Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past
News archive 2009
Please note that these are archived news items. Links may be broken and images may not display correctly.
Greg Dyke Interview
15th December 2009 – IPUP Director Helen Weinstein interviewed the University of York's Chancellor Greg Dyke on 15th December. The interview focused on the legacy of Simon Schama's A History of Britain and its impacts on the BBC, the television industry and the general public. The interview transcript is available here.
Opening of the Berrick Saul Building
15th December 2009 - The Berrick Saul Building at the University of York's main Heslington campus will be opened on 15th December, serving as the home of IPUP and a number of other research centres and institutes. The building has already won one major design award, and will serve as a hub for humanities research and other related activities, for the city of York as well as the University. For more information, please go to the Events page.
York Cultural Partnership Symposium
3rd December 2009 – IPUP hosted representatives from York's key cultural heritage institutions for an afternoon symposium dedicated to discussing and outlining a series of new collaborative projects in the field of audience research. The symposium featured presentations from cultural heritage practitioners as well as participants in previous projects run by IPUP and its partners. For the symposium report and accompanying documentation, please go to the Events page.
Tristram Shandy Performances
18th, 19th and 20th November 2009 – IPUP is collaborating with the Music Department for its annual Practical Project 2009. This involves over ninety music students and is led by Prof. Roger Marsh, with IPUP providing stimulating reading materials about reenactment on its project pages. Historyworks in association with IPUP has created two films introducing Shandy Hall to the public, and IPUP is thrilled that music students are scoring, performing and recording film sound tracks to the films. Music students wishing to find the documentaries please go to Events.
To see the final films, come to the Performances at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York at 7.30pm on 18th, 19th, 20th November. Box office: 01904 432439 Email: boxoffice@york.ac.uk Web: www.yorkconcerts.co.uk
Audience Research
23rd October to 31st October 2009 – Audience work will be conducted by IPUP RAs in the Coppergate and Castlegate areas, as well as at the Five Sisters Exhibition at York St Mary's, in partnership with York Civic Trust, York Archaeological Trust, York Museums Trust and York Minster Revealed. If you are interested in volunteering for our audience research team, especially for late nights at Illuminating York events, please go to our intern pages.
York St Mary's Questionnaire[word document]
Castlegate/Coppergate Questionnaire[word document]
Navigating the Past
20th October 2009 - IPUP's seminar series "Navigating the Past" will be having its first event, a discussion group led by Geoff Cubitt (History) on the subject of 'Commemoration and the Traumatic Past'. For more information, including directions to the HRC and suggested reading, see our events page.
'The Anniversary Anniversary' BBC Radio 4 Broadcast
17th October 2009 20.00-21.00, repeated 19th October 15.00-15.45 - A broadcast of Radio 4's Archive Hour made in partnership with IPUP, asking 'why do we commemorate?'. Go to The Archive Hour webpage .
AHRC Beyond Text
12th October 13th October 2009 - Prof. Helen Weinstein sits on the final Commissioning Panel for this AHRC Strategic Funding Initiative. Go to the Beyond Text projects page.
Teaching Traumatic Pasts
9th October 2009 15.00 - A discussion led by Paul Gready of CAHR (The Centre for Applied Human Rights) in Room BS/007, Berrick Saul Building, including a presentation on historiography by IPUP Research Associate Adam Gutteridge and IPUP Director Helen Weinstein.
Minster Voices Premiere
7th October 2009 - IPUP sound poem called Minster Voices to be performed at the Zouche Chapel at the I Hear Too concert, 8pm to 10pm with performances commencing on the hour and half hour. Go to Minster box office for tickets. Go to multimedia page, sound projects to listen to IPUP’s sound poems.
Lucy Sackville to Exeter College, Oxford
1st October - Lucy Sackville, IPUP RA, starts new position as Bennett Boskey post-doctoral fellow in medieval history at Exeter College, Oxford. Lucy has done a stunning job at IPUP founding the IPUP website and we wish her well at Oxford.
DHG Diversity in Heritage Group
1st and 2nd October - DHG Diversity in Heritage Group founding symposium will be hosted by IPUP at The Tree House, Berrick Saul Building. The DHG is the outcome of the Heritage Diversity Task Force and all are welcome to participate who are interested in diversifying audiences as museum practitioners, funders, policy makers, academics. See IPUP Events page to see the agenda and the Executive Summary.
