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6 octubre 2024

The Young Council: a new international impetus for Young Friends

Created in October 2024 by the World Federation of Friends of Museums (WFFM), the Young Council is a group of Young Friends leaders from different national federations. Each member country of the World Federation can designate one or two delegates to represent young people involved in museum and community life.

The main objective of the Young Council is to promote international exchanges between Young Friends sections and to give impetus to a common dynamic on a global scale. It aims to structure and strengthen the commitment of young people within Friends of museums associations, by offering them a framework for exchange and cooperation.

The delegates of the Young Council also provide a direct link with the Executive Committee of the World Federation, ensuring that youth-led initiatives are integrated into a global vision. In this way, they participate in strategic thinking and actively contribute to the development of the Young Friends movement internationally.

A key moment for the Young Council is the preparation of the General Assembly of the World Federation, which will be held in Naples in May 2025. This year, the focus will be on ‘How to create and maintain links between Young Friends’.

The challenge is to identify good practice and strengthen synergies between the different sections around the world.

In addition to this event, the Young Council is in line with the strategic priorities of the World Federation, by developing collective projects and supporting local initiatives that contribute to the vitality and structuring of the Young Friends network.

With this initiative, the World Federation of Friends of Museums asserts its desire to support young people in their commitment to culture and heritage, by offering them a framework conducive to exchange, collaboration and innovation.

Featured, YOUNG FRIENDS

16 agosto 2024

Young Friends Ottawa Canadian Report: August 2024

It was a Franco-Canadian meeting that had been imagined 3 months earlier, as part of the WFFM Congress in Luxembourg: our Young Friends coordinator travelled to Ottawa on her own initiative to meet the CFFM Young Friends delegates in real life once again on Tuesday August 6th, 2024 :

Robin Treleaven (27 y.o) is a professional contemporary dancer, performer, teacher and choreographer. As coordinator of Ottawa Young Friends, she affirms her ambition to «put on events that showcase everyday people«.

Nikita Koziel Ly (24 y.o) has been co-coordinator of Ottawa Young Friends alongside Robin since November 2023. A PHD student in neuroscience, she would like to organize events that bring people into the museum and participate with the space in an active way (for example she was inspired by a scavenger hunt at the National Art center and would like to organize something similar).

Megan Batty, choir director of 25 singers, with whom she will be organizing a concert at the Chapelle Bon Secours in Montreal on December 7, joined the team of a foundation specializing in philanthropy in February 2024, and is the coordinator of Montreal’s Young Friends. In this capacity, she joined WFFM’s international committee of Young Friends delegates to represent Canada from October 2023, and expresses her desire to connect Canadian Young Friends with the WFFM community.

The meeting was an opportunity to welcome Mathilde Mouchon (24 y.o), a French Young Friend from Le Puy-en-Velay, who by chance was on holiday in Canada at the time. A newcomer to the Young Friends network, Mathilde’s ambition is to create a Young Friends section at the Crozatier museum in the Auvergne Rhone Alpes region of France, with the support of the president of her association and the FFSAM. Before resuming her studies in September (Sciences Po), she is fulfilling a dream with a cultural trip to Canada lasting several weeks, which will enable her to visit the main museums in Montreal and Ottawa.

During a tour of the temporary exhibitions at the Ottawa Art Gallery, where Robin will be taking to the stage for a dance and theater show titled subdivision from October 2nd to 4th, 2024, Megan gave a brief introduction to the landscapes paintings of the Group of Seven, Canada’s leading artists of the modern era, some of whose paintings depict European landscapes.

The delegates then followed Robin‘s guided tour of Ottawa’s city center: Kwakiutl Totem in Confederation Park, War Memorial, Lord Stanley’s Gift Monument, National Arts Centre, Parliament of Canada, Château Laurier, the Ottawa locks and the National Gallery building. Enriched by a wealth of anecdotes and a bird’s eye view of downtown Ottawa, Naïma, Nikita, Megan, Robin and Mathilde then sat down at an Italian restaurant in the ByWard Market to talk about their projects in their respective cities and their upcoming initiatives as part of the WFFM network.

Encouraged by Nikita, Megan, Robin and Mathilde’s enthusiastic recommendations to visit the National Gallery of Canada, Naïma went back to visit this amazing art gallery just a few hours before her return to France: impressed by Louise Bourgeois’s immense spider sculpture «Mother», in front of the building, she was able to marvel and reflect in turn as she discovered the «Radical Stitch» exhibition, which highlights the ancestral knowledge and political-cultural perspectives of Canadian first nations people as expressed through customary beading techniques.

Instagram Young Friends CFFM : https://www.instagram.com/canadian_yfc_cja/
Friends of musée Crozatier : https://amismuséecrozatier.fr/

YOUNG FRIENDS

14 junio 2024

“Spin the Wheel and Complete the Challenges!” – Our Debut as a Young Group

Written By Ana-Rita Lopes, with the support from the FAMP

In celebration of the International Museum Day, themed «Museums, Education, and Research,» the National Coach Museum hosted its first heritage education fair. Our young group proudly made its debut at this event with an interactive and engaging booth featuring a “Wheel of Luck”.

We invited attendees to spin the wheel to win prizes, including candy, themed bookmarks, and entry into a raffle for a basket filled with museum merchandise. Each spin presented participants with a choice between two challenges designed to connect them with the museum and its collection:

- Red: take a selfie with the Coach of the Oceans OR name five from a category (kings of Portugal, museums, painters, etc.).

- Orange: follow the museum’s social media OR identify your zodiac sign in the Coach of King João V.

- Yellow: suggest an activity for our young group to organize OR find specific items in the collection (a crown, a table, a boot, a dragon, a lantern).

- Blue: persuade someone to visit the museum OR answer a trivia question.

- Purple: write a message to someone telling them you’re visiting the National Coach Museum OR draw a coach in thirty seconds.

- Green: share your relationship with museums by answering a Google Form OR spin the wheel again.

Throughout the weekend, we engaged with numerous visitors, and the wheel quickly became a hit. Children, in particular, were our most enthusiastic fans! It was truly rewarding to bring them joy.

We praise the museum for organizing such a fun event and hope there will be more editions of the fair in the future. We look forward to participating in more activities that bring the community closer to the treasures of the National Coach Museum!

YOUNG FRIENDS

13 mayo 2024

Delegate Report: Justine Segui, a French Young Friend of the Musée Granet, visits Australia

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Justine Segui, a French Young Friends of the Musée Granet (Aix-en-Provence) and student in English and Cultural Studies, relates her experience as an exchange student in Australia, writing a master thesis on museums, travelling exhibitions and Aboriginal art.

They say Australia is a country of ‘mateship’. Well, let me say that in my own experience, I could not agree more. It all started with a fortunate encounter. In June 2023, I travelled to Paris with other Young Friends of the Musée Granet to attend the French Federation of Friends of Museums (FFSAM) General Assembly and celebrate its 50th anniversary. This is where I met Carolyn Forster, president of the WFFM, a remarkable and kind-hearted woman.

When I heard Carolyn worked with the “National Museum of Australia” it seemed like the universe was sending me a message. Indeed, my thesis focuses on the travelling exhibition Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters from the NMA and analyses how it was adapted to the French public by the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac who hosted the exhibition last year. Songlines is an exceptional exhibition on Aboriginal culture and its systems of knowledge which was co-curated by Aboriginal communities.

