Projects & Volunteering
Friends are very active in support of the three Museums in Maidstone – through voluntary work, promoting the profiles of their work and collections, and by raising money to assist them.
Presented below are projects that we are pursuing at present, and often how you can get involved. There are both Small Projects and Major Projects – some we support every year or every other year depending on the longer term commitment.
On a sub page, ‘Past Projects’, we list those projects we have supported over the last 10 years. They demonstrate the significant support we have given the Museums over this period.
Types of Funding Support
Friends’ finance is considered against the situation of the MMF Board’s current accounts and forward budget. MMF meets three types of need for the Museums.
Operational Costs – selectively we support ongoing revenue costs. These Museums, like most across the Country, are facing considerable pressures to their usual income sources. We support where we can.
Small Projects – the identification of on-going shortfalls involving small sums of money (normally less than £5,000 per project). These can be – the restoration of an artwork or artefact, orientation materials, or the purchase of a small item of equipment, etc.
Major Projects – the identification of significant capital works needed, consistent with the Museums’ medium term plan.
The project(s) will always ensure that it can:
- be of long term benefit for the Museums,
- be value for money, and
- be sustainable beyond the project itself.
Naturally, any such major project would be led by Museum staff, but the Friends are a contributor in full project planning.
Normally, the Friends will only pursue one major project at a time, because fundraising may take many years; clarity needs to be given to the Museums’ Friends, and other supporters, about the relevant fundraising ‘campaign’; and all efforts (by the Friends and Museums) need to be concentrated on one objective at a time.
Financial support is gained through applications to grant-giving trusts, local fund-raising activities, individual Friend’s support, and other donations.
You can contribute financially to these efforts by clicking the button at the top of the page – ‘To help these Projects please make a Donation’.
Small Projects
Maidstone Young Artist of the Year Award – 2024
Friends provided support to the costs of this award, aimed at young people in Kent. This biennial award was awarded for the third time. MMF contributed £800
The theme this year was “Metamorphosis”.
There were two age categories:
15 – 25 Years
1st Prize – Nelly Adams (18), ‘Self Portrait in Red Kimono’ in acrylic paint and mixed media on board. Won £250.
Runner-up – Rebekah Beavington, ‘Memories’ in mixed media. Won £100.
14 Years and Under
1st Prize – Nelly Adams (12), ‘Freedom’ in a fineliner pen drawing. Won £250
Runner-up – Sophia Fleming, ‘Hare with Carrot’. Won £100
Local artist, Graham Clarke chaired the judging panel and was to have announced the award winners at a ceremony in the Museum on 7th February 2024. Unfortunately he was unable to attend the presentation but Cllr Claudine Russell, Cabinet Member for Communities, Leisure and Arts for Maidstone Borough Council, presented the prize money and certificates to the winners and runners-ups
Together with the Museum, MMF announced this award for 2024. Intended always as a biennial award, it has run before in 2019 and 2022. It was interrupted in 2021 by Covid. Each competition has a theme & in 2024 this is “metamorphosis (changes)”.
As with all these awards, MMF is providing financial support to the costs.There are two age categories = for 15-25 years and 14 and under, with both categories receiving 1st prizes of £250 and runners up receive £100.
A great number of entries have been received, with wonderful ideas and artwork presented.
The judging of them takes place during the afternoon of Wednesday 7th February 2024. The presentations will take place that evening (in the Museum) starting at 6pm (doors open 5.30pm). Invitations to the presentations will be issued in the coming weeks.
Heritage Design Challenge - 2023
Friends provided full support to the costs of this second competition. It encouraged young people from schools across Kent, to create a product inspired by an artefact they saw during a Museum visit.
Many entries were received, and it was a very high quality field creating a real challenge for the judges. The outcome was that the panel of judges decided to select 4 pupils winning runner up awards. The winner and four runners up pupils have the opportunity to use their financial prize prize to make their object for sale in the Museum shop for less than £10. The winner collected £200 and each runner up £50.
All Challenge winners’ efforts were on display for an Award Evening held in the Friends’ shop before an audience of parents, teachers, MMF members and trustees, and MBC Councillors on Thursday 28th September. This showed the entrants’ thinking in designing and manufacturing the object. A Museum representative explained that final objects are on sale in the Museum shop from Friday 29th September (ie now).
Councillor Gordon Newton, Mayor of Maidstone Borough Council presented the awards.
The exhibition of the pupils’ efforts will be on display in the shop until Christmas, at least.
It has been agreed to hold this challenge again in 2025, making it a bi-ennial competition.
Heritage Design Challenge - 2022
Friends provided full support to the costs of this inaugural competition. Devised and overseen by MMF Trustee, Janette Lloyd, it encouraged young people from schools across Kent, to create a product inspired by an artefact they saw during a Museum visit.
40 entries were received, with winners (in two school age groups – Junior & Senior) having the opportunity to use their £200 prize to make their object for sale in the museum shop.