25th September
The IPUP Director, Helen Weinstein, joins the National Museum Of Science & Industry (NMSI) Research Advisory Board as newly appointed member to shape the direction of research at the NMSI (Science Museum in London, the National Railway Museum in York, and the National Media Museum in Bradford).
22nd September - Interview with Martin Davidson
IPUP interview with Martin Davidson, Head of History Commissioning at BBC TV for the Commemoration and Schama’s ‘A History of Britain’ research projects at IPUP. Martin will be keynote speaker for our ‘Packing the Past in a Multiplatform Era’ conference on 24th February, 2010 at IPUP. See interviews here.
14th September - Diversity in Heritage
Helen Weinstein joins the new Diversity in Heritage Group for presentations and dialogue at DCMS : PRESENTATION on policy for diversifying audiences in museums, galleries, heritage sites. See IPUP webpages and articles by IPUP RA, Machel Bogues on Policies for Diversifying Audiences 2000-2009
Responsibility to the Story
10th & 11th September – ‘Responsibility to the Story’ Conference at the Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York, to launch the new Journal of Human Rights Practice. See programme and register for CAHR conference at York here.
8th September
David Gent, University of York History PhD graduate is working in partnership with the heritage site at Castle Howard and is co-curating, ‘Pride of Yorkshire’ Exhibition about the 7th Earl of Carlisle, and see his blog pageat IPUP and exhibition preview feature.
The Black Page Film and Exhibition
IPUP has produced a film for an exhibition to mark the 250th anniversary of the publication of the black page in Volume I, page 73 of Tristram Shandy, the page that announces the death of Parson Yorick.
IPUP is also working in partnership with the Laurence Sterne Trust to produce a non-linear, interpretative film for this important heritage site. The Black Page Exhibition is open from 5 September onwards, where 73 artists will be exhibiting 73 black pages, at Shandy Hall Gallery, Laurence Sterne Trust, Coxwold. For more information go to: http://www.shandean.org/lectures.html
To see the IPUP film go to our Multimedia page, or watch it on Youtube. To view and bid for the artworks go to http://blackpage73.blogspot.com/
1st September
Kalliopi Fouseki, IPUP Research Associate, has done a fantastic job as RA on ‘1807 Commemorated’ and is now starting employment as a museum practitioner at the Science Museum in London as New Audience Advocate. We wish her well and look forward to working in partnership as Kalliopi continues to complement her work as a practitioner at the Science Museum, by contributing to the research at IPUP on diversifying audiences and community consultation. See the audiences page.
What Do You Think You Are Looking At?
31st August – Draft Report on IPUP’s audience research project in partnership with York Minster Revealed to assess resident & visitor attitudes to the York Minster site recorded with the public using the space at Dean’s Park, York, adjacent to York Minster. See the draft report authored by IPUP Research Associate, Georgios Alexopoulos here
Five Sisters Mosaic On BBC Culture Show
5th August – Mosaicist Emma Biggs and Five Sisters Mosaic featured by Andrew Graham Dixon on BBC’s Culture Show on 5th August. IPUP is very pleased about this after we prompted interest to the Exec Producer Ed Morgan and shared IPUP’s five sisters film to show the quality of the work. BBC film short from Culture Show.
Abbey Precinct Symposium Update
See the report written by IPUP Research Associate, Adam Gutteridge, summarizing the speakers and discussion here. All speakers are requested to send in outlines of their papers by September 24th. This will assist participants at our next meeting on 30th September to discuss audience research and interpretation strategies for the Museum Gardens and other historic cityscapes in York.
Stories of the World
Monday 20th July 2009
IPUP Director, Helen Weinstein, is to give the keynote speech ‘Exploring Collections: Constructing Identities’ to launch the Cultural Olympiad project called ‘Stories of the World’ for the Museums Libraries and Archives Council. This project is at the heart of the UK’s four-year Cultural Olympiad in partnership with the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). On July 20th IPUP Is part of the team to launch this project nationally for the fourteen exhibitions chosen to explore past, present and future relationships between the world and the UK, seeking to learn from the living communities in our culturally diverse and constantly evolving modern nation.
Report summarizing 20th July Conference.
