Session 3/4 of Cultivating Change in Rural Collections Conference. Since 2020 is all about change, the RMN is taking the bull by the horns this October, delivering an online Conference for people who work with rural life collections that delves into some of our greatest concerns and looks for practical solutions and support. Join us for tea break sessions between 8-23 October to hear speakers examine how rural collections and rural sites can respond to global environmental issues, Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter, as well as how the RMN supports people to get the best out of their collections.

We’ve brought together a panel of early career professionals working with rural life collections for this Conference session. Rachael Thomas, Melanie Williamson and Holly Franklin-Trubshawe discuss the isolation, lack of collections knowledge and working with volunteers as some of the learning curves emerging museum professionals face in museums with rural collections. The session looks at how the RMN supports people to get the best out of their collections, and how the SSN should build on its Understanding Rural Collections and Reap the Rewards programmes (2019/20) that reached out to new people and museums to widen its support. What changes need to take place now to embed this work?