From a brief meeting in Paris last June, I ended up at Carolyn’s place in Canberra, sitting at the kitchen table with her husband, sharing and hearing stories of another time and other places. Meeting Carolyn resulted in a series of lucky events: I found a place to live in Sydney – becoming her grandson’s housemate – and, most importantly, I was introduced to museum professionals and crucial members of the Songlines exhibition team who shared with me their experiences. Among them, Deborah Hill, travelling exhibition coordinator, and Louise Palmer, collection care staff, explained how they both helped the different venues to install and deinstall (sometimes remotely) the exhibition. Sita McAlpine, coordinating curator and now First Nations outreach, discussed the relations between the museum and the ‘curatorium’, the Aboriginal communities, artists, elders and custodians, who created Songlines. Finally, Margo Neale, lead curator, told me about the genesis and the intentions of the exhibition. I was amazed at how friendly, supportive and generous they all were. Meeting these persons and having a glimpse at the behind the scenes was truly inspiring on a professional and personal level. It is also interesting to notice the cultural differences in the professional world. While France tends to be very formal and hierarchical, Australia is more casual and approachable.

Museums in Australia are mostly free. For its Triennial, the National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne) held fascinating artworks and artistic projects like Yoko Ono’s My Mummy is Beautiful, a participative project which invites visitors to write a short letter to their mother and display it on the walls of the gallery, or Richard Lewer’s Confessions which turned visitors’ shameful truths into social art. Others, like Agnieszka Pilat’s Heterobota, questioned our use of advanced technology by creating four-legged robots which disturbingly copy human activities like playing, resting or drawing. Becoming a member of the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney), I attended guided tours of the 24th Biennale of Sydney titled Ten Thousand Suns. In Canberra, I visited the National Gallery of Australia and its exhibition on Emily Kame Kngwarreye, perhaps the most famous Aboriginal artist in Australia, and the National Museum of Australia for its fabulous permanent exhibition on First Australians.

As much as museums introduce you virtually to new people and ideas, it can sometimes lead to real life encounters. Walking out of the Art Gallery NSW, I met Leslie McLeod, an Aboriginal man performing Welcome to Country and other ceremonies who spend the afternoon telling me the most incredible stories. Leaving for an adventure driving around Sydney in his 1992 vintage car, he showed me the variety of gum trees and leaves he uses for the smocking ceremonies he organises and explained the significance of some places in Sydney for Aboriginal history and culture.

The teenager I was who once dreamed to explore Australia would have never believed how far I’ve come to experience what this beautiful country has to offer.

YOUNG FRIENDS

19 abril 2024

Launch of the Golden Rose Award – Young Friends of the Musée de Cluny

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by Alexis Bracquart, coordinator of the Young Friends of musée de Cluny (Paris), delegate of the Action Youth Group of the FFSAM

The Society of Friends of the Musée de Cluny, founded in 1992, has been awarding the Prix de la Dame à la licorne – Amis du musée de Cluny every year since 2007. The prize is awarded to a book whose main theme relates to one of the Musée de Cluny’s areas of interest: history, art history or archaeology.

Noting a real revival of interest in the medieval world, the Young Members of the Society of Friends of the Musée de Cluny have decided to award the Prix de la Rose d’or – Jeunes Amis du musée de Cluny at a dedicated ceremony each year – and for the first time in 2024. The prize is awarded for a work of fiction that is accessible to any public with an interest in the Middle Ages, without any untruths, and that helps to raise the profile of the medieval period.

The prize-giving ceremony took place for the first time on 14th, March 2024 in the early evening at the Musée de Cluny, with a rich programme of events. The event opened with a musical introduction on the Chinese zither by Jiajun Zhang, followed by a solo on the harp by Iphigénie Valentin. A convivial cocktail party brought the evening to a close.

The winners were presented with original trophies designed and created using a 3D scan of the Golden Rose, made possible by hundreds of images of the work on display at the Musée de Cluny, and by a graphic designer, Aurélien Leroy.

Chaired by Florentin Machut, an associate professor of Spanish and doctoral student in medieval Castilian literature, the jury for the Prize is made up of six members, in addition to its Chairman, : Arnaud Besombes, head of corporate finance in the cultural sector; Laurent Hablot, associate professor of history, historian and teacher-researcher, director of studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, specialist in heraldry; Alice Marion, history student with a passion for the medieval period; Ysée Nicaud, secretary of the Prix de la Rose d’Or and third-year Bachelor’s student at Sciences Po Paris; Philippe Plagnieux, university professor of medieval art history at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne.

For its first edition in 2024, the Golden Rose Award – Young Friends of musée de Cluny has been awarded to the comic strip Ségurant, le chevalier au dragon by Emanuele Arioli, illustrated by Emiliano Tanzillo and published by Dargaud.

In addition to the impressive work involved in researching and reconstructing the medieval tale of a forgotten knight of the Round Table, the jury was impressed by the beauty of the book, the graphic adaptation of the story and the way it was made available to a public with a love of medieval literature and history, or simply looking for a pleasant read.

Easily accessible, the book lifts the veil on the story of a forgotten knight and his desperate quest for a dragon, which intersects with the quest for the manuscripts of the author, Emanuele Arioli – HDR lecturer at the Université Polytechnique des Hauts-de-France, where he teaches medieval literature and language.

Secrets et destinins de manuscrits, by Nicolas Ducimetière (Notari) also won a Silver Rose.

The Young Friends of the Musée de Cluny section was created in 2022 within the Society of the Friends of Musée de Cluny. Alexis Bracquart is its coordinator and organiser of the Golden Rose Award. In addition to cultural activities and initiatives, the more than 150 young people between the ages of 18 and 35 are committed to disseminating and promoting medieval heritage, in particular the collections of the Musée de Cluny, which are honoured by the Golden Rose Award.

YOUNG FRIENDS

11 abril 2024

Spanish Young Friends delegate report about the FEAM Congress in Caceres : April 11, 2024

Report of the XXX National Congress of Friends of Museums
Cáceres, Spain, 15-17 March 2024

By Irene Benito, Young Friends delegate from the FEAM (Federación Española de Amigos de los Museos)

Challenges and opportunities for Friends of Museums through the eyes of Artificial Intelligence

From 15 to 17 March I had the pleasure of participating in the organisation of the XXX National Congress of Friends of Museums in Cáceres. Every year, the Spanish Federation of Friends of Museums (FEAM) holds a congress that brings together representatives of associations, programmes and foundations of Friends. This meeting forum aims to encourage debate on current issues of cultural interest as well as the management of associations and their activities in support of museums.

In this edition the proposal was the challenge of exploring the opportunities and challenges that Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents to the Friends of museums. The main objective was to learn about the tools available to streamline daily management, create content and achieve more effective communication. And to learn how to generate knowledge from the information we handle and to better measure and evaluate the impact of our actions. This is an interesting challenge that can help us to perfect strategies, be more effective and demonstrate with more precise data the social and economic impact of the Friends’ associations.

Each edition offers an academic programme, based on a specific theme, and a cultural programme, aimed at all those interested in learning about the artistic and cultural environment of the region they are visiting. In the academic session held on

Saturday 16 March, we had the participation of 3 AI specialists : Alba Mejide, Carlos Fernández and Manuel Mejide.

Overall, the session was very entertaining, as it dealt with such a topical and attractive subject. Despite the variety of institutions and ages, we were all able to understand the basic concepts of the AI. And personally, I was able to take note of those tools to implement in the Associations in order to facilitate and enrich the work in social media.

An important event to highlight at the Congress is the presentation of the ODS 2023 Excellence Award to the Association of Friends of the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias for its Educational Initiatives for Young People Programme at the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias. The Aon España Foundation and the Spanish Federation of Friends of Museums have created this distinction to be awarded annually to an Association or Foundation of Friends of a Museum for its alignment with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 169 goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

It was a real pleasure to be hosted by the Helga de Alvear Museum, an international reference point for contemporary art in Spain. And to be delighted by the city of Cáceres, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. Next year’s National Congress will take place in the southern Spanish city of Córdoba.

