We are very, very excited. After waiting about two-and-a-half years (which included a number of attempts), a significant number of the items from our Collection are up on CAN.

To see them, just go to the Search Screen, type in "Gippstown" (but without the "talkies") and you can go through them. Don't forget to click on the link to see more details of an item in which you have an interest.

There have been just a few teething problems, where some of our images do not show up (but we can solve that with time), and some come up a number of times, page after page.

But overall, it is really wonderful.

Many, many thanks to Ingrid Mason from CAN and her anonymous XML wizard.

Part of the problem was that we were unsure how to provide an InMagic input for CAN - now solved and we are hopeful the next batch will be up there much sooner.

Thanks Ingrid!

Copyright 1964 Lyle Bonge. Untitled gelatin silver print.

If you work in a large organisation (or a cultural heritage organisation of almost any size), you may find cathartic release in reading this response to criticism of a large website from a member of its internal webteam:

...simply doing a home page redesign is a piece of cake. You want a redesign? I’ve got six of them in my archives. It only takes a few hours to put together a really good-looking one, as you demonstrated in your post. But doing the design isn’t the hard part, and I think that’s what a lot of outsiders don’t really get, probably because many of them actually do belong to small, just-get-it-done organizations. But those of us who work in enterprise-level situations realize the momentum even a simple redesign must overcome, and not many, I’ll bet, are jumping on this same bandwagon. They know what it’s like.

As always, I'm not particularly pointing the finger at my own institution, but I've definitely been there. Cultural heritage institutions tend to have bonus! added! overload on web teams, so the list of improvements you want to make is always much longer than the resources you have available.

La Fundación Cultural Volpe Stessens / Museo Itinerante de Arte Contemporáneo del MERCOSUR, tiene el honor de invitar a Usted el día Sábado 14 de Noviembre a las 20 Hs., en nuestra sede de la Av. Caseros 2739, Parque de los Patricios, a la inauguración de la exposición de Miguel Betancourt en “La noche de los Museos de Buenos Aires”, donde contaremos con la grata presencia del artista que viene por primera vez a Buenos Aires desde Quito, Ecuador.


La exposición del pintor Miguel Betancourt es auspiciada por el Ministerio de Cultura del Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Registro N° 5273-DGTALMC-09 - Resolución. N° 2090 -19-8-2009

Memoria y magia andina en el arte de Miguel Betancourt. El artista ecuatoriano sintetiza en dibujos la tradición del pasado de la Sierra Norte y la inmediatez de un presente que todo lo desecha.

MUSEO DE ARTE CONTEMPORANEO DEL MERCOSUR, ITIMUSEUM
Caseros 2739/ 4 941 5478
Como llegar:
Subterráneo: estación Caseros, línea "H"
Colectivos: 6 – 9 – 25 – 28 – 50 - 134 – 133 – 65 – 150 – 118 – 101 – 95 -
Sin acceso para personas discapacitadas
Prensa: www.itimuseum.org.ar

This happened a month or so ago now.

We were a little perplexed about how to put in disability entry without going through all sorts of planning scheme applications (as we have a Heritage Overlay on the site). Then the Shire Heritage Advisor came for a visit - and suggested this method. The ramp is not attached, so no permit is needed. It is reasonably unobtrusive, and is already weathering away to blend in with the building.

And we love it! Apart from making it easier for wheelchairs, walkers, and the frail visitors - it makes it really easy to wheel things in and out from the shed!

When we get time, we might start to think about just a little bit of planting around the front. We can get away with it while the men are distracted building fences.

Look out - here come the Agapanthuses!

We love seeing an influx of technology combining with art in multiple museums. With help from onedotzero, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is making use of the technology and art fusion by opening a new exhibit, "Decode: Digital Design Sensations." The exhibit is a huge collaboration between artists and designers from around the world. It will feature the latest advances in digital and interactive designs. The exhibit covers so much that it is divided into three themes: "The Network," "Code As A Raw Material," and "Interactivity."

 

 Hi! I'm taking an archaeological ethics course and I'm doing a research project on the effects of eBay and online markets on archaeological sites and artifacts. I have created a really quick survey and if you could take it, it would really help me out! Thanks so much! 
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=oR4ppCPNbjPOn_2fjdUDTCgA_3d_3d

Now a month or two away from graduate admissions deadlines, I'm feeling more lost than I was before I started the search for schools, or even before I found employment in a museum.

Getting a masters in Museum Studies feels like a risk. Venturing out in the job market without it feels like a risk.

