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BBC and unheard voices
I complained to the BBC this week about the coverage of climate change on the Today programme, in particular John Humphreys’ misinterpretation of the MET Office report that the global warming trends...
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When is the right time?
This is a very brief post because I want to know what you think. I’m very interested in the question: At what age do we start talking with children about the unfolding environmental catastrophe? Do we...
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Questions about One Object Per Child
Nick Poole has just proposed this idea on the Collections Trust blog. In a nutshell, it’s the idea of giving plastic reproductions of iconic museum objects to all schoolchildren, using 3D printers. I...
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Tree Love Week
With Persephone Pearl, I’ve set up Tree Love Week, as part of Beuysterous. It’s on February 11th to 18th around Valentine’s Day. We’re calling you to express your appreciation of a tree (or several)....
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Green Party on Culture and Education
The Guardian just hosted a chat with Natalie Bennett, the newish leader of the Green Party. As the thread of responses is quite long and a little bit trolly, here’s an extract. I asked Natalie about...
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Wellbeing and social justice in museums
Here’s a thought provoking article by Maurice Davies of the Museums Association, asking Social Justice vs Wellbeing? Are they just different means to the same end? I find it interesting as it’s the...
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What’s wrong with plantations?
The BBC Today programme on March 6th gave a few short minutes to a discussion about biofuels and forests. John Hayes, the Minister for Energy and Climate Change was on to defend the Government’s plans...
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Take on the curriculum
This is my take on the proposed National Curriculum for England and the manner in which it has been revised. I should first outline my views on the purpose and best conditions for education, since...
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Learning Planet progress
I’ve managed to find a day or two over Easter to do more research and planning for my book. I’ve produced a questionnaire, and I’m really keen for this to spread far and wide so I can get a general...
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Graft
I’ve been busy. It must be the sudden Spring giving me lots of creative energy after a Winter that seemed to suck the life out of me. It’s also the effect of going on a poetry course in Scotland last...
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The Oikonomic Value of Culture
At the end of April 2013, Maria Miller gave her first speech after 7 months in the role as Minister for Culture. In this, she was adamant that the Cultural sector should focus on generating wealth for...
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The Unmattering Museum
‘Unmattering’ is a word dreamt up by Pae White and woven into this installation at the South London Gallery. The threads give the word the appearance of matter but it remains as unsolid as the word...
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Wordless at Tate Britain
I was at Tate Britain for a meeting but thought I’d take a look at the New Displays because the Guardian had reported its director Penelope Curtis’ decision to remove information panels. I’ve only been...
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Heritage is infrastructure
Heritage is great! Countryside is great! Yes, they are, and we don’t really need Government adverts telling us so, do we? Well, maybe we do, given that the same Government is also telling companies to...
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Rewild the revolution
Simon Schama said last weekend, in his call to teachers to reject Gove’s proposed History curriculum, “History is meant to keep the powerful awake at night and keep them honest.” He’s calling for a...
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Future learning
On Monday I recorded a podcast with Museopunks. It’s an interview with Suse Cairns and Jeffrey Inscho about how museums can scan the future and prepare for it. I talked about the importance of...
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Deeper
This is both a ‘note to self’ and a seed for discussion. I want to see museum and heritage collections and knowledge being put to better use, both being freed up into the commons and being actively...
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Smoking gun
The other day I was part of a singing flashmob raising awareness of Shell’s sponsorship of the Southbank Centre. We were also welcoming Yoko Ono as Meltdown Festival curator, as she has set up Artists...
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Ocean liner words for change
I’ve been learning from some inspiring people recently, all of whom have made me think about language. Doreen Massey wrote a piece ‘Neoliberalism has hijacked our vocabulary’ that opened with an...
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Compassion, identity and museums
Suse Cairns has written an interesting post on The Paradoxes of Empathy and the role of museums to engender it. I found it timely because the Museums Association has just launched its vision for the...
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