YOUNG FRIENDS

8 abril 2024

UK Young Friends Ambassador report about the Carve & Craft Weekend : April 4, 2024

To celebrate National Craft Month, in March the Youth Ambassador of the British Association of Friends of Museums (BAFM), Heather Stracey, hosted an event called Carve & Craft Weekend: Inspired by Tunbridge Ware at The Amelia Scott (The Amelia) in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where she works as the Senior Collections Officer. This event was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

On the 23rd and 24th of March, Heather teamed up with local craftspeople and artisans, to deliver a programme of talks, tours, workshops, demonstrations, trails, and children’s activities, that were inspired by Tunbridge Wells’ local famous craft: Tunbridge ware.

Iconic Tunbridge ware was invented in the 1680s to support Britain’s earliest tourist industry. These decorative souvenirs flourished at a time when the idea of browsing in shops was new. In the 1700s, they were often manufactured with painted designs or prints showing local attractions. The Victorian era saw the mass production of inlaid mosaic Tunbridge ware in factories, but the industry failed to adapt to changing tastes. Since the 1970s, Tunbridge ware has been revived on a small scale. Today, there is only one known Tunbridge ware maker left!

Over the weekend, The Amelia welcomed 2,000+ visitors, who attended activities such as:

Mini Maker Workshops by Ash & Co., during which children and their parents had the opportunity to build a wooden character of their choice in a child-friendly woodworking workshop.
Tunbridge ware: An interactive experience by Genetic Moo, which included a selfie station that transformed visitors into Tunbridge ware.
Look Behind the Scenes Tour by Heather, which allowed visitors to view some of the treasures in The Amelia’s Museum and Archive collections that aren’t on display.
Making Marquetry: Demonstration by Simon Jewell, which showed The Amelia’s guests how to blend traditional wood crafting skills with contemporary techniques.
Robert Russell the 19th Century Tunbridge Ware Manufacturer: Talk by Michael Howes, which gave visitors the opportunity to learn about a Tunbridge ware maker who invented a unique form of the craft.

All the activities were free of charge, to give all members of the community a chance to participate and learn about local heritage. Tickets could be booked via The Amelia’s website. By the time of the event, every activity was fully booked!

The event was also supported by The Friends at The Amelia Scott (The Friends) and The Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society (The Civic Society), who generously donated money to The Amelia, to purchase some pieces of 17th Century Tunbridge ware, which have now been added into the overall collection. Both The Friends and Civic Society were present at the Carve & Craft Weekend: Inspired by Tunbridge Ware. They welcomed visitors, telling people all about The Amelia’s collection and the roles of their groups. They even had a few sign-ups! Therefore, now have a few new members.

One of the aims of holding this event was to encourage people to learn more about Tunbridge ware, as it is a dying trade. Visitors left the event knowing a lot more about Tunbridge ware than what they did when they arrived. They also had a lot of fun along the way! Due to the event being a success, the Carve & Craft Weekend: Inspired by Tunbridge ware will return to The Amelia in 2025.

YOUNG FRIENDS

25 febrero 2024

Young Friends Cranbrook & Tunbridge Wells Report: February 24th, 2024

After an initial meeting to find out about her workplace, Heather Stracey, UK Young Friends ambassador and Senior Collections Officer at The Amelia Scott (The Amelia), arranged to meet Naïma Sagna, WFFM Young Friends Coordinator, the following morning. This time, they were off to Cranbrook, Kent, a 30-minute drive from Royal Tunbridge Wells, to visit Cranbrook Museum, with whom The Amelia team regularly collaborate with, particularly on object loans.

Welcomed on arrival by Mike Huxley, Curator of Cranbrook Museum, the two Young Friends delegates were given a guided tour of the galleries, and were told about the Museum’s history, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on the 17th of June 2023, alongside some sixty guests in the presence of the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells and the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent.

What makes this museum unique? It is run entirely by volunteers.

A team of twenty-two volunteers are responsible for the day-to-day running of the Museum; five are in charge of the Archive, website, and donation process, and another five look after the garden. Temporary exhibitions are organised three times a year, and the permanent galleries highlight the history of Cranbrook. These include a series of pictures painted between 1850 and 1890 by the Cranbrook Colony of artists. These artists came from London to Cranbrook to paint rural scenes. There is also an entire room containing the immense ornithological collection of Boyd Alexander (1873-1910), a bird-loving officer who brought dozens of birds back from his explorations in Kent and Sussex.

In addition to hosting and maintaining Cranbrook Museum, the History Society of Cranbrook also organises lectures and, each summer, three visits with historical themes, to enable its members to discover other museums.

Back at The Amelia, another remarkable project awaited Naïma at Tunbridge Wells: a presentation on 3D digitisation projects, using technology that is at the cutting edge of what is currently being developed in museums in the UK.

Heather took the time to introduce Naïma to her colleagues Matthew Simpson, Collections Officer, supervising the 3D projects, and Richard Peretti, Digitisation Consultant, to find out more about their studio and their current projects: started seven months ago, this is a major long-term investment to facilitate access for as many people as possible, from children to scientists. Several hundred objects have already been digitised, and there are thousands more in the collections. The digitisation technique, which Matthew and Richard have mastered perfectly, enables them to reproduce the texture (leather, metal, wood, etc.) of each object by hand, and then list them on the Sketchfab.com platform.

This second and final day by Heather Stracey‘s side therefore saw a number of facets of intergenerational synergy between voluntary work and professional commitment: a true testament to the richness and vitality of the initiatives and projects that exist in Cranbrook and Tunbridge Wells, and a very promising one for the future development of the Young Friends of Museums network in the UK.

YOUNG FRIENDS

21 febrero 2024

Young Friends Tunbridge Wells Report: February 20, 2024

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After an initial stopover in Manchester, where she presented the WFFM‘s current Young Friends project to the BAFM regional delegates, Jean Knight (South East) and Margaret Stebbing (North West), our Young Friends Coordinator Naïma Sagna travelled to Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

This Town, renowned for its Chalybeate Spring, discovered by the nobleman Dudley Lord North in 1606, is where the new UK Young Friends Ambassador works: Heather Stracey. Six months ago, the BAFM presented Heather with the 2023 Young Museum Professional Award of the Year. Her application, which had been strongly encouraged by the Chairwoman of The Friends at The Amelia Scott, Anne Stobo, stood out thanks to her plan to use her bursary to promote the costume collection. Heather has now been invited to join the BAFM team to represent Young Friends around the UK.

At the age of 29, Heather has already had a very successful career. After obtaining her Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and Master’s by Research in History, she first worked in London at the National Archives. In 2019, a professional opportunity at The Amelia Scott (The Amelia) brought her closer to the area where she grew up: Heather has treasured childhood memories of what was formerley Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery, which pays tribute to Amelia Scott (1860-1952), one of the first women to be elected as a local Councillor and a campaigner for women’s suffrage.

For over five years, Heather has been involved in the re-invention of this iconic venue in Tunbridge Wells, as the new building opened in April 2022. In the same year, her position was upgraded to Senior Collection Officer.

The Amelia, which houses over 60,000 objects and works of art in its collections, is not just a museum: the new and improved spaces also include a Library, Tourist Information, Adult Education (for learning opportunities), front-line council services, and study rooms.

Accompanied by Heather, Naïma was able to explore the many facets of this unique venue located in the heart of the Town, a stone’s throw from the Town Hall, and of course visit the permanent collections which represent the local history, its key figures and specialities, such as Tunbridge Ware. For several months now, Heather has been coordinating the preparations for the Carve & Craft Weekend: Inspired by Tunbridge Ware, which will be held from the 23rd to 24th of March, to celebrate local crafts, alongside a team of six volunteers, for a programme of talks, tours, workshops, and children’s activities.