With a BA in Anthropology, I'm now employed part-time as a researcher and writer for a medical museum. Given our small staff, I've been more involved with exhibit design, conceptualization, and grant writing than I thought I'd be (When I was hired, I thought I'd just be the person to write the caption underneath the artifact). I'm enjoying the experience, and I've begun to think about it as a potential career.

Once the exhibit is mounted next October, I'm back on the market. How is it possible to be a contender for other museum jobs in a field that is saturated with Museum Studies MA graduates? How do I justify adding on top of my current loans (18k, ouch)? I've been reading other threads that mention scarce funding, low job placement, and the benefits of unpaid internships (i.e., connections).

So, what made you take the leap in either direction? Thanks for your help.

Metropole to become world-class hotel | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

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Images for the Future and the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision are two of the partners contributing to T_Visionarium OPEN CITY. T_Visionarium OPEN CITY is an installation about a century of urbanisation in which documentaries, reports, and interviews are presented in innovative fashion and in three dimensions. The 360º installation, 5 metres tall and 10 metres wide, offers visitors a spectacular, new film experience and the chance to browse by themselves through the material and remix it.
Practical information:
Open from 5 to 22 November,
free entrance every day from 9am – 9pm
and from 19 to 22 November until 10pm
Location: Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam
T_Visionarium OPEN CITY is an initiative within the framework of the VPRO series Urban Century in collaboration with the 4th International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) Open City: Designing Coexistence, the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, Images for the Future, and the iCinema Research Centre.T_Visionarium OPEN CITY was made possible in part by financial support from
the Mondriaan Foundation, the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, and the Dutch
Cultural Broadcasting Fund.

Wilford (Billy) H. Fawcett returned to Minnesota from World War I with a footlocker full of dirty jokes. On a slow night in 1920 while he was working at the Minneapolis Tribune he sorted through the jokes and put them into a pamphlet he titled “Captain Billy’s Whiz-Bang” [whiz-bang being the sound shells made during [...]

« J’avais voulu aller jusqu’à l’extrême; n’étais-je pas comblé, chez ces gracieux indigènes que nul n’avais vu avant moi, que personne peut-être ne verrait plus après ? Au terme d’un exaltant parcours, je tenais mes sauvages. Hélas, ils ne l’étaient que de trop. (…) Aussi proche de moi qu’une image dans le miroir, je pouvais les toucher, non les comprendre. Je recevais du même coup ma récompense et mon châtiment. »
Claude Lévi-Stauss (1908-2009)

Friday was an excellent day to "drop- in" to the museum! The got milk? team stopped by to share their favorite chocolate milk recipes with us and snap some milk mustache photos.

Local processors HP Hood and Midland farms provided chocolate milk and chocolate milkshakes for everyone to enjoy and get their chocolate milk mustache going on! There were also sticker mustaches for those who didn't delight in the chocolate milk deliciousness. Once everyone's chocolate milk mustache was in place, milk mustache photos were taken in a spooky and fun Halloween setting.

While waiting for pictures to print, the got milk? team handed out canvas goodie bags to all the kids. Goodie bags were stuffed full of got milk? t-shirts, fun Halloween sticker tattoos, chocolate milk recipes for moms and dads, and even chocolate milk to take home. It doesn't get much better than that!

We all know that sweets are at the heart of the Halloween fun. Serving chocolate milk gives moms the opportunity to make the Halloween season a little bit healthier with out being booed by the kids. Drinking chocolate milk, the official drink of Halloween, is a tasty way to build strong bones that no one will find scary.

"Chocolate milk is a nutritious alternative to sugar-filled sodas and fruit drinks that contain little or no nutrients," said Dr, Tanya Remer Altmann, MD, and author of Mommy Calls, Dr Tanya Answers Parents' Top 101 Questions about Babies and Toddlers. "Chocolate milk provides the same nine essential nutrients as white milk and is packed with the calcium and vitamin D kids need to build strong bones."

Here's a spooky fact: two out of three kids fail to get enough calcium and studies show that kids who drink chocolate and other flavored milks have higher calcium intakes than those who don't. They also tend to drink fewer sugary sodas and fruit drinks and are more likely to be at a healthy weight compared to kids who drink little or no milk.

Visit whymilk.com for more healthy Halloween tips, to find festive recipes - such as Goblin Good Rice Pudding and Minty Witch's Brew - and to create your very own Halloween-themed Milk Mustache digital card using the "Make Your Own Milk Mustache Ad" tool. Don the 'stache, share with friends and encourage others to celebrate chocolate milk as 'The Official Drink of Halloween'.

