Choosing an Arts Award approach for your museum

A framework for decision making created with six London museums

Delivering Arts Award through engagement with museum collections is a growing area, especially with primary schools & families. Planning for this is, as all those involved know only too well, critical. This Case Study Guide has been designed to help museums, through a series of key questions, to choose which approach to take. These are accompanied by a series of top tips & a set of related museum case studies.

Created in consultation with six museums, the London Museum Development team and Trinity, the Guide draws each museum's experiences of making their own resources and using the A New Direction Discover resource. Through their insights, it has been possible to identify key factors to consider when deciding the best route for your organisation.

The museums consulted were Bruce Castle Museum, Jewish Museum & Valence House Museum who used the A New Direction resource, and the Garden Museum, Headstone Manor & Museum and Lauderdale House who created their own.

The Guide has four sections, designed for use either as a tool for group work or desk-based planning, the sections are:

  • Five Factors to help you choose whether to design a resource or use one ‘off the shelf’
  • Five Tips to help you make your own
  • Five Tips to help you get the most out of the A New Direction ‘off the shelf’ Discover resource
  • Five Case Studies to illustrate resources in action

Download the Case Study Guide

With thanks to

  • Francesca Gkotsi: Arts Award specialist
  • Caroline Bray: Arts Award Associate, Arts Award, Trinity College London
  • Rachael Crofts: Museum Development Officer, London Museum Development Team