Download Helen’s powerpoint presentation Exploring Collections: Constructing Identites (PDF)
Televising History
The IPUP Director has been on the AHRC Advisory Panel for 'Televising History' and this project culminates in a major conference this July 2009. IPUP is taking a keen interest in the outcomes for 'Televising History' because of our ambitious research project and symposium series which is running from 2009 to 2012 on the "Packaging of the Past in the Media' which is looking at the packaging of the visual arts, archaeology, history, heritage, biography, race, faith, Britishness and national identity formation through TV, radio, and web products. At the 'Televising History' conference Helen Weinstein is presenting a research paper out of the '1807 Commemorated' project entitled ‘More than a Wilberfest? The commissioning, branding and production of the ‘Abolition’ season in the BBC: an institutional study’.
Stories of the Stones: Abbey Precinct Symposium
IPUP is organizing a symposium on 8th July to bring together museum curators, archivists, landscape gardeners and architects, historians, archaeologists and art historians to discuss the understanding of St Mary’s Abbey Precinct and a programme of audience engagement work to be piloted this summer – all are welcome from YMT and CMS. The day is programmed from 11am to 6pm at Kings Manor KG/O7. Catering included.
See Programme for details [pdf document]
See also Stories of the Stones project pages
What Do You Think You’re Looking At?
Audience Methodology Paper: Partnership meeting with York Cultural Institutions to discuss pilot audience project to understand resident and visitor attitudes to the historic cityscapes in York. Read an article by IPUP Research Associates, Kalliopi Fouseki and George Alexopoulos, about Audience Methodology here.
The Last Coiner
IPUP welcomes a new Research Associate, Nicholas Tosney, working on the film development project won by Hannah Greig of the History Department working in partnership with Peter Kershaw at Duchy Parade Films for a series of AHRC workshops. Nick will be involved in IPUP’s media projects and you can learn more about him and the film production at http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/hist/action/ and http://www.york.ac.uk/ipup/staff-biogs/
Packaging The Past Update
Date TBC
‘After Civilisation: The Past, Present, Future of Art on TV’ symposium organized by IPUP in partnership with YMT & The Linbury Trust. To see report written by IPUP Research Associate, Adam Gutteridge, summarizing the speakers and discussion go to IPUP Events page or download here.
Sound As A Heritage Object
IHearToo workshop 18th May at the British Library, London
IPUP is participating as a partner in the EPSRC/AHRC network funding at the University of York to discuss Heritage as a Sound Experience. Reports written by IPUP Research Associate, Lucy Sackville, summarizing the speakers and discussion available here.
Fragments in Film
June 4th to November 1st YSM
IPUP MEDIA has a new documentary film commission to tell the story of the Five Sisters Art Installation wrought by the internationally renowned mosaicist Emma Biggs and her artist partner Matthew Collings. See the long version at the YSM installation space, and the short Youtube version on these pages.
Knowledge Transfer
City Partners Workshop With Centre For Medieval Studies. IPUP workshop organized for the Centre for Medieval Studies with partners invited from York Museum Trust, York City Archives and Library, National Centre for Early Music, Minster Library and Borthwick Institute, Bar Convent and Merchant Adventurers Archives, York Archaeological Trust. Download Helen Weinstein’s powerpoint Who's Afraid of Knowledge Transfer? (PDF). See AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award Scheme pages and 29th Oct 2009 deadline.
I Hear Too
IPUP is to partner colleagues in the University of York's Electronics Department to explore acoustics in heritage sites that will be focused on York Minster. Sponsored for a year of explorative workshops by AHRC/ESPRC network funding.
Diversifying Audiences At The Capital's Cultural Institutions.
The IPUP Director, Helen Weinstein, has been appointed as Co-Chair of the Mayor of London's Heritage Diversity Task Force with Prakash Daswani, CEO of Cultural Cooperation. The research project will identify policies and practices for understanding audiences and diversifying audiences across museums, galleries, archives and libraries, and report to the Mayor's Commission in July 2009.
www.culture.gov.uk/images/consultations/MayorofLondon.rtf
History Of York
IPUP interns translate academic history and archaeology in to a fantastic web resource called History of York which is designed for family visitors interested in York's history with trails and themed tours in to the past of the city. See IPUP York Project pages for more.
Big City Read
IPUP is to partner the York City Library for the BCR festival this summer. The book selected is CJ Sansom’s Sovereign set in Tudor York at the time of HVIII’s Royal Progress. To learn more about York in 1541 and the facts and fictions behind the novel, go to our IPUP commissioned articles by University of York Historians.
What Do You Think You Are Looking At?