Speaking of Mending and Making Do, this item was overlooked in the collection for many years. We thought it was very degraded (with silver paper under silverfish damage), but somehow we couldn't throw it out. It was "quaint".

A few months ago they had a spot on Tramp Art on the ABC "Collectors" show. There was a very similar one - silverpaper under silverfish damage, similar frame. Apparently this is a very 1930s thing.

Glad we didn't throw it out. We have it on display at the moment in our Classroom display.

We’re all busy people, and I sure as heck check my Facebook more often on a daily basis than I do most of the blogs I read. This is the logic behind launching the official MJ Writes Facebook Group. Through the group, I can quickly spread the word about exciting, upcoming events, new posts on MJ Writes, favorite links, blogs, news stories, and the like, and these updates will conveniently show up on Facebook! As a group member, you have the opportunity to share museum-y and artsy links as well, allowing more voices to be heard (I get a little tired of reading my own stuff). If you are a Facebook junky like me, join the MJ Writes Facebook Group!

 

The Minnesota Historical Society recently began a project to conserve several Civil War and Spanish American War battle flags. Doug Bekke, Assistant to the Textile Conservator, explains the painstaking process of examining and treating each of these historic banners.

On September 30, The National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., opened a Public Observatory to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy. Inside, "... the centerpiece of the Public Observatory Project is a 16-inch Boller & Chivens telescope. The telescope was originally part of Harvard-Smithsonian's Oak Ridge Observatory in Harvard, Massachusetts. It was used for astronomical research until recent years, and is now on loan to the National Air and Space Museum for the Public Observatory Project."

Gallery 214 is unique. It is devoted to American Art on Paper, and these art objects are often smaller in size, which I have learned is typical of the predominant media represented: lithographs, pastels, etchings and woodcuts. The sizes of earlier prints, particularly those of the 19th and early 20th centuries (pre-1945), were quite likely dictated by available materials, the desire to sell or distribute reproductions, or the desire to create more intimate viewing experiences. I have been told that some contemporary print artists (for example, Tom Huck) are experimenting with larger prints. In Gallery 214, the text labels that hang beside the prints blend almost seamlessly into the walls. The subdued ambiance of the gallery is appropriate considering the art objects it houses. The work required to create a print is intensive (I strongly recommend individual research on these interesting processes), and the gallery does not detract attention from these deceptively "simple" objects. To adequately consider their layers, a person must be patient enough to really slow down, pause and look. The art objects in the gallery’s current exhibition, Impressions of the Southwest and Mexico, depict a wide range of early-twentieth century life in that geographic area. In the early 20th century, there was widespread fascination with the American Southwest (in this exhibition, specifically New Mexico, Arizona, California) and Mexico. The artists featured in this exhibition were clearly stirred and motivated by the people, architecture, landscapes, weather and customs of these spaces. These prints ask viewers to examine the lives and worlds of their inhabitants. The prints invite viewers to see the internal and external beauty, history and multiplicity of peoples and a space often defined as isolated, arid and deserted. Activities represented range from celebrations to daily labor to reflective moments. The prints depict moments that are intimate and also voyeuristic. Simple and complex. They are dynamic and calm. Direct and subtle. Mourning and hopeful. Innocent and brave… But only if we take a moment to really see them. Image: David Alfaro Siqueiros, Zapata, ca. 1930.

The first annual "spooky" walking tours of Coloma and Watervliet were a great success. Despite cold weather the rain stayed away and allowed for two fascinating tours featuring local history stories.


Participants gathered in front of the grave of Stephen R. Gilson, "the founder of Coloma."


Participants gather for a picture with some of the local residents who still reside in the cemetary!


North Berrien Historical Society member Elaine Lavender offers a the ghost of a hobo some money by the train tracks. Newspaper accounts report that local residents used to fear hobos that hitched rides on the trains.

The Staffordshire Hoard, the most remarkable archaeological discovery for a generation, goes on temporary public display at the British Museum today, to coincide with the launch of the Portable Antiquities and Treasure Annual Report 2007; both events are being launched by Margaret Hodge, Culture Minister. Highlights of the hoard will be displayed, fresh from the earth, from 3rd November until the New Year in gallery 37, near to the famous Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon Treasure.

The Staffordshire Hoard is to be valued by an independent Treasure Valuation Committee by the end of November. Once completed a fundraising campaign will be undertaken to secure the hoard.

Culture Minister, Margaret Hodge; The British Museum; the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA); Regional Minister, Ian Austin and West Midland’s local councils are united in their commitment to ensure that the Staffordshire Hoard has a permanent home in the West Midlands region. Highlights of the hoard will travel to the Potteries Museum in early 2010.

