Cobby, H (2026) Collaborative futures: reimagining university collections through partnership and institutional change. In: University Museums: Today, Tomorrow, Together - University Museums Group Conference, 15 June 2026, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.
Abstract
The session explores 'Drawing Together', a touring exhibition and experimental partnership between Bath Spa University (BSU) Collections, Chippenham Museum and Salisbury’s Young Gallery, marking the 80th anniversary of the Bath Academy of Art at Corsham Court (a precursor to BSU today). It asks what collaborative, socially responsible and sustainable models for university museums might look like today - particularly for those with moving walls, shared spaces or no permanent museum space at all. The project uses overlooked collections, and invites BSU students from multiple disciplines and Schools as collaborators, to test new approaches to exhibition-making, partnership development and knowledge exchange across a professionally creative university and regional museums. Centred on 20th-century British art school teaching practices, the initiative connects historical approaches to creativity and observation with contemporary concerns around wellbeing, participation and belonging. In this way, it responds to changing landscapes within higher education and museums, including growing emphasis on civic engagement and public impact, pressures on arts and humanities provision, changing student demographics, and increasing workload and sustainability challenges for staff and institutions. The partnership is also testing new institutional processes and approaches to cultural leadership, informed partly by the West of England’s new Citizens for Culture plan. Working through iterative and emergent outcomes has prompted reflection on how universities support experimental collaboration, including governance, ethics, evaluation and partnership structures that often prioritise fixed outcomes over emerging practice. The session will share learning from this live project and invite discussion around how university museums and collections can develop more imaginative and flexible collaborative futures that build upon local placemaking legacies.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Note: | Presented as part of the 'Partnerships, Collaboration and Advocacy' session. |
| Divisions: | Professional Services |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Nov 2026 18:29 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Nov 2026 18:29 |
| URN: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/18051 |
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