The visit also provided an opportunity to explore The Amelia’s store rooms and to meet a large part of Heather’s team, starting with Dr Ian Beavis, Research Curator, renowned for his immense knowledge of the history of Tunbridge Wells, as well as Miriam Rodriguez, Learning & Engagement Assistant, and Christine Beckton, Education Officer.

One of the special features of the organisation? A team of around thirty volunteers is involved in day-to-day tasks – digitisation, cataloguing, etc. – which testifies to the vitality of the collaborations that bring this place to life.

YOUNG FRIENDS

17 febrero 2024

Young Friends Manchester Report: February 17, 2024

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The BAFM (British Association of Friends of Museums) affirms its sincere ambition to integrate Young Friends into its actions: encouraging the creation of a Young Friends network in the United Kingdom is one of its short-term objectives.

This is how, for a few hours, Manchester has been at the crossroads of a meeting between :
Naïma Sagna (Grenoble, France), Young Friends coordinator of the WFFM
Jean Knight (Carshalton), South East regional coordinator of the BAFM
Margaret Stebbing (Lancaster), North West regional coordinator of the BAFM

The three delegates shared the same objective : to get to know each other and to draw up a report taking into account the functioning of the existing Young Friends sections, and their current situation within the WFFM network, in comparison with the functioning of the BAFM.

Jean Knight volunteers for the Carshalton Water Tower and Historic Garden Trust, which has over 80 members. The Trust supports the maintenance, restoration and preservation of the Water Tower, the Hermitage, the Lodge, the Folly Bridge, the lake and surrounding land as historic, architectural or otherwise of public interest. It promotes public education, particularly in relation to the history and architecture of the heritage asset, supports residencies for professional artists and encourages students to come and photograph, paint and draw the buildings and landscape, make an installation and carry out research. It sometimes organises short-term projects for teenagers and guided tours for groups of young people.

Margaret Stebbing volunteers for the Judges’ Lodgings Museum. Situated close to Lancaster Castle, it was named after the travelling « red judges » of the Assize Courts it hosted from 1826. The house now exhibits Georgian furniture by Gillows of Lancaster, elegant period pieces and the popular Museum of Childhood. The Friends of Lancaster Judges’ Lodgings supports The Lancaster Judges’ Lodgings Museum Trust and the owners of the building, Lancashire County Council in promoting the Lodgings as one of the premier heritage attractions in Lancaster. The Friends of Lancaster Judges’ Lodgings was formed in 2016 when a group of local people got together to try and keep the venue open as a museum and community asset. The Friends Group has 40 members. The Friends take part in a range of activities and events organised by the Museum and they also run their own events to help raise money for the development of the museum. These include Raffles, a Summer Fair and Summer Musical concerts. The introduction of a pop up Victorian Tea Room once a month in the courtyard has proved extremely popular. Volunteers from the Friends act as room stewards and help maintain the Judges’Lodgings garden.

Jean and Margaret are both regional delegates for the BAFM, which awarded its 2023 Young Professional Award a few months ago to Heather Stracey, 28, Senior Collections Manager at the Amelia Scott Museum, Tunbridge Wells : she will use this award to develop her skills in the field of costume conservation.

After their meeting, Naïma, Margaret and Jean visited the Manchester Art Gallery, which celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2023. A historic building where the presentation of works questions contemporary issues. For example, the British Afro-Caribbean artist Sonia Boyce, to whom the museum had organized a retrospective in 2018, has been invited to collaborate with a group of museum staff, artists, collaborators and visitors to initiate a process of change in the permanent collections : exploring the politics of class, gender, race and sexuality, which can be seen from the very first rooms, inspired by classic paintings such as Sappho from Charles Mangin (1877).

Encouraged by the BAFM‘s excellent welcome in Manchester, our Young Friends coordinator Naïma Sagna then travelled to Tunbridge Wells to meet her colleague Heather Stracey, recently appointed UK Young Friends Ambassador : a new step in the development of the Young Friends network, supported by the BAFM and the WFFM.

YOUNG FRIENDS

9 febrero 2024

Federação de Amigos dos Museus de Portugal: our Federation’s Young Friends of Museums

Encontro Jovem FAMP, taken during the second Youth Meeting, Coimbra, 2023 © FAMP

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Last October, Federação de Amigos dos Museus de Portugal (FAMP) organized in Coimbra what is becoming the traditional annual Youth Meeting. It was the second national event for young members of FAMP. Friends from all over the country gathered in this city which is home to the oldest university in Portugal, Universidade de Coimbra, hosting Portugal’s most prized library, built by King John V in the eighteenth-century.

In line with these meetings, the current board of FAMP is and has been greatly focused on the development of a thriving youth community. Such a community will allow the fruits of cultural volunteering to ripen. In parallel, it will shape the role culture, art, and civic engagement have in our young friends’ lives. This year, FAMP’s foremost contact with the young friends will be made via Ana Rita, a young art-lover who is currently working at the Museu Nacional dos Coches (National Coach Museum). Ana Rita has attended both our Youth Meetings – and we are very happy she is joining us for closer collaboration from now on, especially for the preparation and organization of our 3rd Youth Meeting, the time and place of which are still to be confirmed.

Museu Nacional dos Coches, where Ana Rita is based, is a very special museum in the wide panorama of Portuguese heritage and art institutions. It is both the newest museum building in Portugal (it opened in 2015 with a design by architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha), and plays host to an outstanding collection of coaches, the like of which cannot be seen elsewhere in the world. Museu Nacional dos Coches is generous in welcoming FAMP, whose headquarters are established in this museum. For some time now, Ana Rita has worked and collaborated with Museu Nacional dos Coches, and we are sure the Young Friends will benefit from her experience in such an institution and from her art expertise. Curiously, one might perfectly fathom the Young Friends of Museum’s spirit in the logic of Museu Nacional dos Coches. What was a highly valuable collection which lacked protagonism is now a dynamic collection which showcases a radical contrast between old and new, between different forms, materials and mindsets – the collection now showcases the value of compromise and understanding and the compelling freshness which a new perspective might bring to a classical object.

Ana-Rita Lopes and Maria do Rosário Alvellos in front of the Coches da Embaixada ao Papa Clemente XI, next to the three Coaches of the Embassy to Pope Clement XI, Museu Nacional dos Coches (National Coach Museum)

YOUNG FRIENDS

9 febrero 2024

Experience from a Young Friend delegate from the Federação de Amigos dos Museus de Portugal (FAMP)

Encontro Jovem FAMP, taken during the second Youth Meeting, Coimbra, 2023 © FAMP

The II Youth Meeting of Friends of Museums was held in October of last year. This time, the gathering took place in Coimbra, a city steeped in history as the resting place of the first king of Portugal, making it a remarkable location for exploring our cultural identity. The meeting provided a platform for engaging discussions on cultural volunteering, addressing the noticeable absence of younger generations in this context, and devising strategies to counteract this phenomenon. Amidst city tours and shared meals, attendees expressed their enthusiasm, embodying a spirit of open arms.

My journey as a museum volunteer began in 2019 during my bachelor’s studies in History. I felt the need to grow professionally and to connect with our heritage. I am currently working with the National Coach Museum, which has a network of young volunteers who conduct visits and support pedagogical activities. The museum develops several initiatives focused on younger audiences: Cluedo-style game visits, free concerts, interactive replicas. I praise its efforts and care.