The Staffordshire Hoard is one of over 400,000 archaeological finds recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) or reported Treasure since 1997 (when legislation regarding the reporting of archaeological finds was last enacted). The scheme is managed by the British Museum on behalf of the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), funded through the Renaissance in the Regions programme.

The report announces that 747 cases of Treasure were reported in 2007 and a further 66,311 non-Treasure finds were recorded with the PAS on a voluntary basis, adding significantly to our understanding of the past. Without the PAS there would be no mechanism to deal effectively with finds found by the public and ensure the knowledge about them is disseminated for the benefit of all.

The PAS plays an increasingly important role in the operation of the Treasure Act. Since 2003, when the PAS was extended to the whole of England and Wales, there has been an average increase of 194% in the reporting of Treasure, to the benefit of museums across the country. Thanks to funding from sources such as the HLF, Art Fund, MLA/V&A Purchase Fund and Headley Trust, 303 finds reported Treasure have been acquired by museums. It is also the case that in 55 of these cases, one or more parties has waived their rights to a reward; up from 44 in 2006, and 25 in 2005.

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said:

“The discovery of the enormous Staffordshire Hoard is incredibly significant for the understanding of our Saxon heritage. It also highlights the importance of the Portable Antiquities Scheme and the Treasure Act for ensuring that significant archaeological finds are properly reported and assessed, enriching our knowledge and understanding of the past. It is testament to the Scheme that the number of finds reported has increased year on year since the Act became Law, and significantly so since the Portable Antiquities Scheme was extended across the whole of England and Wales.”

Neil MacGregor, Director, British Museum said:

“The discovery and reporting of this find has been a wonderful example of co-operation by all parties concerned. From the beginning of the process the partners all agreed that this great find should be acquired by the West Midlands, it is excellent news that this is now going to happen. This is exactly what a national partnership should be. I am delighted that the hoard can be seen temporarily at the British Museum by a wide number of UK and international visitors. The story of the find demonstrates the PAS working at its best, with the British Museum leading on the academic and research side and Birmingham and Stoke leading on the acquisition. The continuing funding of PAS was secured just over a year ago thanks to unprecendented cross party support. As this report is placed before Parliament we hope that it will secure funding for this essential resource in the future.”

Roy Clare, CEO, Museums, Libraries & Archives Council said:

 “The Portable Antiquities Scheme is a vital component of the MLA’s “Renaissance in the Regions” programme to promote excellence in England’s regional museums. We are delighted to be working closely with the British Museum and we are committed to the future success of the PAS at the heart of Renaissance. In particular, we recognise that finds from all over the country make an exciting and vivid complementary connection with existing collections. The public are readily engaged in the stories and all ages relish the significance for identity and for local places. People have responded with great enthusiasm to the recent exceptional discoveries; there have been long queues to view a selection of pieces in Birmingham and a positive start has already been made on raising funds to purchase the hoard from the Crown and later to interpret the items in their proper context in the West Midlands. The PAS has had another highly successful year; the MLA congratulates the many people who make it work so well.”

Regional minister, Ian Austin, said:

“I’m extremely pleased with the pace and commitment that the West Midlands is showing in working together to secure and support this unique find for the region.In the short time that the hoard has already been on display in Birmingham, it has harnessed an extraordinary emotional response from people in the region. The Staffordshire Hoard has the potential to play a huge role in the region’s economy and heritage; attracting people from around the world to Staffordshire, Birmingham and the wider region”.

For further information or images please contact Hannah Boulton or Esme Wilson on 020 7323 8522 / 8394 or communications@britishmuseum.org

FINDS IN THE REPORT

The Staffordshire Hoard will feature in the Portable Antiquities & Treasure Annual Report 2009. The current report outlines some of the finds recorded in 2007 including:

Cat. no. 101) Roman copper-alloy figurine of Cautopates. Date: c. AD 43-c.410. Found by Chris Hall at Newton Kyme cum Toulson, North Yorkshire, and recorded by Amy Copper (South & West Yorkshire FLO). Cautoplates was one of the attendants of the Roman God Mithras, whose Cult (Mithraism) was popular with Roman soldiers stationed in Britain. Mithras’ attendants, Cautes and Cautopates, represented opposing attributes of light and dark, or life and death. Despite the popularity of Mithraism very few metallic votive items and this figurine remains unparalleled.