Sir Robert Worcester, President of MMF presented the awards – £800
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Major Projects
Lives in Our Landscape - 2022
The Museum has embarked on an ambitious plan to totally renovate the current Archaeology Gallery – to be called “Lives in Our Landscape”. The gallery will be moved from the first floor to the Westspace on the ground floor (formerly the café).
On display will be objects from a great span of time – from 400,000 to 500 years ago – telling a coherent story about the time and place where they originated and, most importantly, about the people who made and used them. The new gallery will bring people alive, using state of the art scientific analysis to enable digital reconstruction of individuals and up-to-the-minute research to understand and interpret the societies they lived in.
The gallery will be fully accessible both physically and intellectually. There will be impressive displays, and interpretation will include text at lower levels for wheelchair users and children. Audio recordings will be produced for those who are sight-impaired, and in addition there will be large font alternatives and tactile displays that are meant to be touched.
The Museum wants to continue to embrace learning for everyone – Museum visits are integral to the National Curriculum, and an area within the gallery for schools’ use is planned (in addition to other educational spaces already within the Museum).
The redevelopment will provide an opportunity to display many more of the Museum’s objects which are currently in storage, making them accessible for recording, research and display for the first time.
The cost of all the work will be in the region of £600,000, of which Maidstone Borough Council is contributing £390,000.
Maidstone Museums’ Foundation is fully supportive of this project, and in March 2022 the board set itself a target of raising £100,000. To start the ball rolling the MMF Board contributed £5,000 from our reserves, and submitted applications for funding to other local charities and appeals to Friends.
We are delighted to report that on 24th December 2022 the Foundation reached its campaign target of £100,000. A big thank you to everyone who donated towards this project.
The other good news is that the total predicted gallery costs of £600,000 are now in place. Further that (at January 2024() work is well underway, aiming for opening in May 2024.
If you would like further information please contact info@maidstonemuseumsfriends.org.uk
Volunteering
Friends of the Museums Shop
Since 2019 the Friends have been operating a pop-up shop in Fremlins Walk Precinct – at no cost. We are grateful to the Management Company of Fremlin Walk for making this possible. MMF trustees provide volunteers to staff the premises, on:-
Fridays and Saturdays, 10am to 3pm.
The shop has four purposes:
1) selling work by Kentish artist, Geoffrey Hall. The artwork includes prints, cards, place mats and coasters We also sell other items as appropriate. All proceeds from these sales go to MMF to support the Museums;
2) raise the profile of the Museums. There are various posters and flyers regarding special exhibitions (by the Museums and MMF), 2 large model dinosaurs, a dinosaur egg, an alligator, brass rubbing opportunities, and a display of photographs from historic Maidstone. And we have an Elmer – a model elephant that was on display (along with others) around the town over Summer 2021.
We also provide an advisory service about the Museums.
3) space for MMF talks, receptions and meetings. Board meetings are held here, and the events programme commenced in early September 2021. See the ‘Events’ page for the full list of future talks.
4) opportunities for partner arts organisations to exhibit here. Thus helping to further the broader ‘Creative Maidstone’ image.
Additional volunteers to work in the shop are always welcome – even if it is only possible for an hour at a time.
If you are interested in helping, please contact:- info@maidstonemuseumsfriends.org.uk
Wednesday Gardening Club
Friends have a Gardening Club, held at the main Museum (St. Faiths Street) on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Work starts at 10am and lasts no longer than 2 hours. The objective is to maintain the three open spaces at the Museums – the Courtyard in front of the Tudor part of the building, the Godiva courtyard to the rear of the main staircase near the Bentlif library, and the gardens at the rear of the Tudor part of the building. There is always something to do – dead heading, weeding, clearing areas and planting.
The dates for 2024 are:
Wednesday 14th February
Wednesday 13th March
Wednesday 10th April
Wednesday 8th May
Wednesday 12th June
Wednesday 10th July
Wednesday 14th August
Wednesday 11th September
Wednesday 9th October
Wednesday 13th November
Wednesday 11th December
We welcome any Friends who wish to participate. If you would like to offer your services to the gardening club please contact:-
info@maidstonemuseumsfriends.org.uk
AND ADDITIONAL GREAT NEWS – weekly help
Involve Kent and Maidstone Borough Council are delighted to include Maidstone Museum in their exciting new project to spruce up town centre green spaces. The project, which is funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, aims to improve Maidstone town centre green spaces over the next two years with the help of local volunteers. All volunteers are led by Involve’s Horticultural Wellbeing Coordinator, Linda Whitehead, and can get involved as often or as little as they wish. No previous gardening knowledge or experience is needed, just a willingness to help out and make a difference in your local area. Linda will share some of her gardening expertise so there is opportunity to pick up some tips and learn new skills. Linda and the team are coming along to Maidstone Museum on every Wednesday morning and have been focussing on tidying the main courtyard and refreshing the beds and planters. The planting scheme will include some Tudor plants to complement the beautiful Tudor building. There are plans to introduce some new planters to the inner courtyard.
For more details about how to get involved, please email grow@involvekent.org.uk or pop along for a chat with us at 10am on Wednesdays at the museum.
