You’ll likely have seen from media coverage that this has been an important week for the cultural sector. The Government’s announcement of a £1.57bn funding package has been received positively by sector leaders given its size and scope. There will be much work to do over the coming days and weeks to understand how organisations can access the funds and how monies will be distributed. However, this is incredibly welcome news – particularly for performing arts venues, such as theatres, who still must remain closed due to restrictions around Covid-19.
ACE Emergency Response Fund
You may also have seen that, alongside other Midlands cultural organisations, BCLM has secured emergency funding from Arts Council England (ACE). A full intranet update on this is here. This support from ACE will play a crucial role in helping us to realise our plans for reopening, as well as contributing to some of the shortfall in income during our closure period.
Reopening Programme – Unlocking the Black Country
Last week, we promised an update on the reopening programme. The theme for reopening is ‘Unlocking the Black Country’.
There are two strands to this programme. Firstly, to ensure we are unlocking safely with measures in place for colleagues and visitors and, secondly, to unlock history in a way that engages visitors.
Detailed information around protective measures, risk assessments, and new protocols to protect colleagues on-site will be rolled out as part of the return-to-work process and staff training. There will also be public comms about safety measures to provide reassurance to visitors.
In the meantime, we wanted to provide some highlights on how we’re proposing to ‘unlock history’. One of the key concepts behind the programme is to take an ‘inside-out’ approach. This means that, wherever possible, we want to make more active use of the outdoor space offered by the site. Part of the plan is to make more use of the Museum’s vehicle collection to create greater outdoor spectacle and to adapt some of the shows originally developed for school audiences into demonstrations that will engage visitors of all ages.
We’ve been working on creating distinctive themed ‘zones’ around the Museum site to give visitors the sense of travelling through time and the chance to hear about different facets of the Black Country story. In all, there will be five zones:
1. ‘Marvellous Machines’ – Located at Newcomen and areas below terrace
“From the Newcomen to the internal combustion engine, discover the manufacturing heritage of the Black Country”
2. ‘Black Gold’ – Located at Mine/Colliery area
“The story of Black Country coal and how it fuelled the industrial revolution”
3. ‘Victory Park’ – Located at Folkes Park
“It’s 1945 and the end of war in Europe has just been announced. Come and celebrate and help us remember those we’ve lost”
‘4. Village Voices’ – Located at Canal Street and Station Road
“A village of hardship and strife, but also of people working together to improve their lot”
5. ‘Workshops of the World’ – Located at the canal arm, Anchor Forge, Rolling Mill, Chain Shop
“Hear the stories of the people who crossed borders to keep Black Country industry thriving”
The programme is based on much of the existing learning that Museum colleagues hold. Where there are adaptations and new ideas to be tested, full training will be given to colleagues where this is relevant. We will update people on the timetable and plan for training in due course.
Our Food and Drink and Enterprise offer is being designed in parallel to complement the visitor programme.
The above information is meant to provide a taster of the offer. Further details will be published soon. The programme has been designed encourage visitors to travel around the site in a more structured manner than they usually would, and to encourage them to spend time in each of the zones interacting with colleagues in a safe, socially-distanced manner.
Keeping in touch – wellbeing conversations
Line managers are in the process of contacting all colleagues to have a wellbeing call and check-in. By the end of this week, all colleagues should have received a call and an opportunity to talk to their manager. Please do questions you may have regarding reopening with your managers, or if you have any questions you’d like to ask in confidence – please do email [email protected] Following on from these initial conversations, managers will be back in touch to discuss specific plans for each individual colleague.
In the meantime, we hope that you and your loved ones stay safe and well.
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