BAFM SOUTH EAST - SOUTHERN AREA
SOUTH EAST SOUTHERN AREA REP: ANNE STOBO
I am very pleased although somewhat daunted to be the new South East Southern Representative for BAFM. I am a Scot, but have lived in Tunbridge Wells for 27 years. Five years ago I was asked to set up a Friends’ Group in Tunbridge Wells and was greatly helped and supported in this by Jean Knight the then BAFM representative. I was Chair for three years and am now a committee member. Tunbridge Wells is world famous for Tunbridge Ware and we recently commissioned and launched a booklet about it at our recent AGM. I am very glad to be involved with BAFM in these difficult economic times and feel that any help and support that we can give one another will be invaluable to us all.
Conference Report 2011 - by Ann Stobo
‘Partnership in Action’ was the theme of the day and we were delighted that the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Mrs Elizabeth Thomas, was able to welcome Mr Geoffrey Williams, The Chair of BAFM, and all the delegates to the Area Day Conference.
Tunbridge Wells Museum Library and Art Gallery are fortunate in that they share a site, and Jo Wiltcher, the museum manager, illustrated in her very interesting presentation ‘Working in Partnership’ the many and varied ways in which the Museum Library and Art Gallery collaborate and interact throughout the year. Dr Ian Beavis further illustrated this point with his presentation ‘Sharing Collections’ and two local artists completed the morning’s events with their presentation ‘The Museum as Muse’. This was a fascinating project whereby local artists were ‘let loose’ in the archives to see where their inspiration would lead them. Ellen Montelius a photographer presented her work and the morning was completed by Mara Bregman reading a very poignant poem, ‘Broken Dolls’.
Over a lively buffet lunch many views and ideas were exchanged, surely one of the benefits of an Area Day! We were fortunate enough to have a wide representation of members from as far apart as the Museum of Kent Life in the east to the Rural Life Centre Old Kiln Museum in the west.
After lunch a highly informative and interesting tour of the Decimus Burton buildings in Calverley New Town was conducted by Dr Philip Whitbourn OBE. The delegates then returned to Tunbridge Wells Art Gallery where Dr Ian Beavis gave an amazing overview of the current exhibition, ‘A Victorian View’. The Friends through their fund raising activities had funded the restoration of some of the frames of the paintings on show and indeed there was a painting for view which hadn’t been exhibited since its last outing at The Royal Academy in 1905.
The day’s events finished off with a lively forum where the delegates were asked to discuss and consider the following: Who is my BAFM Neighbour? The points for consideration being; Do you share meetings/exhibitions? Is there common ground between you or are you completely different? Would you like to partner a bigger/smaller group? How best do you think we can share our expertise, good practice across the Area?
The resulting views from this were mixed and varied but it was generally agreed that, in everyone interests, we need to communicate and share in order to increase our influence at a National level.
I am pleased that this, my first BAFM Area Day, went so well, although I should have liked each organisation across the Area to be represented - maybe next year? I hope everyone went away from it with a feeling of enthusiasm and a new sense of Friendship and support, I look forward to welcoming many more of you to next year’s event.
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