Botanic Gardens and Social Relevancy

Kate Oxley forwarded a link to the following article:

Redefining the Role of Botanic Gardens - towards a new social purpose

Abstract: Botanic gardens, like many organisations in the cultural sector, are concerned with being more socially relevant, working with their communities and addressing contemporary concerns like climate change. However, whilst much good work is being done there is the potential for botanic gardens to do much more. They are perceived to be exclusive and elite institutions. In a society where many people have become disconnected from the natural world but where the threats from climate change and species extinction (plant and animal) are predicted to get worse as the century progresses, botanic gardens could play an important role in re-connecting people with the world of plants, educating them and showing them models for sustainable living.

You're Invited to the Next HAM-ED Session: Planning 2010-2011

A BIG thank you to Cathy Blackbourn for leading last night's HAM-ED evening session that proved both energetic and engaging! The topic of Best and Worst Museum Visits were discussed with thoughtful consideration, and with the general consensus being that it *is* the people who *do* make the difference in the overall museum experience! I suspect we all knew this to be true, however, the discussion proved to reinforce this very point. The session took place at La Luna Restaurant in Hamilton, with 15 people in attendance! Thank you all for making it out last night!

Looking ahead to the next session, which is a planning session for the year ahead, and our final session until next Fall, so it would be fantastic to have your participation, thoughts, and ideas shared by either attending this next session or by emailing them to us;

Sarah Hamilton, sarahhamilton@brantford.ca or
Chandra Erlendson, programs@homerwatson.on.ca

Together, we have committed to coordinating another year of HAM-ED Evenings and the Peer Learning Circle Daytime sessions, with Kate Oxley continuing to coordinate and book the restaurant locations for the evening sessions. We look forward your thoughts and ideas for the year ahead, and invite you to tell us what you think!

*YOU'RE INVITED* to the next HAM-ED AFTER HOURS SESSION:
TOPIC: Planning for 2010-2011
DATE: Monday, June 28, 2010
TIME: 6:00pm-8:00pm
LOCATION: Restaurant TBA by June 4
Please save the date and join us with your thoughts and ideas for possible discussion topics, and/or themes for the next HAM-ED Evenings and/or Daytime PLC sessions.
Kindly RSVP to Sarah Hamilton at sarahhamilton@brantford.ca

We look forward to your participation in person or by email!

Your HAM-ED Coordinators,

Chandra Erlendson, programs@homerwatson.on.ca
Educator & Program Coordinator
Homer Watson House & Gallery
519-748-4377 ext 222

Sarah Hamilton, sarahhamilton@brantford.ca
Education Coordinator
Bell Homestead NHS
519-756-6220

HAM-ED After Hours Meeting: My Worst & Best Museum Visits

Please join us at the next HAM-ED After Hours Session
Date: Monday, May 31, 2010
Time: 6-8pm
Topic: My Worst & Best Museum Visits
Topic Leader: Cathy Blackbourn
Restaurant Location: La Luna, 306 King St. W. (905) 577-0233
The website is http://www.lalunarestaurant.ca/index.html
It's a Lebanese restaurant, (offers vegetarian cuisine) and the menu looks tasty!
All are Welcome!
To register please contact: Sarah Hamilton @ SarahHamilton@brantford.ca by May 28th, 2010. We look forward to seeing you at the next HAM-ED evening session!

Spring 2010 HAM-ED Peer Learning Circle - Letting Your Community Know Your Worth

**YOU ARE INVITED**
Spring 2010 HAM-ED Peer Learning Circle on Monday April 26th, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Grimsby Public Art Gallery!
Theme: Letting Your Community Know Your Worth
Date: Monday, April 26th, 2010
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Grimsby Public Art Gallery, 18 Carnegie Lane, Grimsby, Ontario
Cost: FREE!

We invite you to PARTICIPATE in the Peer Learning Circle Day focusing on the how to let your community know your worth. Come out and share your learning with interested peers. Have fun while getting valuable feedback. Presentations are generally about 15-20 minutes followed by 10 minutes discussion but new approaches are welcome and may be longer or shorter depending on what you want to share or get out of them. All welcome. Step up and share!

