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HI all,

Just a quick note on behalf of the Museums Association.

Unfortunately, because of the size of the event (1,500 attendees) there aren’t many venues that can fit these numbers and an exhibition as well, so it means we are slightly at the mercy of the very large conference centres.
 
We do try to keep the costs and fees down – a couple of years ago we significantly reduced the price and took away any extra costs so that attendance includes all lunches, coffees and evening receptions. We also try to pack as much as possible into the programme to give value for money (and time). We stagger prices so that our lower paid members attend at a cheaper price. We also had an early bird discount up until the end of August.
 
We are trying to make it as cheap as possible and we make no profit on the event, but we do realise it is still not cheap to attend. We will feedback the comments around freelancers and small independent museums into our planning for future conferences.

It’s also worth reiterating Rebecca’s email about the exhibition – it is completely free to attend and gives anyone access to 28 free practical seminars, lots of on-stand demos and product launches, and some valuable networking opportunities as well as the exhibition itself.

We have also been running a series of one-day networking events that are free to members - regional and national members' meetings. The next one is at Mshed in Bristol on 25 Sept and is for MA members in the south west. East of England after that at the Higgins Art Gallery and Museum, Bedford on 10 Dec.

http://www.museumsassociation.org/find-an-event/ev999242

Simon  

Simon Stephens
Deputy Editor
Museums journal
42 Clerkenwell Close
London, EC1R 0AZ
T: 020 7566 7820 
E: [log in to unmask]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimonAStephens
http://www.museumsassociation.org/home
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Museums Association annual conference and exhibition (11-12 November, Liverpool) http://www.museumsassociation.org/conference


From: Kathleen Boal <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Kathleen Boal <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, 13 September 2013 15:29
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Freelancers? Do you find that demand for your work is seasonal? And how do you manage?

Can I just add that it isn’t just Freelancers that struggle to find fee’s to attend conferences. Many Independent museums and institutions with tight budgets find conferences effectively out of their reach.

 

Katey  

 

Katey Boal

Learning Manager

Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre

National Trust for Scotland

 

0844 493 2159

 

 

 

From: List for discussion of issues in museum education in the UK. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nigel Sadler
Sent: 13 September 2013 15:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Freelancers? Do you find that demand for your work is seasonal? And how do you manage?

 

This is one of the problems of many conferences. They have very steep rates to attend. This hits freelancers twice. Firstly they have to find the funds to attend, and then when they do attend these are days that they can not work. It is OK for full time workers who not only get given the days to attend but also have all their costs (hotel, travel and attendance fees) met by their employers. I am aware that as a freelancer we can write off these costs in regards to tax, but even so we need the cash flow to pay to attend

 

Maybe conferences can set a 'freelancer' rate and/or have special sessions just for freelancers, or at least a free area for the freelancers to promote themselves to other delegates.

 

Nigel Sadler

 

From: Rebecca Mileham <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, 13 September 2013, 14:55
Subject: Re: Freelancers? Do you find that demand for your work is seasonal? And how do you manage?

 

I know!

I'll be making the point to organisers (as I have done before) that the conference heavily favours delegates whose institutions can pay for them to attend, which gives the whole conference a bias. Perhaps in future years they will have a freelancers' rate.

Send me your ideas about freelancing though, and I can include your views in the session, along with your name.

Thanks

Rebecca.

 

 

On 13 September 2013 14:38, Jo Catling <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi Rebecca,

Inspired by the thought of your workshop I thought I would check out the MA conference as Liverpool is relatively accessible for me. Sorry, but the eye watering fees count me out even if I only attend for one day.

 

On Fri, Sep 13, 2013 at 2:17 PM, Rebecca Mileham <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi everyone,

I think a fluctuating workload is familiar to many of us who freelance in museums and heritage.

It would be great to share ideas for how to approach this issue - whether it's ways to develop new contacts, new projects with existing contacts, or totally new areas of business to make the pace more even across the year.

I am running a Smarter Training session on successful freelancing at the MA conference in November and I will be looking for ideas to share in the session - crediting you personally with the ideas of course - in order to boost the profile of freelancing to the benefit of the sector.

I'd love to hear from anyone (freelancer or not) who would like to share advice that will be of benefit to freelancers. The session is listed here

http://www.museumsassociation.org/conference/30072013-training-fringe-events (the session is on Tuesday but I don't think it will actually be from 12.30-12.15 as shown).

Many thanks and happy Friday!

Rebecca.

 

 

On 11 September 2013 11:00, Emma Metcalfe <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hello everyone,

As some of you know, I'm a freelancer who mainly does work within the heritage sector. I'd be really interested to know whether other freelancers find that demand for their work is quite seasonal? And if so, how do you manage?

I personally find that I normally have a lot of demand for projects in winter and spring (i.e when some heritage sites are closed/quieter) but that it really dies down during summer/school holidays when the kind of visitor attractions I do the most work for (e.g castles, stately homes) are at their busiest and it's 'all hands on deck'!

Now I've realised this it doesn't throw me into such a panic as it used to, but I'd be interested to know other people's experiences.

Emma

Emma Metcalfe
Designer & Illustrator of Fun Resources for Children
http://www.emillustration.co.uk/

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Regards

Jo Catling

Aln Heritage
Exploration, Education & Communication 
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my book projects:
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http://tinyurl.com/1001inventionsbook 
http://tinyurl.com/globalpollutionbook
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