museumaker started in the East Midlands as a regional pilot in 2005

1 / 28 The Pin Hole Wall, Superblue, 2009. CNC cut English oak. Design inspired by a three dimensional laser scan of the rock texture and form at Pin Hole, a cave on the south facing cliff.

2 / 28 The Pin Hole Wall, Superblue, 2009. CNC cut English oak. Design inspired by a three dimensional laser scan of the rock texture and form at Pin Hole, a cave on the south facing cliff.

3 / 28 The Pin Hole Wall, Superblue, 2009. CNC cut English oak. Design inspired by a three dimensional laser scan of the rock texture and form at Pin Hole, a cave on the south facing cliff.

4 / 28 Participant, community engagement project, Charnwood Museum, Loughborough

5 / 28 Participant and maker, community engagement project Charnwood Museum, Loughborough

6 / 28 Pouring Forms, Laura Ellen Bacon, Charnwood Museum, Loughborough

7 / 28 Little Crawly, Carl Clerkin, Joseph Wright of Derby Gallery, Derby Museum and Art Gallery

8 / 28 Curator and maker, Long and Little Crawlies, Joseph Wright of Derby Gallery, Derby Museum and Art Gallery

9 / 28 Not Weetabix, community engagement project, Carl Clerkin, Derby Museum and Art Gallery

10 / 28 The entrance hall, 78 Derngate, Northampton

11 / 28 Installing Seedlings in the garden at 78 Derngate, Northampton

12 / 28 Seedlings, Rebecca Newham, 78 Derngate, Northampton

13 / 28 Weather Machine, Martin Smith, Flintham Museum, Nottinghamshire

14 / 28 Maker, curator and school children at the launch party, Weather Machine, Martin Smith, Flintham Museum, Nottinghamshire

15 / 28 Recording the Weather, children from the village school using the Weather Machine, Martin Smith, Flintham Museum, Nottinghamshire

16 / 28 Lotus, Rebecca Newnham, accessioned by the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery collection, Leicester

17 / 28 Sir Christopher Frayling meets the maker, launch of museumaker1, New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester

18 / 28 Spire; Rebecca Newnham, on show at New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester

19 / 28 Installation; Vessel, perhaps; Edmund de Waal, Newark Millgate Museum

20 / 28 Edmund de Waal, installing Vessel, perhaps; Newark Millgate Museum

21 / 28 In the museum stores, young people work with Edmund de Waal, Newark Millgate Museum

22 / 28 Welcome Area; concept and furniture, 24 Design, Northampton Museum

23 / 28 Welcome Area; 24 Design, Northampton Museum

24 / 28 From the Boot and Shoe collection, Northampton Museum

25 / 28 Participant, Sankofa project with Catherine Morling, Nottingham Castle Museum

26 / 28 Detail, showing model of the Boston Stump, Guildhall Figure, Claire Curneen, St Mary's Guildhall, Boston, Lincolnshire

27 / 28 Installing Guildhall Figure, Clare Curneen, St Mary's Guildhall, Boston, Lincolnshire

28 / 28 Guildhall Figure, St Mary's Guildhall, Boston, Lincolnshire.

“By showcasing contemporary craft at the very heart of regional museums, museumaker helps develop new audiences and new understandings of both the craft work and the museum’s rich local collections”.  Sir Christopher Frayling, foreword to the impact study of museumaker 1, 2007

For full details of museumaker 1 please download the impact study (PDF).

museumaker 1 was a collaboration between the Arts Council, East Midlands, the Museums, Library and Archive Council, East Midlands and Renaissance East Midlands, with funding from the Arts Lottery and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Twenty museums across the East Midlands were invited to participate, all received the opportunity to take part in workforce development and to receive retail consultancy, to place their retail operation on a stronger business footing. Ten museums were funded to commission makers to make work to bring their collections to life. The commissions included temporary and permanent installations. Each of the ten commissioning museums ran community engagement projects.

The ten commissioning museums were:

• 78 Derngate, Northampton, working with Rebecca Newnham
• St Mary’s Guildhall Museum, working with Claire Curneen
• Charnwood Museum, Loughborough working with Laura Ellen Bacon
• Creswell Crags Museum, working with Superblue and Myfanwy Johns
• Derby Museum and Art Gallery, working with Carl Clerkin
• Flintham Museum, working with Martin Smith
• New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester, working with Rebecca Newnham
• Newark Millgate Museum, working with Edmund de Waal
• Nottingham Castle Museum, working with Katherine Morling
• Northampton Museum, working with 24 Design

Alford Manor House Museum; Belgrave Hall, Leicester; Buxton Art Gallery Museum; Gainsborough Old Hall; Harborough Museum, Market Harborough; Louth Museum; Mansfield Museum and Art Gallery; Melton Carnegie Museum, Melton Mowbray; Oakham Castle and Rutland County Museum, Oakham participated in the skills and retail development programmes.

The direct legacies of the pilot included:

• Renaissance East Midlands taking the lead on behalf of its regional counterparts Renaissance London, North East and South East in museumaker 2
• A series of ‘lessons learnt’ which informed the development of museumaker 2 – such as the governance framework, the content and timing of the skills development programme for participating museums and makers;  the shaping of the retail development programme to enable museums to commission appropriate work from makers and designers
• Alford Manor House Museum is one the 16 museum partners for museumaker 2
• 78 Derngate, Northampton has developed as a centre for the contemporary crafts for the East Midlands
• Jeweller Laura Baxter won the commission for 78 Derngate’s new commissioning programme – and having demonstrated her capacity to work on a larger scale, went on to win a major outdoor commission at the Bowes Museum for museumaker 2

During the build-up for museumaker 2, a substantial work-force development programme was run for museums and makers. Major London museums including  the Hunterian, the Geffrye Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, TATE Modern, the Sir John Soane's Museum, the Whitechapel,  the Wallace and the Wellcome Collections  hosted the 12 events. The programme  explored the broad spectrum of practice encompassed by the contemporary crafts; aspects of commissioning, including how to manage client|maker relationships effectively; opportunities to actively engage audiences through making and retail development.