There was a fabulous evening of celebrations at Derby Museum & Art Gallery on Friday 3 October…
75 guests attended the 8th Derbyshire Heritage Awards at a ceremony in the elegant setting of Derby Museum & Art Gallery. The event began with drinks and canapés served in the stunning temporary exhibition ‘Defining a Line’. This is a new body of work made specifically for the gallery by sculptor Denis O’ Connor. His small-scale steel sculptures reference the notions of ‘home’ and ‘displacement’ and are influenced by over 25 years of journeying between his home in Derbyshire and his home in Ireland, the country of his birth.
About the Awards
The Awards are run by the Derbyshire Museums Forum and celebrate all the wonderful work taking place in museums, historic houses and heritage sites across the county. The Forum also welcomed entries from organisations that are not forum members but that have undertaken heritage related projects including arts activities and work with natural heritage. The Awards were funded by the Derbyshire Museums Forum and a grant from Museum Development East Midlands.
The Awards were judged and presented by Joy Hales (Editor, Derbyshire Life Magazine), Dr Suzanne MacLeod (Director and Head of School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester) and Jim Dixon (Chief Executive, Peak District National Park Authority). Award winners received a plaque and highly commended projects were awarded a framed certificate. There were a record number of 30 award entries from 17 different organisations this year by comparison with 19 entries from 13 different organisations in 2013. This made the judges’ task particularly hard.
Master of Ceremonies for the night was Andy Potter, Afternoon Show Presenter for BBC Radio Derby and he ensured that the evening ran smoothly whilst keeping the guests entertained.
The ceremony began with a welcome to all the guests from Jonathan Wallis, Head of Museums and Museum and Art Gallery Development at Derby Museums. Then Anita Hollinshead, the Awards Coordinator gave the opening remarks, welcoming guests and thanking the Judges, Andy Potter, Derby Museums for hosting the ceremony, Museum Development East Midlands, Glyn Wilton the photographer, David Weight who had produced the plaques and certificates and the Derbyshire Museums Forum committee for their help and support.
The winners were…
Best Volunteer Project
Winner
The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust for ‘Saloon 45000 and Churchill’s D-Day Train’
Highly Commended
Eyam Museum for ’Eyam 1914-1918: a Second Sacrifice’
Best Project on a Limited Budget (Under £1,000)
Winner
Creswell Crags for ‘Man or Superman: Pin Hole Man’
Highly Commended
The National Trust, Hardwick Hall for ‘Gideon Re-colourisation Project’
Young People in Heritage
Winner
Sinfonia Viva in association with Derby LIVE, Derby Museums and Tom Dale Company for ‘Dark Clouds are Smouldering into Red’
Highly Commended
Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and Derbyshire County Council for ‘Technology Then; Technology Now’
‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’
Joint Winners
Creswell Crags for ‘Collecting Creswell’ and Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society for ‘Project Decade’
Reaching New Audiences
Winner
Erewash Museum for Local Heritage Local Lives – Collections Access Project
Highly Commended
Bakewell Old House Museum for Two Trails
Inspiration Award for the Best Special Project
Joint Winners
Eyam Museum for ’Eyam 1914-1918: a Second Sacrifice’ and Déda Producing for ‘Chatsworth Luminaire – Gardens of Artemis’
Highly Commended
Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society for ‘East Coast Giants’
Highly Commended
Erewash Museum for ‘New War Gallery and First World War Centenary Event’
Shortlisted
Discover Buxton for ‘‘Wonder of the Peak’ Tram Visitor Tour’
Shortlisted
QUAD for ‘The Pride and the Passion: Contemporary Art, Football and The Derby County Collection’
Judges’ Special Award
Winner
The National Trust, Hardwick Hall for ‘outstanding interpretation’
Excellence
Winner
Creswell Crags
After all the awards had been presented…
Ros Westwood, Derbyshire Museums Manager and Chair of the Derbyshire Museums Forum gave the closing remarks saying that ‘It is amazing what we are all doing –the variety of opportunities people have to engage in our work, as visitors and volunteers, all ages, all walks of life – the way we are developing new ideas, engaging new audiences, maximising the potential of our collections, exploring new technology and raising funds through applying for grants from very modest amounts (which can make the biggest difference) to the truly aspirational. Congratulations to everyone – for putting in projects for consideration, because without your entries, there is no event’. Ros also thanked everyone who had helped to make the event such a success.
