Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before…
So, advocacy and museums. Something we hear about from the moment we step over the hallowed thresholds of Museums Studies courses. Museums people tend to be in their jobs because they love what they do and will willingly go on (often at some length) about it if given the merest suggestion of interest. What we aren’t always wonderful at it telling the right people the right things in the right way at the right moment. Not necessarily the easiest job in the world, so I was pleased to see that the Museums Association is running a campaign to promote advocacy skills in museums at the moment called ‘love museums’. Good title and nice logo too. Unfortunately there is only one training event in Scotland and I can’t go (happy to send someone else… don’t all shout at once) however, this is a timely piece of work, especially for us here in East Lothian where cultural matters are high up the agenda - how do we make our point whilst we have such a great opportunity to do so, and crucially how do we get to stay up the agenda once the current high levels of interest wane (answers on a postcard…) We have lots of ideas and have been trying some of them out, but always need fresh thoughts if anyone out there has any thoughts…