I fell in love with the collection and became attached to the team, to whom I am grateful for their warm welcome. The museum feels like a second home, and I wish everyone could experience the joy of the space, the people, and the captivating stories each artifact tells. Cultural volunteering has not only provided me with a purpose but also shaped my academic path, leading me to pursue a PhD in Sociomuseology. By giving a little of ourselves, we are rewarded with something priceless. My hope is that more young people join us. I am confident that, with time and determination, we can inspire a new wave of passionate volunteers and continue making a positive impact on our cultural heritage.

https://famportugal.pt/

YOUNG FRIENDS

4 febrero 2024

Cultural outing to Villers-Cotterêts: a day of cohesion for the French Young Friends network

Friends and Young Friends members of musée de Cluny, with some delegates from the «Action Jeunes» FFSAM group in the courtyard of the Chateau before visiting the museum © Eugénie de Froissart
Young friends from musée de Cluny and delegates from «Action Jeunes» FFSAM group, after visiting the Alexandre Dumas museum © Eugénie de Froissart
Inside the castle (Renaissance style) © Florence Trabaud
Guided tour of the Alexandre Dumas Museum, with the Young Friends members from musée de Cluny and members of the Action Jeunes group © Justine Cardolettin
Members of the «Action Jeunes» group visiting the museum © Florence Trabaud
Test of an immersive experience in which the Young Friends delegates were allocated a book based on our answers to questions © Florence Trabaud

On Saturday 3rd, February 2024, the Friends of the Musée de Cluny association met in Villers-Cotterêts for a cultural outing, under the impetus of the Young Friends, joined by the «Action Jeunes» group of the Fédération Française des Associations d’Amis de Musées. It was a memorable day, with nearly fifty participants, including around twenty Young Friends.

Organised by Alexis Bracquart, coordinator of the Young Friends of the Musée de Cluny, the day’s programme was designed to offer an immersive and enriching experience, encouraging exchanges and encounters within the group.

The day began with an early-morning meeting at Paris Gare du Nord station, where the Friends met to catch the train to Villers Cotterêts. Once at their destination, an introduction to the town was given, followed by a free tour of the Cité de la Langue Française, which had just been inaugurated, allowing visitors to discover the cultural riches of this emblematic site.

At lunchtime, everyone had the choice between enjoying the local restaurants or opting for an open-air picnic. The lunchtime meal was an opportunity for the young people to have an enriching exchange with the Federation’s «Action Jeunes» group, during which several projects were discussed. Discussions focused in particular on the year’s theme «Identity and role of Young Friends» and on preparations for the Federation’s annual congress. This exchange allowed the young people to share their ideas and perspectives, thus promoting cohesion within the group.

The afternoon was devoted to a guided tour of the Alexandre Dumas Museum. The young delegates had the opportunity to learn a little more about the history of this museum and the Dumas family, accompanied by an energetic and experienced guide.

Finally, the young people returned to Paris by train. For some privileged few, the day was extended with a preview of Olivier Py’s «Molière imaginaire» at the Château de Villers-Cotterêts, followed by a quick dinner at La Tulipe restaurant, before catching the train home.

Alexis Bracquart, Young Friends of the Musée de Cluny coordinator, comments: «It was an exceptional day, with a rich and varied programme in a place that is right at the heart of current affairs, easily accessible and very affordable. The Cité de la Langue Française, which has just opened, is housed in a Renaissance-style château built in 1530. Despite a limited collection, the museography is highly interactive, with numerous games and screens, offering an immersive experience. As for the Alexandre Dumas museum, although modest in size, it proved to be very interesting, thanks in particular to our guide who was an expert on the subject. All in all, a memorable day out with the Friends and Young Friends, combining discovery, pleasure and cultural enrichment.»

Eugénie de Froissard, in charge of Young Friends development at the Fédération Française des Amis de Musées (French Federation of Friends of Museums)

YOUNG FRIENDS

1 febrero 2024

Event Recap: Introduction to Curatorial Dreaming with Dr. Shelley Ruth Butler

On January 31st 2024, we were thrilled to welcome Dr. Shelley Ruth Butler to present an Introduction to Curatorial Dreaming to the Young Friends of the WFFM!

Young Friends from Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Germany, the USA, England, Luxembourg, and Colombia joined to learn about this approach to museum curation.

Dr. Butler led us through this creative and civic-minded approach to exhibit curation. Drawing on examples from the Qaumajuq / Winnipeg Art Gallery, the Agnes Etherington Arts Centre, and the Royal Ontario Museum among many others, Butler highlighted the multiple ways that Curatorial Dreaming can support people to become critical museum visitors. Everything from creating key moments in exhibits to small details like museum labels can be leveraged to prompt critical engagement from visitors.

We learned that Curatorial Dreaming is not limited to museums, galleries, and heritage sites, but can be used with great success to design exhibits in everyday public spaces such as airports and hospitals.

How does an exhibit driven by curatorial dreaming come to life? A key part of the process is bringing together museum professionals from different disciplines for workshops. When artists, scholars, museum curators, and museum educators engage in curatorial dreaming together, that’s when the magic happens.

To find out more about Dr. Butler’s work, visit http://www.curatorialdreaming.ca/

YOUNG FRIENDS

19 diciembre 2023

Meeting of the Young Friends Federation from Germany

Twice a year, the young friends club of the German Federation of Friends of museum come together to discuss problems, ideas and anything in between. For the last meeting, they were invited by the friends of the Kunsthalle Mannheim to host our conference on the 17th and 18th November 2023. As per usual the days were filled with workshops on several subjects such as digitalisation, volunteering work or the European day of Friends of Museum.

Another big topic was Social Media and how to best use it for your own initiatives. Two members of the Young Friend’s Federation were asked to present their Instagram- accounts and strategies. Marlene Liebermann from the young friends of the Kunstpalast and NRW-Forum (Düsseldorf) and Hannah Dietze from the young circle of the Sprengel-Museum (Hannover) shared their experiences and talked about what works, what doesn’t and how to deal with the fickle algorithm of Instagram.

This time the Young Friends also held a vote on the speaker of the young friend’s federation. As is tradition, one of the speakers is elected for two years to participate in the organisation of our meetings and in other projects of the young friend’s federation. Thank you, to Sandra Gunzelmann for her help the last two years and welcome to Hannah Dietze, who is their newly elected speaker for the young friend’s federation!

Apart from the workshops they also were guided through the exhibition “Hoover, Hager, Lassnig” at the Kunsthalle, which gives insight into the works of these three female artists. They also used their evenings to discover other Museums, Galleries or Off-Spaces the respective city has to offer. This time they visited the well-established Gallery Sebastian Fath Contemporary who showed the collection of Nan Hoover as a pendant to the exhibition at the Mannheimer Kunsthalle.

YOUNG FRIENDS

4 diciembre 2023

Minutes: 1st Meeting of the International Young Friends Delegates

*From top left: Naïma Sagna (WFFM, France) Shanice Page (Germany), Megan Batty (Canada), Mélanie de Jamblinne (Luxembourg), Eugénie de Froissard (France) and Heather Stracey (UK)*

Naïma Sagna, WFFM Young Friends coordinator, welcomes the 5 participants to the very 1st meeting of the international Young Friends delegates committee on Monday 4 December 2023.

The objective : to develop a space for international Young Friends delegates to exchange experiences and work collectively to promote Young Friends projects in the WFFM network through a small working group that will meet every 7 weeks.

1) 5 participants from 5 countries : a new start for the WFFM Young Friends network

Shanice Page (Hamburg, Germany) has been working for the Young Friends section at the Kunsthalle in Hamburg for 3 years, and is part of the Young Friends Federation’s network, where some thirty delegates meet twice a year in Germany to share their experiences.

Megan Batty (Montreal, Canada) is a member of the board of the Canadian Federation and Young Friends network split between Montreal and Ottawa, which has been organising numerous visits and meetings in French and English since 2019.