IPUP is organizing a Lunchtime workshop on 9th July to bring together York Cultural Institutions (YCIs) to discuss a programme of audience research. IPUP and our YCI partners want to pilot research about resident and visitor understanding of York’s historic environment. Participants include York Minster Revealed, York City Library and Archive, National Railway Museum, York Archaeological Trust, York Museums Trust, York Tourism - and the lunch will include a presentation on audience engagement methodology by Helen Weinstein and Kalliopi Fouseki. The event is from 12 noon to 2pm at Kings Manor KG/O7. Catering included. All welcome.
Questionnaire [rtf document]
See University of York Map for directions to venue.
Belonging Workshop at the Museum of Docklands
Date TBC
Community consultants from the ‘1807 Commemorated’ partnership museums are forging a new research project with IPUP and a group of academics at the University of York participating in the ‘Race and Faith’ network. The 'Belonging' workshop will discuss new ways of researching and producing exhibitions and education projects using community based oral histories and material object collections.
Intoxicated Chair!
Wednesday 20th May 2009
Helen Weinstein is to be Chair of the innovative V&A workshop on ‘The Past and the Present of Intoxicants and Intoxication in Cultural and Historical Perspective’ organized by Angela McShane of the V&A with Philip Withington, Cambridge, a network supported by the ESRC.
See also project website.
After Civilisation: The Past, Present and Future of Art on TV
IPUP is organizing a symposium on 27th May to bring together TV presenters, producers, curators and academics to discuss Art on TV to mark 40 years since 'Civilisation' - the first British colour TV broadcast. Speakers include TV presenters Matt Collings and Nigel Spivey, and TV producers John Wyver and Clare Beavan.
See also the Events page for further details
Heritage Diversity Task Force
April 22nd - Prakash Daswani and Helen Weinstein Co-Chair the Diversifying Audiences Committee at City Hall on April 22nd 2009. Discussion of their draft report for the Mayor’s Commission on African and Asian Heritage. For forthcoming publications contact Makeda Coaston, Senior Cultural Strategist, GLA.
Sound and the Heritage Experience
I Hear Too workshop 20th April at the National Railway Museum, York IPUP is participating as a partner in the EPSRC/AHRC network funding at the University of York to discuss Improving Heritage Experience through Acoustic Reality and Audio Research funded through the WPSRC/AHRC Science and Heritage Programme. Download the powerpoint presentation by Helen Weinstein here. See the report written by IPUP Research Associate, Lucy Sackville, summarizing the speakers and discussion here.
Film Shoot with Artists Emma Biggs & Matthew Collings
April 14th to 24th - This Spring, the IPUP Media Team are making a film with the Mosaicist Emma Biggs and her partner Matthew Collings, TV Presenter of Channel 4’s ‘This is Modern Art’, ‘This is Civilisation’ &c. Lucy Sackville, IPUP Research Associate, has written the guide which is assisting the artists in their contemporary art installation work reflecting the medieval grisaille windows of the Five Sisters at York Minster.
TV Internships
Historians at the University of York are off to studios in London to translate their research skills for two BBC history series, the History of the Navy and a social history documentary about the RAF experience in the Second World War. If you want to sign up for an internship, go to the IPUP intern pages and send in your letter & cv about your research interests. Programmes will be broadcast this Autumn 2009.
Heritage and National Identity Debate
April 1st
IPUP Director, Helen Weinstein, is to present and chair a debate at the National Portrait Gallery on Heritage and National Identity organized by the Mayor’s Commission on African and Asian Heritage. Speakers are Zia Saddar (author of Balti Britain) and Roshi Nadoo (author of The Politics of Heritage) and there will be an hour debate from the floor. All welcome. 2pm to 5pm. Wednesday 1st April, Clore Auditorium, National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London.
Commemorating Henry VIII’S 500th In York
1509-2009 marks 500 years since Henry the VIIIth was crowned King. Helen Weinstein is facilitating IPUP Research Associate, Nadine Lewcyky, to support the Library Service in York to research and organize the Big City Read based on CJ Sansom’s novel about Henry VIII’s Royal Progress to York in 1541. Nadine is planning events, a walking tour, and writing research materials to assist library and museum staff and the york guides in their understanding of York in Tudor Times. Resources available to all here.
