Heritage Connections
The Heritage Hub, in collaboration with Hertfordshire County Council Heritage Service, ran ‘Heritage Connections’ on 18th May.
This successful event brought together heritage organisations, services, and sector support bodies, alongside UH academics, to explore fresh approaches to amplifying and enhancing heritage activity in the county.
The programme featured presentations, panel discussion and case studies of successful university-heritage collaborations, as well as opportunities to network and meet new potential partners at the poster session.
In Session 1, ‘Research in Action’, delegates heard from three innovative projects funded by the AHRC IAA, including the ‘Decolonising and Diversifying Museums Project’ (Diversifying and Decolonising Group and St Albans Museum),‘Legacies of St Albans Arts School’ (UH Arts and Culture and St Albans Museum) and the HARVEST Project (Dr Sue Davies, Dr Derek Ong and Three Rivers Museum).
Session 2, ‘How We Can Help’, focused on signposting heritage organisations to relevant support bodies. Professor Katrina Navickas spoke about how the Heritage Hub works with museums and heritage organisations, whilst Professor Grace Lees-Maffei introduced delegates to the DHeritage Programme, and Dr Sue Davies spoke about how her CPD project draws on DHeritage students’ expertise to create helpful training sessions for the museum sector. We also heard from two funders, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Arts Council, and from Hertfordshire County Council Heritage Service about how they support the county’s heritage sector.
With over 70 external partners attending, and a buzzing atmosphere on the day, the event was a real success, with 75% of delegates saying they made new connections and identified potential partnerships at the event. Thanks to everyone who joined us.
