The Museums Association (MA) is a professional membership organisation based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for museum, gallery and heritage professionals,

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

s, galleries and heritage organisations, and companies that work in the museum, gallery and heritage sector of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It also offers international membership.

History

The association was started in 1889 by a small group of museums to protect the interests of museums and galleries. Its inaugural meeting was held at the invitation of the Council of the

Yorkshire Philosophical Society The Yorkshire Philosophical Society (YPS) is a charitable learned society (charity reg. 529709) which aims to promote the public understanding of the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the archaeology and history of York and Yorkshire. ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

on 20 June 1889. The MA is the oldest museum association in the world.

Mission

The MA's mission is inspiring museums to change lives. It advocates for museums, sets ethical standards and runs training and professional development for members wishing to further their careers.

Activities

The association organises an annual conference. This is Europe's largest event for museum and heritage professionals. Members receive the monthly ''

Museums Journal ''Museums Journal'' is an online resource and monthly print magazine published by the Museums Association. ''Museums Journal'' is a leading source of news and information for museums, galleries, heritage sites and historic houses. Simon Stephens is ...

''. The MA also produces ''Museum Practice'' online. The latest case studies and best practice by museum professionals around the UK, with an interactive platform for users to share their ideas. Through its work with the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the MA has created the Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund, building on its 2005 report, ''Collections for the Future''. The MA charts the health of UK museums through its annual survey, ''Museums in the UK''. In 2012 the MA began its "Museums 2020" project to create a vision for the future of the museum sector. It hopes to focus on the impacts that museums will have in the future on individuals, communities, society, and the environment. In 2013 the MA produced "Museums Change Lives", its campaigning vision for the future of museums. "Museums Change Lives" explores the impact of museums under three main headings: wellbeing, better places, ideas and people. The MA's Transformers scheme was piloted in 2014, then rolled out nationally. Transformers is for people in mid-career, supported by any accredited museum (or museum working towards accreditation), looking to change the way they work. Participants are challenged to develop new ways of thinking and supported throughout to engage with experimental ideas, fresh thinking and learning from the experience of experts and innovators. In 2018, the MA launched Collections 2030, a research project looking at the long-term purpose, use and management of museum collections.

Membership

The MA has over 8,000 individual members, 580 institutional members, and 250 corporate members. It runs a professional development scheme, with mentoring and regular training events. "AMA" denotes an Associate of the Museums Association. "FMA" denotes a Fellow of the Museums Association.

Governance

The association is independently funded by its membership, and it is governed by a board of trustees, from all parts of the UK museum community, elected by members. In April 2018,

Maggie Appleton Margaret Mary Appleton (born 21 August 1965) is an English museum director. She has been the Chief Executive Officer of the RAF Museum since 2015.https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/press_releases/cosford/CEO_RAF_Museum_Press_Release.pdf Ear ...

replaced David Fleming as president; she is also the CEO of the

RAF Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity. The museum is split into two separate sites: * Ro ...

. Previous presidents include David Anderson, Stuart Davies, David Fleming,

William Henry Flower Sir William Henry Flower (30 November 18311 July 1899) was an English surgeon, museum curator and comparative anatomist, who became a leading authority on mammals and especially on the primate brain. He supported Thomas Henry Huxley in an imp ...

, Jane Glaister,

Max Hebditch Maxwell Graham Hebditch (born 22 August 1937) was Museum director, Director of the Museum of London in London, England. He was born on 22 August 1937 in the Yeovil area, the son of Harold and Lily (née Bartle) Hebditch. He was appointed the fi ...

Charles Saumarez Smith Sir Charles Robert Saumarez Smith (born 28 May 1954) is a British cultural historian specialising in the history of art, design and architecture. He was the Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Arts in London from 2007 until ...

,Virginia Tandy, and Barbara Woroncow.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Museums Association 1889 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1889 Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom Museum-related professional associations History of museums Museum associations and consortia