PRESENTATIONS

Presenter: Ian Kerr-Wilson
Topic: Hamilton's Culture Division Strategy

Presenter: Mac Swackhammer for Richard Barlas
Topic: Virtual Museums Strategies
Presentation Info: Richard will present in PowerPoint, the accommodations the Hamilton Civic Museums have made to ensure that persons with disabilities can fully experience a visit to a Hamilton civic museum site. This will include both accommodations currently in place and those planned for the future which go well beyond just meeting the letter of the law and provide a real and dynamic experience for all visitors of any ability.
Presenter Bio: Richard Barlas is the Registrar for the City of Hamilton's, Community Services, Culture Division. Richard is responsible for the care of the historic collections of all City of Hamilton Museums. This includes the proper storage and record keeping for approximately 60,000 artifacts across seven museums, four of which are national historic sites. This also includes responsibility for about 200,000 archaeological fragments. Richard's experience spans from working in the museum field for twelve years, starting as a researcher for Heritage Mississauga. Following this he was the Curator of the King Township Museum before moving the Hamilton Civic Museum System. Within the Hamilton Museum system he has been a historical interpreter at Dundurn Castle and the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology, the Programme coordinator for Fieldcote Museum in Ancaster, Acting Curator of Whitehern Historic house and Garden and the Registrar for the Museum System.

Presenter: Judy WelshTopic: Cambridge Sculpture Garden
Presenter Bio: Judy is a semi-retired Landscape Designer and has been in the design/build business for 20 years. Large residential properties are her speciality. She has been a volunteer and member of the Galt Horticultural Society for over 13 years, past president, and designer of the one acre public gardens surrounding the Ferguson Cottage managed by the Galt Horticulture Society, and is the co-founder of the Cambridge Sculpture Garden formed in 2000. Judy is the volunteer site development designer/organizer for the Cambridge Sculpture Garden and raised all the money for the landscaping, plant material and maintenance for the 1/2 acre gardens. Prime design considerations of these public gardens are for public enjoyment of the Trans Canada Trail system along the Grand River and for combining and displaying temporary and permanent sculptures in different areas of the garden. Also 1/2 of the garden emphases native plant material. Judy attended the Ontario College of Art in the 60's and enjoys pottery and watercolour botanical drawing. Her current hobby is learning some of the 2500 semi tropical plants in Cape Town South Africa where she lives 3-4 months of the year. She has received the YMCA Women of Distinction Award for Conservation and the Grand River Conservation Award for Conservation.

Presenters: Nicole Knibb & Teresa Gregorio
Topic: Interdisciplinary Visual Literacy Programme (a collaboration between McMaster's Family Medicine department and the McMaster Museum of Art)
Presentation Info: Art Observation in Medicine: Family Residency Training The McMaster Museum of Art is beginning a partnership in 2010 with the McMaster Department of Family Medicine to teach its Medical School Residents visual literacy using McMaster University’s renowned art collection. This is due to recent research and practice regarding formal art observation and the development of visual literacy skills benefiting the training of health care professionals at Harvard Medical School, among others. This improved capacity for observational and interpretive skills will help medical practitioners’ diagnostic skills as well as improve their capacity for reflective practice. This project is a clear move by the Museum of Art to embrace the different needs of our community, McMaster University and its academic Faculties, and promote the Museum of Art as a tool for learning outside of The School of the Arts.
Presenters Bio: Nicole is the the Education Coordinator for the McMaster Museum of Art at McMaster University. She has been with the Museum since 1997, beginning as a Work/Study Student and volunteer, eventually becoming an in-gallery Information Officer (which she is a part of)as well as being the Education Coordinator in 2009. In the past she has volunteered with the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Worker’s Art and Heritage Centre. Nicole has a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from McMaster University.
Presenters Bio: Teresa is an Information Officer at the McMaster Museum of Art, where she has been working in various capacities since 2003. She started as a volunteer and subsequently moved into a Work/Study position as a Collections Assistant. She has volunteer experience with the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology, Ruthven Park National Historic Site and the Dundas Historical Museum (where she also worked as Weekend Museum Staff). Teresa holds an honours BA in Art History with a minor in History from McMaster University.

