Category Archives: museums

Total Football, Total Museums

Posted on March 31, 2016 by tonybutler1

I need little encouragement to try and draw parallels between football and museums. The sad death of Johan Cruyff last week, caused me to reflect on the wonderful Dutch team of the 1970s. With Cruyff as captain and under the … Continue reading →

Posted in football, museums, well-being and happiness | 7 Comments

Avoiding the Strange Death of England’s civic museums

Posted on January 4, 2016 by tonybutler1

George Dangerfield’s the Strange Death of Liberal England is now somewhat of a trope. The gist of the title is frequently applied to institutions which have declined, unexpectedly at the time, inevitably in hindsight. I hope the same can’t be … Continue reading →

Posted in civic realm, Derby, museums | 2 Comments

Who pays for free admission to museums in the UK?

Posted on August 3, 2015 by tonybutler1

I spent much of the last fortnight spending a small fortune traipsing round half empty museums in Tuscany. From afar I read the increasingly contested debates around the philosophy and affordability of the policy free admission to some museums in … Continue reading →

Posted in civic realm, Derby, museums | 7 Comments

Museums and the Civic Contract part 2 – the Derby way

Posted on May 15, 2015 by tonybutler1

In my last blog I suggested that museums reassert their civic contract with their place and their communities. This would augment the value of the institution of the museum as a place of learning, mediation and delight. I suggested that … Continue reading →

Posted in civic realm, Derby, museums | 1 Comment

The “Fan-owned” Museum

Posted on May 22, 2013 by tonybutler1

For my sins I am a Portsmouth Football Club supporter. Last month following the club’s relegation to the fourth tier in English football and having been in Administration for three years, the club was bought by its fans. Portsmouth (Pompey) … Continue reading →

Posted in economy, museums | Leave a comment

Some initial thoughts from #HappyMuseum Symposium Snape 2012

Posted on January 15, 2012 by tonybutler1

There is much to reflect upon following the Happy Museum symposium at Snape in Suffolk. In the coming weeks the Happy Museum project team and commissions will be reporting in greater depth. They’ll interrogate the Happy Museum Manifesto and asking … Continue reading →

Posted in museums, sustainability, Transition, well-being and happiness | 3 Comments

A tale of two dairies

Posted on December 12, 2011 by tonybutler1

As a good social historian I try really hard not sanctify the past. Yet in the course of the research the interpretation of Crowe Street Cottages in Stowmarket, it’s hard not to feel a longing for a gentler age. Nos. … Continue reading →

Posted in Abbot's HAll, economy, museums | 4 Comments

Can museums inspire innovators into the transition to low carbon living?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by tonybutler1

Last week saw a concerted effort to promote engineering in the UK. The Queen Elizabeth Prize was launched as an award for outstanding innovation in engineering. The government wishes to ‘re-balance’ the economy, in favour of manufacturing so that it … Continue reading →

Posted in museums, Transition | Leave a comment

The Happy Museum Project – really something else?

Posted on October 6, 2011 by tonybutler1

As well as an endorsement from Caroline Lucas, the UK’s only Green Party MP, there was some lively interrogation of the Happy Museum Project at the 2011 Museums Association Conference #mueums2011. The notion of connected museums responding to and leading … Continue reading →

Posted in museums, sustainability, well-being and happiness | 2 Comments