Cat. no. 135) Roman gold lamella (sheet). Dates: c. AD 200-c.400. Found by David Livingstone in South Oxfordshire and reported to Fi Hitchcock (then Treasure Registrar). A Roman amulet with 16 lines of incised text, including ‘magical’ characters and an inscription in Greek to the ‘holy names’ to protect a woman called Fabia, the daughter of Terentia. It is apparently a charm to ensure safe childbirth. When found the object was tightly rolled, and is thought to have been a votive deposit. This is the third such amulet found in Britain, though lamella fragments are also known, and provides an insight to Roman religion in the third and fourth centuries. Acquired by the British Museum.

Cat. no. 217) Viking hoard. Date: deposited in c.AD 928. Found by Andrew and David Whelan in the Vale of York, North Yorkshire, and reported to Amy Cooper (South & West Yorkshire FLO). A Carolingian silver-gilt vessel containing gold and silver objects and 617 silver coins; some objects were found outside the cup. The cup is decorated with six roundels containing running animals in front of a tree or bush; apparently a hunting scene and probably represents Viking loot from a church or monastery in the northern Frankish Empire in the 9th century. The coins are a mix of Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Scandinavian, Islamic and Carolingian types, and they allow an unusually close date for the deposition of the hoard. Acquired jointly by the British Museum and York Museums Trust.

Cat. no. 285) Medieval silver piedfort. Date: mid 1350s. Found by Mark Stonard at West Clandon, Surrey, and recorded by David Williams (Surrey FLO). It is uncertain what piedforts are, but it has been suggested they are pattern coins, guides for mint workers, or – more likely – reckoning counters for officials. This one, modelled on a coin struck in the name of Edward III as Duke of Aquitaine (1325-62), is the first to be reported under the Treasure Act, and is the third known. The British Museum has acquired.

Cat. no. 414) Post-Medieval lead figurine of Tom Molineaux. Date: c.1800-25. Found by Dorothy Hewison at Ryde, Isle of Wight, and recorded by Frank Basford (Isle of Wight FLO). Tom Molineaux (1784-1818) was born a slave on a plantation in Virginia, USA and boxed against fellow slaves whilst plantation owners wagered on the contests. After winning one of these contests his owner, Algernon Molineaux, gave him his freedom and $500. By 1909 Molineaux was boxing in New York and subsequently fought in England, boxing against English champion Tom Cribb in 1810 and 1811, and after which he became a celebrity.

Notes to Editors:

1. All finders of gold and silver objects, and groups of coins from the same finds, over 300 years old, have a legal obligation to report such items under the Treasure Act 1996. Prehistoric base-metal assemblages found after 1 January 2003 also qualify as Treasure. Treasure finds must be reported by law to the local coroner, which is normally done through the finders local PAS Finds Liaison Officer. The Treasure Process is administered by the British Museum. More information is available on www.culture.gov.uk or www.finds.org.uk

2. The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) is a voluntary scheme managed by the British Museum on behalf of the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) to record archaeological objects (not necessarily ‘Treasure’) found by members of the public in England and Wales. Every year many thousands of objects are discovered, many of these by metal-detector users, but also by people whilst out walking, gardening or going about their daily work. Such discoveries offer an important source for understanding our past. More information can be found on www.finds.org.uk

3. Renaissance is the MLA’s ground-breaking programme to transform England’s regional museums. Central government funding is enabling regional museums across the country to raise their standards and deliver real results in support of education, learning, community development and economic regeneration. The programme has received £300million since 2002, helping to make museums great centres of life and learning, which people want to visit.

4. Leading strategically, the MLA promotes best practice in museums, libraries and archives, to inspire innovative, integrated and sustainable services for all. Visit www.mla.gov.uk

 

The combined report can be downloaded at: http://www.finds.org.uk/documents/ar/Report.pdf (15MB) or in sections at:

http://www.finds.org.uk/documents/ar/AR2007_pg1_165.pdf – part 1 (1.6MB)
http://www.finds.org.uk/documents/ar/AR2007_pg166_289.pdf – part 2 (2.3MB)
http://www.finds.org.uk/documents/ar/AR2007_pg290_361.pdf – part 3 (2.3MB)
http://www.finds.org.uk/documents/ar/AR2007_pg362_413.pdf – part 4 (1.8MB)
http://www.finds.org.uk/documents/ar/AR2007_pg414_434.pdf – part 5 (1.5MB)

The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology in Oslo received ASTC’s Leading Edge Award for Visitor Experience last week for Klima X, an exhibition about human-induced climate change. Among the exhibition’s striking features: large blocks of melting ice that represent the melting Arctic icecap, and the yellow boots vistors put on before they enter. Jon Haavie shared a case study of the exhibition on ExhibitFiles in March. Jon encourages us all to visit before the exhibition closes December 31.
Congratulations, Jon!