Mélanie de Jamblinne (Luxembourg) is the Young Friends delegate for the Friends of Luxembourg Museums association, a board member since 2016 with Joana Weitzel, with whom she has developed the Young Friends section, which currently has 113 members. A special feature is the JAM / Jeunes Ados group (14-17 year-olds).

Eugénie de Froissart (Paris, France): has just joined the FFSAM (French Federation of the Friends of Museums) as Young Friends coordinator for a 2-year work-study programme. She is responsible for boosting the network of 20 Young Friends sections in France.

Heather Stracey (Royal Tunbridge Wells, England) won the Young Museum Professional of the Year award from the British Association of Friends of Museums and has just been appointed Young Friends Ambassador in the UK.

2) A meeting to connect Young Friends together in January 2024

As the WFFM organised an online event a few years ago – «Well being in the arts» – the idea is to offer a Young Friend international delegate the opportunity to curate an online event on a theme of particular interest to Young Friends of museums.

For the 1st event, which will take place at the 31rst of January 2024 to symbolically start the year with a new beginning for the international Young Friends network, Megan Batty has carte blanche to choose the theme and the speaker.

3) Upcoming WFFM Congress in Luxembourg from 2 to 5 May 2024

On the one hand, this meeting provides an opportunity for Young Friends delegates who have taken part in previous congresses to share their experiences. On the other hand, it gives all participants an opportunity to take stock of what can be offered at the congress to be held in Luxembourg in spring 2024: meetings, visits, etc.

There is a real desire to organise workshops and a round-table discussion of interest to all participants, and to make the event as accessible as possible for Young Friends delegates.

YOUNG FRIENDS

3 diciembre 2023

Member Report: The Young Friends of the Canadian Federation of Friends of Museums

On an autumn evening, the Young Friends of the Canadian Federation of Friends of Museums (CFFM) gathered under the disco ball the Ottawa Art Gallery to explore the exhibit 83 ‘til infinity: 40 years of Hip-Hop in the Ottawa-Gatineau Region. What followed was a riveting experience rooted in the pillars of Hip Hop: knowledge, graffiti, emceeing, breaking, and DJ-ing, followed by drinks at a local spot – the Clarendon Tavern.

This is one of the many events that the Young Friends Council has hosted since its inception in 2018. Our Young Friends Council creates community through culture by bringing together students and emerging professionals aged 18-35 who are passionate about history and heritage. Our team of volunteers, CFFM Board Members Megan Batty, Ottawa Chapter Lead Robin Treleaven, and Montreal Chapter Lead Audrey Gray, organize events where young people explore museums and galleries together. What’s unique about the CFFM Young Friends is that we’re not affiliated with one museum, but rather, we’ve garnered partnerships with several cultural and heritage institutions.

Over the past year, we’ve launched in-person events held twice a month, welcoming Young Friends in two Canadian cities – Ottawa and Montreal. We host events in both English and French, reflecting the bilingual character of these cities. We’ve also been lucky to join events hosted by the Classic friends of the CFFM.

Walking Tours are a particular favourite, and we have run events with the Haunted Walk of Ottawa, the Museum of Jewish Montreal, and an architectural history tour of the Montreal Square Mile with Professor of Architecture Nancy Dunton.

One of the standout events was a guided tour of the exhibit Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience at the at the McCord-Stewart Museum, followed by an allyship workshop. This thought-provoking event sparked great dialogue and connections amongst Young Friends during our picnic afterwards.

Over the past year alone, we’ve had the pleasure of exploring the following museums and galleries:

The Bytown Museum

The McCord-Stewart Museum

The Museum of Jewish Montreal

The Ottawa Art Gallery

The National Gallery of Canada

The Louis-Joseph Forget House

Rideau Hall

Galerie 1700 La Poste

The Ottawa Haunted Walk.

Our motto speaks to the heart of what we cultivate: community through culture, and we continue to be inspired by our members, and by Young Friends groups across the globe.

Interested in learning more about the Young Friends of the Canadian Federation of Friends of Museums? Head to our website, Facebook page, or Instagram to learn more about upcoming events.

Les jeunes amis de la Fédération canadienne des amis de musées

Une soirée automnale, les jeunes amis de la Fédération canadienne des amis de musées (la FCAM) se sont réunis sous la boule disco de la Galerie d’art d’Ottawa pour explorer l’exposition « Demain c’est loin : 40 ans de Hip-Hop dans la région d’Ottawa-Gatineau » . Ce qui a suivi été une expérience captivante enracinée dans les valeurs de hip-hop : le savoir, les DJing, le graffiti, le emceeing, le breakdance, et le DJ – suivie d’un verre dans le bar du coin le Clarendon Tavern.

Il s’agit de l’un des nombreux événements organisés par le Conseil des jeunes amis de la FCAM depuis sa création en 2018. Chez le conseil des jeunes amis, c’est la culture qui rassemble, en réunissant des étudiants et des jeunes professionnels âgés de 18 à 35 ans passionnés par l’histoire et le patrimoine. Notre équipe de bénévoles, composée de Megan Batty (membre du conseil d’administration de la FCAM), de Robin Treleaven (cheffe de la section à Ottawa) et d’Audrey Gray (cheffe de la section à Montréal), organise des événements où les jeunes explorent des musées et des galeries. Ce qui est unique chez la FCAM c’est que nous ne sommes pas affiliés à un seul musée, mais plutôt que nous avons développé des partenariats avec plusieurs institutions culturelles et patrimoniales.

Depuis l’année dernière, nous avons lancé un programme d’événements en-personnes organisés deux fois par mois, accueillant les jeunes amis dans deux villes canadiennes : Ottawa et Montréal. On organise des événements en anglais et en français pour bien refléter le caractère bilingue de ces villes. Nous avons également eu la chance de participer à des événements organisés par les amis classiques de la FCAM.

Les visites à pied sont particulièrement appréciées, et nous avons organisé des événements avec la Haunted Walk of Ottawa, le Musée du Montréal juif, et une visite de l’histoire de l’architecture du Square Mile de Montréal avec le professeur d’architecture Nancy Dunton.

L’un des événements les plus marquants a été la visite guidée de l’exposition « Voix autochtones d’aujourd’hui : savoir, trauma, résilience » au Musée McCord-Stewart, suivie d’un atelier sur les gestes alliés. Cet événement, qui a suscité la réflexion, a été l’occasion d’un grand dialogue et de liens entre les jeunes amis lors du pique-nique qui a suivi.

Au cours de l’année écoulée, nous avons eu le plaisir de découvrir les musées et galeries suivants :

Le Musée Bytown

Le Musée McCord-Stewart

Musée du Montréal juif

La Galerie d’art d’Ottawa

Le Musée des beaux-arts du Canada

Maison Louis-Joseph-Forget

Rideau Hall

Galerie 1700 La Poste

La Ottawa Haunted Walk

Notre devise est au cœur de ce que nous cultivons : la culture qui rassemble, et nous continuons à être inspirés par nos membres et par les groupes de Jeunes Amis à travers le monde.

Vous souhaitez en savoir plus sur les Jeunes Amis de la Fédération canadienne des Amis de Musées ? Rendez-vous sur notre site web, notre page Facebook ou sur Instagram pour en savoir plus sur les événements à venir.

YOUNG FRIENDS

30 noviembre 2023

Young Friends Luxembourg Report: November 23, 2023

As we mentioned earlier, it was during a short 2-day stay in Luxembourg that our Young Friends coordinator Naïma Sagna was able to make some initial preparations for our forthcoming Congress in May 2024 and meet some of the Friends of the Museums of Luxembourg team.