Diversifying Audiences in London’s Cultural Sector
March 25th - Helen Weinstein of IPUP and Prakash Daswani of Cultural Cooperation, are to Chair the Heritage Diversity Task Force reporting on Diversifying Audiences. The meeting with heritage, museum, gallery, archive and library practitioners is to be at City Hall, on Wednesday 25th March. Previous report (pdf) Delivering Shared Heritage: Building for the Future
Multiculturalism and Multilingualisms in the Middle Ages
IPUP is working in partnership with Elizabeth Tyler at CMS and her HERA network on a resesarch project with museums to map material culture of the middle ages on to the movement and boundaries of languages, legal systems and ethnic identities in northern europe. Elizabeth’s article for the IPUP webpages on ‘Multiculturalism in the Middle Ages’ is forthcoming here.
Museum Of London ‘1807 Commemorated’ Workshop
‘1807 Commemorated’ workshop led by the IPUP team at the University of York, Laurajane Smith, Geoff Cubitt, Kalliopi Fouseki, Ross Wilson; with Museum of London practitioners and community participants to discuss the findings of this AHRC funded knowledge transfer partnership, especially relating to the exhibition ‘London, Sugar and Slavery’. 1pm to 5pm on 24th March. For more information and to read the project reports follow this link.
Televising History: Wall To Wall
5th March - Director of IPUP, Helen Weinstein is at Wall to Wall production company for the AHRC Televising History Advisory on 5th March. IPUP is in negotiations with the CEO, Alex Graham, to research and write the production history of ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’
Public Histories, Past & Present
Conference at Roehampton University, 28th February, 2009, where ‘1807 Commemorated’ papers will be given by Geoff Cubitt on museum exhibitions to mark 1807 abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and Helen Weinstein on the 2007 media output and the meaning of commissioning and production decision-making.
Back To Civilisation
On February 21st at the Sainsbury Wing Theatre, The National Gallery will mark 40 years since the broadcast of the landmark series Civilisation by Kenneth Clarke. Speakers include Nick Penny, David Attenborough, Simon Schama, Jonathan Conlin, AA Gill. Working in partnership with IPUP, there is a following day conference at York on 25th May with Arts TV producers and presenters, see IPUP events pageto see the After Civilisation programme and register. All welcome.
Taking Liberties
On February 20th University of York historian, Miles Taylor, speaks at the Taking Liberties study day at the British Library, relating to the BL’s major exhibition. Lucy Sackville, IPUP Research Associate, has written a very helpful overview of the perspectives and speakers for the IPUP website to support our IPUP research interests in britishness, citizenship, race and faith identities.
Impact and the Humanities
Helen Weinstein, Director of IPUP, is invited to give evidence on February 19th at the Whitehall Committee about how to evaluate impact with AHRC stakeholders and policy makers at the Department of Industry, Universities & Skills. To see AHRC impact strategy paper download the PDF from the AHRC pages.
Stories of the Stones: YMT In Partnership With IPUP
York Museum Trust is very keen to work in partnership with IPUP on developing the Museum Gardens and the Cultural Quarter. We are submitting an application to the AHRC Science and Heritage programme called the Stories of the Stones. For more information see project pages.
Remembering War: Memory Like Shells
On the 30th and 31st January ‘Remembering War’ is a two day conference at the Wellcome Foundation, Euston Road, London. The oral history project with Helen Weinstein and the veteran Norman Winchester working with the composer, Karen Wimhurst, is going to be performed by the Allegri String Quartet at 7.30pm on 30th January. To book a place go to the Wellcome pages, and to see article and listen to Memory Like Shells go to the IPUP multimedia pages.
IPUP Partnership With YCIS: York Cultural Institutions
Marie Akehurst, IPUP Research Associate, is writing a report for IPUP whereby our IPUP team is going to be meeting individually with York Cultural Institution practitioners to learn about their experience of working with the Humanities at the University of York, and how we can develop closer research partnerships and develop collaborative doctoral awards and knowledge transfer partnerships. If your YCI has not yet been contacted by IPUP, please find us at our email address for developing YCI dialogue and partnerships.
Lucy Sackville Reports on Britishness
IPUP’s Research Associate, Lucy Sackville, has reviewed the landmark exhibition at the British Library with a very comprehensive report to assist with IPUP’s research interest in the cultural and political creation of ‘Britishness’. Read Lucy’s review of Taking Liberties: The Struggle for Britain’s Freedoms and Rights here.
Diversifying Audiences Policy in Cultural Sector
Machel Bogues is joining IPUP as a Research Associate to support the IPUP Director in her work as Co-Chair of Diversifying Audiences for the London Mayor’s Heritage Diversity Task Force. Machel’s opinoin piece and policy paper overviewing diversity policy 200-2009 will be forthcoming on IPUP’s Audiences project pages.