A museum is more than a storage box for history. The role that a museum has for the community of people that they serve is the focus for Cornwall Museums Partnership (CMP).
CMP is a charitable organisation formed in 2015, whose purpose is to create positive social change with museums. It does this by working with the Cornish museum sector and supporting them to make a positive difference and celebrating the leading and best practice of the Cornish museum ecosystem. Their aim is to address the structures that have excluded people in the past and help museums become a resource for everyone, open and connected to their communities.
Tamzyn Smith, CEO of CMP said;
“Museums form an integral part of Cornwall’s distinctive rurally dispersed cultural and creative sector and are placed at the heart of our communities; they play an important role in exploring a sense of belonging and identity. Through the joy and wonder of their spaces and collections, our museum’s also enable a sense of curiosity.”
Leap has built a relationship with CMP over the past few years as a partner for change. We previously worked with them in collaboration with Carefree Cornwall to co-create the Culture Card – an initiative which enables young care experienced people to access museums and exhibitions in Cornwall for free. Our partnership has also seen us running workshops as part of the Green Museums Collective to help guide heritage organisations through practical environmental actions. Our role has been one of curiosity, asking what if and looking to the future of untapped opportunities for these kinds of spaces. Designing in partnership both as a creative and thought partner.
From history into the future
“History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future.”
Robert Penn Warren
CMP is a proactive organisation that has already made great strides in the areas of inclusion and diversity, accessibility, the environment and bringing young people with them on the journey. Their inquisitiveness and willingness to do better is apparent in their latest organisational impact report, put together by Leap. Through that lens of curiosity, we have together celebrated their achievements as well as identified areas for opportunity where they can improve in the future.
The report – Reconnecting and embracing change
Cornwall Museums Partnership works on a multitude of projects with a number of museums and heritage organisations – including PK Porthcurno, Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Royal Cornwall Museum, Wheal Martyn Clay Works, Museum of Cornish Life, Falmouth Art Gallery, Isles of Scilly Museum, The Castle Heritage Centre, The Old Guildhall Museum & Gaol and Bodmin Keep – as well as over 30 collaboration partners. Their report reflects all these different aspects of the work they do.
The Cornish language or Kernewek is a celtic language dating back to pre-Roman times. Having almost disappeared in the 18th century, it has had a recent revival thanks to many people and organisations working together to revitalise it.
We and CMP both want to be part of this revival by bringing Kernewek into our work where possible. If you hover with your cursor over the titles in the report you will see them flip from English to Kernewek, giving it an interactive spotlight.
The report also highlights the many social and educational projects across the county.
“It has been a real joy to work with the team at LEAP on our latest impact report. The design is beautiful, and the fact LEAPs values around inclusivity and diversity matches with ours, made our ask to finding design solutions to accommodate these values, a simple one.
We are keen to develop our working relationship to see how we can push design solutions further to help us communicate our impact in different, inclusive, and accessible ways, celebrating the fantastic work of CMP and most importantly, the work of the museums and partners that we work with.”
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