantastic reputations for their pioneering work in the sector. We are honoured they have responded to the invitation so positively, seeing mima as one of the most important institutions in the UK they can advise but also learn from, to develop wider museums’ policy for future generations.
“They were selected for their range of backgrounds and specialist areas of expertise including exhibition making, education, social commentary and activism, art history and public programmes. They are all acutely aware that places like mima need to evolve, are seen to contribute, and are valued and well used by their local communities.
“I am confident their wealth of experience, along with their invaluable contacts, will make them great advocates for mima, helping us improve our offering and retain our reputation as a leading centre for art in the UK.”
The appointment of a curatorial advisory board coincides with Alistair’s new vision for mima which has repositioned the gallery as a ‘useful museum’ – the idea of a museum built on usership where people from all walks of life come to create and learn together and where the content is made by the people who use it.
As part of this vision, mima is testing new approaches. An example is Localism, a landmark exhibition in mima until Sunday 7 February. The show has been made with the input of the public who have contributed memories, artefacts, stories and images to create a ‘new history’ of the region.