After a first day where Naïma made contact with Florence Reckinger-Taddeï (President), Bärbel Aubert (Secretary) and Young Friends delegates Mélanie de Jamblinne and Joana Weitzel, the second and final day confirmed the promising beginnings of this collaboration.

The reunion with Bärbel on Thursday 23/11 along the ramparts of the Upper Town, one of Luxembourg’s most iconic sites, provided an opportunity to discuss working methods, especially as Naïma was staying as part of a skills sponsorship arrangement with the Friends of the Musée de Grenoble team, who fully support her mission within the WFFM.

It was at the Nationalmusée um Fëschmaart (Musée national d’archéologie, d’histoire et d’art) that Bärbel and Naïma enjoyed a visit to the various collection rooms: pre- to modern history, art deco, design, modern art… spread over several floors, the works offer an immense panorama of Luxembourg’s history.

Next, a visit to the Friends of the Museums office: a charming house overlooking the valley that houses their association as well as the offices of other associative projects such as Lët’z Arles, which is also chaired by Florence Reckinger-Taddeï,. Catherine de Jamblinne, Vice-Chair of the Friends of the Museums of Luxembourg, offered our Young Friends coordinator an autographed copy of the catalogue «Friends of the Museums of Luxembourg. Histoires d’une passion» – an editorial project to which she made a major contribution on the association’s 40th anniversary.

Mélanie de Jamblinne had introduced our Young Friends coordinator to Anastasia Chaguidouline, who is the Artistic Director of the Cercle Cité the previous day. So the afternoon was an opportunity for Naïma to discover this cultural venue which is currently presenting in the Ratskeller space an exhibition entitled Hors-d’œuvre (until 21/01/2024), including topical themes (consumption, migration, identity, meaning, etc.) and a selection of artists from the Benelux countries and neighbouring countries. But above all there is a real synergy with the exhibition currently on show at the Lëtzebuerg City Museum: «All we can eat«. A meeting with contemporary art that heralded what was to come next.

For the next meeting, Young Friends delegates Mélanie and Joana, took Naïma to the Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain, the main contemporary art center in Luxembourg. Welcomed on arrival by Administrative Director Ruta Franke, they spent some time talking in the library and soaking up the energy of the venue. A veritable platform for experimentation, it is complemented by a 2nd ancillary venue, the Casino Display (artist residencies and research programmes) and hosts an average of 6 exhibitions a year. Two of these are currently on show, and our Young Friends delegates were able to discover them together:

How to map the infinite by Tessa Perutz – curated by Stilbé Schroeder. Visitors are greeted by a huge carpet of lavender flowers installed in the two rooms of the exhibition. The young American artist presents landscapes inspired by her stay in Europe (lakes, plants, sun, moon, fields, forests, seashores), real landscapes, symbolic motifs and sensory elements. On the wall is a large mural depicting a view of Marseille from the roof of Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse closes an energising journey of vivid, almost psychedelic, tropical colours.

Joyeuse Apocalypse! by Jérôme Zonder – curated by Kevin Muhlen. Here, the French artist presents one of his iconic characters, Pierre-François, whose birth he dates to 2000 (generation Z). The exhibition takes the form of a collection of images: first, 11 large-format silhouettes in cut-out wood, like three-dimensional drawings, imbued with signs of popular culture (music, cinema, etc.), as if we could approach him from every angle. Since text is as important to the artist as images, he also experiments with the comic strip format. A huge game of goose drawn on the floor brought the exhibition to a close, depicting different stages in the life of the character.

Then it’s on to the event of the young Romantico Romantico Studio jewellery brand created by Fanny Bervard. It was an opportunity to discover a fine example of independent design from Luxembourg (her jewellery is on sale in the MUDAM boutique), before heading off for dinner to discuss the respective and joint projects of the Young Friends delegates.

And so ended the second day, laying the foundations for what looks to be very promising future collaborations for the WFFM Young Friends network with the Luxembourg Friends of the Museums association, not least for the forthcoming WFFM Congress in 2024.

YOUNG FRIENDS

30 noviembre 2023

Young Friends Luxembourg Report: November 22, 2023

International, multilingual, cultural: it’s no coincidence that Luxembourg was titled European Capital of Culture in 1995 and 2007, and that it’s THE destination for the next WFFM Congress to be held from 2 to 5 May 2024.

It is with this in mind that Naïma Sagna, Young Friends coordinator of the WFFM, has just spent 2 days in the city, scouting the city in anticipation for the upcoming event and meeting some of the extremely dynamic, professional and welcoming team of the Friends of the Museums of Luxembourg. The association, chaired by Florence Reckinger-Taddeï, makes one donation a year to one of the 6 museums, and has more than 1,800 members. Its Young Friends section – spearheaded by childhood friends Mélanie de Jamblinne and Joana Weitzel – is expanding rapidly, with 113 members (including Young Friends and JAM – Jeunes Ados des Musées) to date.
A Special thanks go to Bärbel Aubert. Secretary of the Friends of the Museums of Luxembourg. Bärbel orchestrated the programme of visits spread over two days with real expertise and a great sense of hospitality to ensure that our Young Friends coordinator’s stay was as enjoyable and informative as possible.

The meeting really got underway on Wednesday 22/11 at the Villa Vauban, the City of Luxembourg’s art museum. This fine arts museum, where a sculpture by Nikki de Saint Phalle greets visitors in the park, presents collections from the XVIIth to the XIXth centuries bequeathed by the industrialist Jean-Pierre Pescatore.

Then it was on to the Lëtzebuerg City Museum, where Bärbel and Naïma were welcomed by Boris Fuge, head of communications. Inaugurated in 1996, this Lëtzebuerg City Museum has preserved the ancient structures of walls dating back to the Middle Ages, which can be discovered little by little thanks to a huge transparent hydraulic lift. The permanent collections are complemented by two temporary exhibitions a year. A quick diversion to the Mansfeld who? exhibition provided an opportunity to get up close to the Portrait of Charles de Mansfeld – son of Pierre-Ernst de Mansfeld, and Governor of the Province of Luxembourg (XVIth to XVIIth centuries) under Spanish Dominion – donated this year by the Friends of the Museum. It was also an opportunity to learn a little about Luxembourg’s past. Historically a fortress town, it made its mark during the Industrial Revolutions in the porcelain, glove-making, beer brewing, steelworks and cigarette-making industries.

Accompanied by Joana Weitzel, Young Friends delegate for the Friends of the Museums of Luxembourg, our Young Friends coordinator headed for the Kirchberg district, where she was welcomed to the MUDAM by Carine Lilliu, Head of Patronage and Partnerships. If the architecture of the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean seems immediately familiar, it’s because its architect is none other than Ieoh Ming Pei, who is responsible for the famous Pyramid of the Louvre in Paris. After a quick tour of the temporary exhibition ‘After laughter comes tears’ (on show until 7/01/2024), they were able to discover some of the permanent collections. The MUDAM takes the original approach of presenting its 700 works to the public in the form of temporary exhibitions organised in turn by different curators (currently ‘Deep Deep down’ curated by Shirina Shahbazi and Tirdad Zolghadr).

Literally a stone’s throw from MUDAM, there was a change of scenery at the Draï Eechelen Museum on the historic site of Fort Thüngen. Welcomed by director François Reinert, Young Friends delegates Joana and Naïma enjoyed a guided tour retracing the history of Luxembourg and this exceptional site, which includes an underground gallery of ten bunkers, including a workshop for children, and a collection of objects linked to the fortress, the city and the country. The museum also features a multimedia area with period maps available in high definition and a 140-seats auditorium.

