Museums Unwrapped
Museums Unwrapped home page.
Museums Unwrapped was a pilot online publication showcasing the collections of the partners, the Whitworth Art Gallery, the Manchester Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, and the People's History Museum together, recognising that there were common themes and individuals linking our collections. The project led to further collaborations, such as ‘Revealing Histories’, telling shared stories to mark the anniversary of the abolition of transatlantic slavery; and the formation of the North West regional museums hub.
I had introduced MODES software to the Whitworth Art Gallery, spurred on by the long standing ambition of the Whitworth to produce a concise catalogue of the fine art collection. The software, initially DOS-based, was innovative but focused on the cataloguing function hence the acronym (Museum Object Data Entry System). Initially, output from MODES was published to the Manchester Host, a precursor of the internet, and then via FileMaker Pro software to new websites.
The time came to move forward to deal more effectively with multimedia, and publishing online. This was an ambition shared across other museums in Manchester and we seized the opportunity to submit a joint funding bid to research and fund a new collections management system. We chose KE EMu, the product of an Australian company. The company set up an office in Manchester with one member of staff for one year. The success of the venture for KE meant that in 2013 the office now employs 11 staff and there are a large number of UK clients including the Natural History Museum. The Whitworth was the first UK public gallery to publish its collections online, and gained a reputation for innovation in this area which was demonstrated at KE EMu User Group meetings in the UK and USA.
I had introduced MODES software to the Whitworth Art Gallery, spurred on by the long standing ambition of the Whitworth to produce a concise catalogue of the fine art collection. The software, initially DOS-based, was innovative but focused on the cataloguing function hence the acronym (Museum Object Data Entry System). Initially, output from MODES was published to the Manchester Host, a precursor of the internet, and then via FileMaker Pro software to new websites.
The time came to move forward to deal more effectively with multimedia, and publishing online. This was an ambition shared across other museums in Manchester and we seized the opportunity to submit a joint funding bid to research and fund a new collections management system. We chose KE EMu, the product of an Australian company. The company set up an office in Manchester with one member of staff for one year. The success of the venture for KE meant that in 2013 the office now employs 11 staff and there are a large number of UK clients including the Natural History Museum. The Whitworth was the first UK public gallery to publish its collections online, and gained a reputation for innovation in this area which was demonstrated at KE EMu User Group meetings in the UK and USA.
