Really hate starting off with such a cliché title but I can’t think of any other words that explains what I witnessed last week at Young Rewired State in Birmingham UK.

For those who don’t know, Young Rewired State Festival of Code is:

Young Rewired State is a worldwide community of digital makers aged 18 and under. We introduce them to like-minded peers, and expert mentors, at free events around the world, where they use freely available open data to build apps, websites and algorithms to solve real world challenges.

Young Rewired State aims are to (from their website):

• Find and foster a community of young coders and digital makers
• Get them ‘civic hacking’ together: using their skills, to improve their communities
• Promote peer to peer learning
• Provide a fun, inclusive and supportive environment
• Equip these young people with the skills to become the tech stars of tomorrow

I’ve heard and followed YRS for a few years but it always seemed like I was travelling during the events. But this year Emma and Ruth caught me early in the planning and I was able to put it pride and place in my calendar. I was honoured to be asked to be a judge even though I had no idea what that meant….

When I arrived at ICC in Birmingham, a place I have been to many times, I felt an electric vibe I have never felt before. I walked up the to the main floor of the event and BAM! The explosion of excitement hit an elevation I didn’t know possible. Kids coding, excitedly, happily – with a splash of annoyance when it wasn’t working. Read the rest of this entry »

Full disclosure: I’m working on the social media for the ILoveMuseums.com campaign.

The concept behind the campaign is to get enough signatures on a petitions to show government that we care about museums and can’t afford any more cuts to funding and budgets and still survive. I Love Museums is a campaign led by the National Museum Directors’ Council with support from: Arts Council England, Association of Independent Museums, Culture24, Museums Association, The Art Fund, University Museums Group, Army Museums Ogilby Trust.

I Love Museums launched in June, after the elections with a day of trending and people worldwide filling in the statement #ILoveMuseums because _______. There were over 1200 signatures in one day.

Since then, not much.  We’ve have had people sharing visits with #ILoveMuseums but the support has seemed to wean off.

Last week I attended a debate at Parliament as MP Robert Jenrick asked for a ballot on Regional support for the arts.  I went representing I Love Museums to live tweet (see Storify here). The #artsfunding debate is similar to #ILoveMuseums:  stop the cuts and support museums and galleries outside of London as much as those in London.

Much of the public money that goes into the arts is channelled through Arts Council England (ACE), which receives a direct grant from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), as well as distributing Lottery grants. As part of the general squeeze on public finances, the last Parliament saw significant reductions in the funds set aside for the arts. Some people feel that ‘prestige’, London-based organisations – galleries and museums, theatre, opera and ballet companies, orchestras, etc – continue to get preferential treatment from funders.

With the launch of its investment plans for 2015-18 in July 2014, ACE signalled its determination to rectify historic imbalances between London and the rest of England. There were specific initiatives to build capacity outside London, to encourage cultural communities to grow and to encourage touring.

After struggling to get the I Love Museums petition to 1500 sign ups, I tweeted this morning:

Having a hard time understanding why there is such a struggle to get people to sign the @ILoveMuseums petition. Any ideas? #ILoveMuseums

— Mar Dixon (@MarDixon) July 19, 2015

Some of the answers:

@MarDixon Maybe not publicised enough? Maybe not grass roots enough? Maybe not sure what it is for? Maybe bigger thing better for petition?

— Alexandra Woodall (@alexwoodall) July 19, 2015

@MarDixon @ILoveMuseums could be lack a clear goal. Museums won’t close if I don’t sign the petition. There is no clear threat to fight for.

— Kippelboy (@Kippelboy) July 19, 2015

@MarDixon @ILoveMuseums will it make a difference? We had a petition of 2,180 for Bromley Museum and wrote to councillors/MPS made no impact

— Tincture Of Museum (@TinctureOfMuse) July 19, 2015

@MarDixon @ILoveMuseums Perversely, perhaps because it is positive? Many Internet petitions are based on language like “stop” or “ban”.

— Adrian Murphy (@acediscovery) July 19, 2015

@MarDixon@ILoveMuseums Because people don’t yet see a severe and immediate threat?

— Frieda Midgley (@Frieda_M) July 19, 2015

My question to you:  What can we do to get you to take #ILoveMuseums and the #ArtsFunding debate seriously?  Why do we constantly have to wait until we have a fight on our hands to show the love and respect we have for our culture? 

As a strong supporter of NHS, libraries, young people and more, I know how tiring it is to always seem like we’re signing one petition over the other.  I get it.  But I also get we can NOT stop letting our voices heard.  I Love Museums has the right partners and right people behind it – we just need the public to know this is about their access to culture for all! 

Actions:

• Please sign the petition
• Download the resources and share
• Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr

Further Reading:

• I Love Museums website
• House of Common Library Regional support for the arts

I was not going to write about ACE Funding / NPO Day but I’ve been following the stream on Twitter since 7.30am and can’t believe some of the emotions coming out in 140 characters.

As someone who has a major hate/hate relationship with ACE, it’s easy for me to spend my time bashing them and their work.  [For the record, my issue is to do with their forms, not the people!] But this isn’t about that.

Starting at about 8.30, I started to see congratulatory tweets – mainly theater based companies.  By 9.30 the hashtag was overrun with … really don’t want to say winners and losers.  How about we say successful and unsuccessful applicants.

Read the rest of this entry »

Background:  After the launch of the Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport  Sajid Javid, recent report, a few of us had a … healthy discussion on Twitter.  Whilst I love Twitter, sometimes the 140 characters really limit a good debate, hence this Guest Blog.  What are your thoughts? 

Diversifying cultural audiences

The nature of adversarial politics has changed dramatically over the past twenty years. Where once parties argued into the night over positions that were ideologically opposed, we now seem to operate in a consensus where the argument is just who is better able to fix the problem. It’s like we all secretly agreed a narrative overnight, and now there is just accepted wisdom on the environment, on the economy, on health, on welfare, and even on culture.

Read the rest of this entry »

“It’s an emotional luxury product,” Stuart Miles of gadget site Pocket Lint  “One that you do not need but once you have it you will find ways to use it.”

Surprisingly, this quote is not about Glass but was said at the launch of iPads back in 2010. Now (2014) there are hundreds of example of iPads changing lives for students and those with disabilities.

Since posting that I’ve a pair of Glass, I’ve been asked a lot of questions and somehow been involved with several debates. Hopefully, I can address some of the replies here: Read the rest of this entry »