Project Updates Ipswich Museum Young Associates programme has been launched!

Ipswich Museum Young Associates programme has been launched!

21 August 2024

Ipswich Museum Young Associates (IMYA) has launched! The IMYA is a group of young people aged 14 – 25, who will gain insight into the museum sector and develop new and existing skills to shape their own events. Through regular meetings once a month, they will have the opportunity to collaborate, participate, learn and develop transferable skills, whilst engaging with our collections and professionals in their field. They will also lead an event at Ipswich Museum once a year with the hope that the Museum will be able to encourage more young people within this age range to visit the new museum.

Everything will be entirely led by the young people and their interests, including what the meetings in the programme might look like. Truly inhabiting a ‘by and for young people’ ethos.

Jade-Marie O’Grady, Community Engagement & Participation Officer says: ‘To really get to grips with how this would work and really be beneficial to young people, I felt it was important to talk to young people and get them involved right from the very beginning. By partnering up with Community Hub Ipswich (CHIP), Young Artists in Suffolk and Wolsey 550, we were able to start with an initial group who told us what they thought about what we are trying to do. They were also the ones who came up with the idea of the launch event, content and flyer design.’

On the 26^thof July, the launch was a truly exciting and relaxing experience for everyone involved. There was a tour with one of the curators around the current exhibition in Christchurch Mansion – An Eye For Life: Photography by John Ferguson – where they were able to gain an insight into how it was curated. Many came away from that feeling inspired. Next up was telling stories around artefacts the group had brought in, from stories around cinema tickets, badges, objects handed down to them by family members, to things people had found during a walk. Local artist Lily Hammond ran an illustration workshop sharing how she comes up with her ideas. The workshop was a great opportunity for the group to create their own drawings inspired by their own objects and the ceramics displayed at Christchurch Mansion.

We are looking forward to working with the group and seeing what type of events they come up with, starting with the next meeting on Tuesday 27^th August where we will delve a bit deeper into the group’s interests and share the new museum plans and designs.

We are still welcoming young people to join Ipswich Museum Young Associates, so if you would like to find out more and sign up please contact Jade-marie.anderson@colchester.gov.uk

Please see below for upcoming meetings, dates and times:

27th August 2024: 5:30pm – 7pm: Ipswich Museum Plans and Designs at CHIP (Community Hub Ipswich)

24th September 2024: 5:30 – 7pm: Behind the scenes store tour at Christchurch Mansion

22nd October 2024: 5:30 – 6:30pm at CHIP (Community Hub Ipswich)

26th November 2024: 5:30 – 6:30pm at Christchurch Mansion

28^th January 2025 at CHIP (Community Hub Ipswich)

25^th February 2025 at Christchurch Mansion

25^th March 2025 at CHIP (Community Hub Ipswich)

22^nd April 2025 at Christchurch Mansion

27^th May 2025 at CHIP (Community Hub Ipswich)

24^th June 2025 at Christchurch Mansion

22^nd July 2025 at CHIP (Community Hub Ipswich)