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In 2013 Fylde DFAS (changed 2017 to The Art Society, Fylde), a local arts education society, received a grant of £24,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. In partnership with the Friends of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection we embarked on a venture called ‘Tagging the Treasures’. The aim of the project was to research artists, artworks and donors of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection in order to produce an online and printed catalogue, thus making images and information about the Collection fully accessible for the first time. We wanted to inform and create awareness of the Collection and its importance to local culture and heritage.
Volunteers were recruited from our diverse community and were given the opportunity to receive training, visit museums and art galleries and study books, websites and records, including Council Minutes, to search for clues about donations. Unfortunately, many artefacts that are mentioned in the Council Minutes can no longer be found in the Collection. Add to this some generous lending practices in the mid-twentieth century, and lack of suitable storage space, and you begin to get a picture of the challenge that researching this Collection presented.
One large drawback was that we did not have access to the artworks as they are mostly in storage or hung in the Town Hall. Fortunately, in 2012, the Public Catalogue Foundation, now known as Art UK, had photographed our oil paintings so we were able to make A4 laminated images for researchers and make a start; other artworks were photographed at a later date.
We had a clear line of communication with the public bodies involved in managing and making decisions about the Collection. Project visibility was important to recruit volunteers and raise public awareness; partners and interested groups were identified. Our most important partner was the Friends of Lytham St Annes Art Collection as we shared many of the same objectives. Posters were displayed, flyers distributed at talks and lectures and displays put up at community events. Promotional articles were placed in local society and group newsletters.
We created a user-friendly, dedicated website to host our online catalogue, which provided immediate access to the research; we also used social media.
Volunteers working at home came together at monthly coffee mornings to share useful resources and discuss problems encountered. They were given a clear understanding of the project’s aims and objectives, how they could contribute and gave them an opportunity to help shape the project by volunteering for various roles. We also presented three exhibitions and with each one our knowledge and skills increased.
A whole series of training courses, research events and tools were made available. We gained new skills and an understanding and appreciation of conservation and the work of the Museum Service. Volunteers learnt how to research aspects of museum curatorial skills in order to promote care for the Collection and present exhibitions. This knowledge and enthusiasm was filtered through to the public at numerous events in order to promote the value of conserving and protecting the Collection for future generations.
Researchers have been very passionate about the project and would discuss it with everyone willing to listen, including local radio stations. The local press have been very supportive of the project and have published articles on a regular basis. Throughout, we have taken our portable banner and information display boards to numerous locations, open days and roadshows. This enabled us to recruit and talk to members of the community. The team also took part in the annual Heritage Open Days held at the Town Hall. This gave volunteers the opportunity to facilitate and guide visitors around works of art that are not normally accessible to the public, thus utilising their growing expertise in informing and inspiring the community. We have also presented talks to over 2000 local people to raise awareness and recruit volunteers.
Our free lectures, The Origins of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection and Mud, Manure & the Silk Road by Heather Davis and Substance and Shadow: Victorian Art and Society by Michael Howard were further opportunities to display and publicise the project. Open to the public, these popular lectures generated further enthusiasm and support.
Three exhibitions were presented at the Fylde Gallery, Booths Food, Wine and Grocery Store, Lytham; Images of Summer, The Art of Travel and The Art of Giving, 90th Anniversary of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection. This last exhibition focused on the donors and the act of philanthropy. We sought to give the works a degree of historical context by highlighting what else was going on in Lytham St Annes when they were donated. This exhibition was unique in that it was the first exhibition that had been completely curated by volunteers, although the Museum Service was still on hand to advise and build the exhibition as insurance was prohibitive.
This project has increased awareness of our Town’s Collection and how it forms an integral part of local heritage; the importance of access, storage, conservation and its potential for future education and scholarship. A range of information about the Collection is now in the public domain in the form of a comprehensive online catalogue and a printed catalogue.
Jacqueline Love (nee Arundel)
Tagging the Treasures
Project Manager Click Here to see detailed Evaluation Report
“I have been astounded at the success of the Tagging the Treasures Project created by the Fylde Decorative and Fine Arts Society. I heartily congratulate everyone who has been part of it.