For more information about the HAM-ED Peer Learning Circle, to register, present or to volunteer for the planning team, please contact Sarah Hamilton at sarahhamilton@brantford.ca on or before April 23rd, 2010.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Your HAM-ED PLC Coordinators,
Sarah Hamilton, Education Coordinator, Bell Homestead NHS, sarahhamilton@brantford.ca
Chandra Erlendson, Educator & Program Coordinator, Homer Watson House & Gallery, programs@homerwatson.on.ca
Heather George, heather.c.george@gmail.com
Brigitte Huard, Grimsby Public Art Gallery, gpag@town.grimsby.on.ca

Your contact person: Sarah Hamilton - sarahhamilton@brantford.ca

Facilitating Adult Learning in the Gallery

Ontario Association of Art Galleries
Two-day Professional Development Opportunity
Facilitating Adult Learning in the Gallery
with Jack Cunningham
March 26 & 27, 2010
9:00 am to 5:00 pm each day
Toronto

Organized by Barbara Gilbert for the Ontario Association of Art Galleries
This course has been developed by Cultural Careers Council Ontario to serve the training needs of the cultural sector.
Funded in part by the Museums Assistance Program, Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada.

Registration
$195 OAAG Members $250 General
To register: Barbara Gilbert at members(at)oaag.org

You may be eligible for a Canadian Museums Association bursary to attend.
Click here for information about the CMA's Travel Bursary

This 2-day learning workshop, created by a specialist in adult education, will give you the skills to plan and develop learning modules that appeal to and motivate adults, as well as to develop activities and experiences to meet your anticipated learning outcomes. Approaching the gallery’s unique context for lifelong education, this workshop will explore the challenges of changing audience needs, understanding and planning for the needs of adult users, including different learning styles and cross-curricular opportunities.

The course takes place over a full day Friday and a full day Saturday. The syllabus covers principles of adult education, a variety of instructional techniques that engage adults as well as practical tips on designing learning relevant to their needs. The workshop itself has been designed to model best practices with lots of opportunities for group work, presentation and practice.

• planning and developing workshops that appeal to and motivate adult learners
• developing activities and experiences to meet learning outcomes
• tips on group behaviour issues, organizing content, and learning styles
• how we learn, course outlines, course design and lesson planning
• writing goals and outcomes
• classroom setup and management
• tips on facilitation, teaching aids, and evaluations

Expect an interesting, useful and experiential workshop with room for discussion.

What is gallery education?
Gallery education is a new and changing body of practice that exists to broaden understanding and enjoyment of the visual arts (…). Gallery education continues to develop in response to changes in art practice, changes in audience needs, and changes in formal and informal education. Many galleries and art museums around the world now have gallery education departments, and gallery education programmes organised and delivered by gallery education staff, working with artist-educators, artists, teachers, professional partners and community leaders.

Gallery education includes:
• promoting visual literacy - helping people develop the tools and vocabulary to experience and respond to art
• unlocking creativity - stimulating people to explore their own creative potential, to make art themselves, and to pursue careers in the creative industries
• cultural empowerment - building people's confidence with and understanding of artists, galleries, arts centres, art museums.
( www.engage.org/about/whatis.aspx )

Jack Cunningham is a writer, performer, arts business coach and adult educator. Jack has over 25 years experience in education and training as well as an arts career as a playwright, producer and performer. He has designed adult training programs for Centennial College and Humber College where he also taught Organizational Management and became a training consultant to business and industry with the College’s Business Services division. He has taught at George Brown College in the Adult Instruction Certificate program and designed professional development workshops for the Toronto District School Board. Most recently he has designed and delivered workshops for The Cultural Careers Council of Ontario: The Business of Art – Career Planning for Artists and also Facilitating Adult Learners. Jack has a BA in English Literature from Concordia University, a Diploma in Counselling, Advanced Accreditation from the Canadian Society for Training and Developm ent, and certificates in: Adult Instruction, Instructional Design, Myers-Briggs, Personality Dimensions/True Colors, and Life Skills Coaching.

For more information:
Barbara Gilbert, Secretariat Coordinator
Phone (416) 598-0714
Email members(at)oaag.org

Just What Is It That Makes Today's Institutions So Different So Appealing?

University of Guelph and the School of Fine Art and Music presents:
4th Annual Shenkman Lecture in Contemporary Art

Featuring: Iwona Blazwick
Director, Whitechapel Art Gallery London, UK

JUST WHAT IS IT
THAT MAKES TODAY'S INSTITUTIONS
SO DIFFERENT
SO APPEALING?

This lecture explores the transformation of the museum, from mausoleum
to mass spectacle - and the implications for artists and audiences in
the 21st century.

Wednesday March 10, 2010
Lecture location - War Memorial Hall
University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario
Lecture- 5:30pm

Please also plan to join us for the MFA Open Studios before or after the lecture:
Wednesday March 10, 2010
Open Studio 2:00-5:00 pm and 7:00-9:00pm
Studios in Blackwood Hall, Firehall, and Axelrod.

Iwona Blazwick is among a handful of indispensable gallery directors and critics of contemporary art. Since 2001 she has been the Director of the Whitechapel Art Gallery in London, where she oversaw a major expansion of that venerable institution. Prior to assuming the directorship of the Whitechapel, she was the Director of Exhibitions at the ICA in London from 1986 - 93, and Head of Exhibitions and Displays at the Tate Modern from 1997 – 2001. Before becoming a curator, she had a transformative career in art publishing as the Commissioning Editor for Phaidon Press, initiating both the Contemporary Artists monograph series and the Themes and Movements series. She is also the Editor for the Documents of Contemporary Art series co-published by Whitechapel and MIT. She was an independent curator (1993-97) during which time she organized a range of important contemporary art exhibitions. She has written extensively about a number of artists, including Marlene Dumas, Elizabeth Peyton, Lawrence Weiner, Hannah Collins, Rachel Whiteread and Ilya Kabokov. In 2008 Ms Blazwick was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).

For more information contact:
Sandra Sabatini Ph.D.
Dean’s Office,
College of Arts
University of Guelph
519.824.4120. x53869
sabatini@uoguelph.ca

www.uoguelph.ca/sofam

http://www.parking.uoguelph.ca/images/Parking_Map_2008-09.pdf

MUSEUM STUDIES & PRACTICES IN CANADA CONFERENCE-APRIL 22-24, 2010

Hi HAM-ED folks - this should be a great conference of interest to all and right in your own backyard! Hope to see you there. Cheers, Chris.
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A limited number of spaces are still available. Register today!
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Taking Stock: Museum Studies & Museum Practices in Canada,
taking place in Toronto, Canada on April 22-24, 2010
An interdisciplinary conference hosted by the Museum Studies program, Faculty of Information, at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
http://takingstockmuseumstudies.ischool.utoronto.ca/

Keynote Speaker is Dr. Robert R. Janes who will draw on reflections from hisrecently published book, Museums in a Troubled World: Renewal, Irrelevanceor Collapse? Over the past 40 years, the discipline of Museum Studies has grown beyond its foundational premise as the study of museum organization and managementto become a field informed by interdisciplinarian approaches, pedagogies and techniques. Some have argued that Museum Studies has not only come of age,as an academic discipline it has moved into the mainstream. Yet for many,the very formulation of this discipline continues to be a subject of intensereflection and debate, while its relationship with the community ofprofessional practitioners it intends to serve is complex.

While much has been written on Museum Studies/Museology from the UK, US, Australian and European perspectives, less has been articulated about Canadian traditions in the field. Despite over four decades of formalacademic training and almost two centuries of professional practices, thereare no Canadian national journals, nor annual academic conferences dedicatedto the subject of Museum Studies. Doubtless a Canadian museology exists, however the research of Canadian museum scholars continues to be diffusedacross regional, linguistic, and disciplinarian lines. The Master of Museum Studies program at the University of Toronto marks its 40th anniversary with a conference that aims to create a forum for anation-wide debate and critical examination of the academic discipline ofMuseum Studies in Canada in historical and contemporary contexts, and howthis discipline registers within broader global traditions, pedagogies andpractices.This 3-day conference will bring together academics and practitioners,theorists and students from across the nation and beyond to explore the components of theory and practice that have structured the field of MuseumStudies in Canada.

Draft program listing sessions and speakers available at http://takingstockmuseumstudies.ischool.utoronto.ca/Programme.asp

Register online visit: http://takingstockmuseumstudies.ischool.utoronto.ca/Registration.asp
Students: $50.00 All others: $150.00

(These fees cover the entire duration of the conference, and include refreshments throughout the event in addition to the conference reception onFriday evening. There are no day rates available for this event.)