MLA

One of the aims of Renaissance is to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds feel welcomed by museums and want to visit.

Sustained investment from Renaissance has enabled great strides to be made in audience development in the region. Close partnership working between the hub museums, the Regional Museums Group, Museum Development Officers and independent museums across a number of projects means that knowledge has been shared and new approaches embedded. These include:

• increased delivery of outreach and learning work
• the development of specialist provision for groups such as vulnerable children, including those in the care system and youth offenders, and minority communities
• transformed services for disabled visitors and those with mental health problems, embedding access provision within institutions
• collaborations within and beyond the region around national programmes such as Museums at Night and the Cultural Olympiad
• research into museum audiences and fresh marketing approaches
• encouraging a culture of consultation to ensure museum services are shaped by the priorities of local communities.

There are many ongoing programmes which museums can get involved in or learn more about. The SHARE programme will also ensure that the expertise fostered by Renaissance funding is more widely available through training and one-to-one consultations.