The evening was then marked by a very special event. If Mélanie de Jamblinne is the Young Friends delegate, she is also in charge of VIP relations and the programme for Luxembourg Art Week, which ended just a few days ago. Mélanie took care to invite our Young Friends coordinator Naïma to accompany her and her director Caroline von Reden to the professional evening of the De Mains de Maîtres (The Fine Contemporary Craft Biennale). The event was held at 19 avenue de la Liberté, known in Luxembourg as ’19 Liberté’, at the former headquarters of ARBED (now merged with ArcelorMittal), becoming the home of Spuerkeess bank (Banque et caisse d’épargne de l’État) in 2016, following major renovation work.

The De Mains de Maîtres Biennale was created on the initiative of Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess of Luxembourg and showcases a selection of works in a dozen museums, cultural centres and galleries. Traditionally, only one country is represented among the more than 70 craftsmen and women from Luxembourg: this year, the spotlight is on Portugal, given its historical roots and the strong presence of its community in Luxembourg. Promoting Portuguese craftsmanship and strengthening the friendship between Luxembourg and Portugal: these are just two of the ambitions of the Biennale in 2023. The speeches were punctuated by contributions from Françoise Thoma (President and Chief Executive Officer of the Spuerkeess), the Hereditary Grand Duchess (patron of the Friends of the Luxembourg Museums), Xavier Bettel (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Jean-Marc Dimanche (General Commissioner of the Bienniale), among others.

So many interesting meetings and museums explored on this very first day!

YOUNG FRIENDS

3 noviembre 2023

Young Friends Report: Meetings in Hamburg

It’s a fact: Although they are highly dynamic, Young Friends networks within museum associations are still often considered by many as cultural exceptions.

Nowadays, with new Young Friends collectives in development throughout Europe, it should be emphasized that they have already been well established and recognized in Germany for decades, to such an extent that Young Friends ambassadors from all German regions meet twice a year to exchange experiences and strategies, and strengthen their networks. The next meeting of this kind will take place in Mannheim in 2 weeks’ time – We’ll speak more on that later.

With that in mind, our Young Friends coordinator Naïma has just spent a week in Hamburg : a 1st step in the logical continuation of her appointment, one of the main objectives of which is to federate the network of Young Friends delegates at international level, and to represent and valourise their activities within the WFFM.

The Hamburger Kunsthalle’s Young Friends team (Shanice Page, Hannah Bode and Laura Harlaβ) and the WFFM’s Young Friends coordinator held two highly symbolic Franco-German meetings. This was a natural opportunity to get to know each other and discuss how the representation of Young Friends within the WFFM can evolve, as well as to discover first-hand the work of this highly effective German team, which is an inspiration to many Friends of museums in general.

Wednesday 25/10, Kunsthalle: a guided tour by Shanice and Hannah, to discover the specific features of the architecture (the historic building was designed in the 19th century, and now coexists with a much more contemporary 2nd building), and the permanent collections. Known as «THE» iconic masterpiece of the museum, Caspar Friedrich’s famous Romantic painting Wanderer above the Sea of Fog is the inspiration for the next major temporary exhibition, which opens this winter and will be of particular interest to the Young Friends team. Needless to say, Naïma was very interested in the modern art collection, which echoes that of the Musée de Grenoble, and was able to hone her knowledge of artists who have left their mark on the history of German art : Max Beckmann, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, etc.

Guided tours are indeed at the heart of what the Young Friends of the Kunsthalle executive team offers, and are planned on an ad hoc basis in line with current events.

Sunday 29/10, Dietmar Koel Straβe 19: a perfect example of the creativity and organisational skills of the Young Friends of the Kunstthalle executive team, who have formed a partnership with the ‘Wall Can Dance’ collective to offer an exclusive inter-generational encounter for Friends of the Kunsthalle members.

A time of exchange and street art with Australian street artist Fintan Magee, at the foot of the huge fresco he is currently creating on commission and directly inspired by… Caspar Friedrich’s famous painting! Encouraged by the Young Friends ambassadors and the public, Magee talked about his working method: the technique he used to paint on such a large format and outdoors, Caspar Friedrich’s heritage and inspiration, the music he listened to during the project, etc.

A link with the Romantic artists who also painted a lot outdoors?

This seemingly spontaneous event required meticulous preparation behind the scenes and on going collective coordination gathering around fifty people around the street artist at a busy intersection.

A resolutely contemporary approach just a few kilometres from the Kunsthalle.

2 junio 2022

General Assembly of the World Federation of Friends of Museums (WFFM) 2- 5 June 2022, Marseille

The founding of the World Federation of Friends of Museums in 1975, inspired by the International Committee of Museums (ICOM) and its structure, has met the need to create an international network of friends of museums to foster international cooperation among associations of friends of museums, promote their mutual understanding, exchange information and share experiences in order to intensify the life and development of these associations for the benefit of museums and the public.

In the fall of 2019, after the WFFM General Assembly was held in Montreal, the Fédération Française des Sociétés d’Amis de Musées (FFSAM) agreed in turn to organize it in May 2021 in Marseille, with the assistance of the Society of Friends of the Mucem, the year after the triennial World Congress of Friends of Museums that was to be held in March 2020 in Canberra and Sydney, Australia.

Unfortunately, the Congress was cancelled ten days before its opening due to international health restrictions imposed by the Covid pandemic.

For the same reasons, we had to postpone the General Assembly of the World Federation to June 2022. It is the determination of the preparation team during these two and a half years that allowed this meeting to be a success, with a dedicated site www.wffmmarseille.org , and its smooth running in the three official languages, French, English and Spanish.

We succeeded in welcoming, as we had hoped, about sixty delegates from fifteen countries, the presidents and representatives of the following national federations: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States; and representatives of the associate members from Luxembourg, Switzerland and Uruguay.

On this occasion, Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland has returned to the world federation which they had left some years ago.

The Young Friends project has been a constituent of the world federation since 1984, strongly revitalized in 2014.

In Marseille, a third of the delegates represented Young Friends sections from seven countries, Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the United States; Young Friends, as usual, developed a specific program of meetings and reflection, here on the first two days of the general assembly.

After a privileged welcome in the vestiges of the Ancient Port, under the auspices of the Mayor of Marseille, the participants discovered the emblematic heritage sites of the city and its museums: the Préau des Accoules, a museum dedicated to children, the dolias of the Roman Docks, an in situ museum, the dazzling decorative arts at the Château Borély; the exceptional reserves of Marseille’s museums not open to the public and the spectacular ones at the Mucem’s Conservation and Resource Center, for the Young Friends; the exhibition on migratory objects, which are part of our civilization, at the Vieille Charité; the «Connectivités» exhibition at the Mucem, offering a global, Braudelian approach to the Mediterranean; the «Couleurs des Suds» exhibition of the painters of Provence in their setting at the Regards de Provence museum.

Two important moments for thoughts were shared during these meetings:

– A conference on «how to exhibit an idea», given in the Eugénie room of the Palais du Pharo, by Barbara Cassin, academician and curator of the exhibition «Objets migrateurs, trésors sous influences», explaining her conceptual museum approach to highlighting ideas, with the view of Nicolas Misery, director of the museums of Marseille.

– A striking and relevant round table on the help that digital technology can bring to the Friends of Museums, led at the Museum of History of Marseille by the young generation of experts, Bérénice Kübler, PhD student and teacher in Management Sciences at Aix-Marseille University and Bérénice Billiez, independent consultant in the fields of cultural mediation and digital communication.

Finally, the institutional meetings of the world federation at the Mucem, in addition to the exchanges held between the national federations, underlined, after these difficult years, the importance of a federating project of the Friends of Museums and reinforced the intention to launch an annual European day of the Friends of Museums to meet the public, around the same date and a common annual theme, in order to contribute to the emergence of a European public of museums.

Report of the French Federation