I created the Friends to raise awareness of the Collection and to raise funds for its conservation. The TTT Project has meant that awareness has increased exponentially and I believe a new army of people has emerged who value this, our heritage, and want to make it available. The Friends will continue to work for the Collection and support any efforts to further its promotion and maintenance.” Margaret Race – Chair of the Friends of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection
Volunteers were recruited from our diverse community and were given the opportunity to receive training, visit museums and art galleries and study books, websites and records, including Council Minutes, to search for clues about donations. Unfortunately, many artefacts that are mentioned in the Council Minutes can no longer be found in the Collection. Add to this some generous lending practices in the mid-twentieth century, and lack of suitable storage space, and you begin to get a picture of the challenge that researching this Collection presented.
One large drawback was that we did not have access to the artworks as they are mostly in storage or hung in the Town Hall. Fortunately, in 2012, the Public Catalogue Foundation, now known as Art UK, had photographed our oil paintings so we were able to make A4 laminated images for researchers and make a start; other artworks were photographed at a later date.
We had a clear line of communication with the public bodies involved in managing and making decisions about the Collection. Project visibility was important to recruit volunteers and raise public awareness; partners and interested groups were identified. Our most important partner was the Friends of Lytham St Annes Art Collection as we shared many of the same objectives. Posters were displayed, flyers distributed at talks and lectures and displays put up at community events. Promotional articles were placed in local society and group newsletters.
We created a user-friendly, dedicated website to host our online catalogue, which provided immediate access to the research; we also used social media.
Volunteers working at home came together at monthly coffee mornings to share useful resources and discuss problems encountered. They were given a clear understanding of the project’s aims and objectives, how they could contribute and gave them an opportunity to help shape the project by volunteering for various roles. We also presented three exhibitions and with each one our knowledge and skills increased.
A whole series of training courses, research events and tools were made available. We gained new skills and an understanding and appreciation of conservation and the work of the Museum Service. Volunteers learnt how to research aspects of museum curatorial skills in order to promote care for the Collection and present exhibitions. This knowledge and enthusiasm was filtered through to the public at numerous events in order to promote the value of conserving and protecting the Collection for future generations.
Researchers have been very passionate about the project and would discuss it with everyone willing to listen, including local radio stations. The local press have been very supportive of the project and have published articles on a regular basis. Throughout, we have taken our portable banner and information display boards to numerous locations, open days and roadshows. This enabled us to recruit and talk to members of the community. The team also took part in the annual Heritage Open Days held at the Town Hall. This gave volunteers the opportunity to facilitate and guide visitors around works of art that are not normally accessible to the public, thus utilising their growing expertise in informing and inspiring the community. We have also presented talks to over 2000 local people to raise awareness and recruit volunteers.
Our free lectures, The Origins of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection and Mud, Manure & the Silk Road by Heather Davis and Substance and Shadow: Victorian Art and Society by Michael Howard were further opportunities to display and publicise the project. Open to the public, these popular lectures generated further enthusiasm and support.
Three exhibitions were presented at the Fylde Gallery, Booths Food, Wine and Grocery Store, Lytham; Images of Summer, The Art of Travel and The Art of Giving, 90th Anniversary of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection. This last exhibition focused on the donors and the act of philanthropy. We sought to give the works a degree of historical context by highlighting what else was going on in Lytham St Annes when they were donated. This exhibition was unique in that it was the first exhibition that had been completely curated by volunteers, although the Museum Service was still on hand to advise and build the exhibition as insurance was prohibitive.
This project has increased awareness of our Town’s Collection and how it forms an integral part of local heritage; the importance of access, storage, conservation and its potential for future education and scholarship. A range of information about the Collection is now in the public domain in the form of a comprehensive online catalogue and a printed catalogue.
Jacqueline Love (nee Arundel)
Tagging the Treasures
Project Manager Click Here to see detailed Evaluation Report
“I have been astounded at the success of the Tagging the Treasures Project created by the Fylde Decorative and Fine Arts Society. I heartily congratulate everyone who has been part of it.
I created the Friends to raise awareness of the Collection and to raise funds for its conservation. The TTT Project has meant that awareness has increased exponentially and I believe a new army of people has emerged who value this, our heritage, and want to make it available. The Friends will continue to work for the Collection and support any efforts to further its promotion and maintenance.” Margaret Race – Chair of the Friends of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection
