Programme

What happens when 3,000 young artists “Level Up” from passive viewers to active creators? This isn’t just a temporary exhibition; it’s a strategic blueprint for a future Children’s Art Museum where process is the product and collective agency is the engine. Join us as we explore a living laboratory built about, for, and by children. Discover actionable strategies to scale curiosity and transform an institution into a site where the next generation doesn’t just visit history—they create it. The future of museums is messy, loud, and brilliantly alive.

Hosted by English Heritage and The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH), Inspiring Voices invited young people to explore the stories, people, and landscapes behind England’s most inspiring heritage sites — and turn them into an original poetic response.
Whether writing, filming, recording, or creating visual poetry, this was a chance to bring the past to life through words.

We inspire Gen Z to pursue creative careers by positioning our museums as both workplaces and participatory learning labs. Museums have an opportunity to nurture the next generation of creative proffesionals.

For visitors, we deliver hands‑on creative sessions, drop‑in studios, youth‑led co‑creation exhibits and portfolio‑forming micro‑projects (TikTok reels, mini‑remixes, design workshops) that build real skills and career clarity.

For staff, we provide industry mentorship circles, peer ambassador roles and paid micro‑internships that fast‑track seasonal workers into apprenticeships and permanent roles. Staff contribute to live exhibition and media projects, ensuring career development is practical, visible and rewarding.

How can museums work with young people to co-create meaningful learning about conflict while fostering creative thinking skills? This presentation shares insights from a participatory PhD project co-designing a museum education programme with young people, teachers, community organisations and museum staff using the Ulster Museum’s Troubles and Beyond collection. It explores how creative approaches can help engage young people with difficult heritage while supporting dialogue, critical thinking and peacebuilding. Attendees will gain practical examples of co-design methods and leave with ideas for developing more inclusive, creative and impactful museum learning programmes.

After being forgotten for nearly a century, the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition returned to Wales from the United States in April 2023. Its centenary sparked far more than rediscovery. Through digitisation, crowdsourced transcription and creative engagement, the Petition has become an engine for participation and imagination, inspiring volunteers, educational projects, social media storytelling, broadcast features, a touring stage production and a major new exhibition at the National Library of Wales. This presentation explores how one extraordinary archive transformed from a historic document into a living cultural phenomenon, connecting new generations with Wales’s peace heritage and demonstrating how libraries can turn historical discoveries into new creative movements.

What happens when a football museum invites older women to knit a giant scarf? The National Football Museum’s Joint Scarf Project challenged assumptions about who engages with football heritage and revealed powerful personal stories, memories and connections to our collections. Through a simple creative activity, participants who might not have seen themselves reflected in a football museum became active contributors to interpreting and sharing football history. This session explores how creative making can transform participation, uncover unexpected perspectives, and help museums engage communities who may not initially identify with their subject matter.

What happens when museums make it easier for communities to take up space?

Community Corner grew from repeated requests from Birmingham Museums Trust’s longstanding community partners, who wanted a simple, visible and affordable way to celebrate personal stories in a meaningful space.

In response, BMT created a flexible display space that strips back the usual barriers, resulting in a relaxed and accessible way for communities to share work, host conversations and connect with audiences.

Find out how one simple pegboard became a powerful tool for relationship-building, belonging and community-led programming.

Learn how The Museum expanded engagement for adult audiences through interdisciplinary artist-led responses to the collection. The Explorations series is talk-based and interpretive with a focus placed upon an artist’s personal dialogue with, rather than musings about, particular artworks. Artists are invited to be in conversation with artworks through methodologies that capitalize upon their expertise in their respective discipline(s) and expand personal lines of inquiry while opening new entry points for audiences. The platform encourages experimentation and is designed to offer guests a singular experience that can only happen at The Met through generous and vulnerable engagements that belie didactics.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s teen community engagement initiative connected with local teens by distributing 2,000 postcards and collecting over 600 drawings for display. These student submissions were inspired by two instructional videos where local teaching artists led drawing lessons inspired by curatorial themes found within the American art galleries. As museums strive for community relevance, this initiative achieved both deep curatorial engagement and wide community reach. Along with supporting teachers with a classroom activity, displaying student artwork transformed the museum into a community hub, successfully welcoming new families and first-time visitors to celebrate youth perspectives.

Educators from the Saint Louis Art Museum will share how a grant-funded initiative became a testing ground for playful, audience-centered programs designed to welcome visitors who may not traditionally see the Museum as a place for them. Through four case studies—Baby & Me, Gallery Laughs, Dog Days of Summer, and University Day—participants will explore how to identify audience needs, build authentic community partnerships, evaluate programs in real time, and adapt when things don’t go as planned. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for designing bold, responsive programs that reduce barriers, deepen engagement, and create lasting connections.