Volunteer Symposium
Join this inaugural event on 28 & 29 July 2025
Museums of History NSW is excited to be partnering with Museums & Galleries of NSW to host the inaugural Volunteer Symposium for NSW Regional and Community-run Museums in July 2025.
The two-day Symposium is targeted at volunteers who work in the small-medium museum sector in regional NSW and those workers who support them. The Symposium features Keynote Sessions on strategies for volunteer museums, succession planning, First Nations engagement and schools in museums.
There are many breakout sessions, some involving hands-on demonstrations, running concurrently across the two days. These include: textile collections care, archival collections care, label writing, collections management – including documentation, AI in museums, researching your collection, marketing, engaging children in museums, storytelling, grants and funding, significance assessments, tour guiding, and an introduction to the State Archives Collection and the Caroline Simpson Library.
Date: 28 & 29 July 2025
Address: The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney
For further information X
Bursaries and assistance with travel X
Speakers
Mark Creyton
Mark Creyton has extensive experience in developing and enhancing volunteer programs in a variety of sectors, including the cultural sector, and has taken an active role in national research projects for Volunteering Australia and the new National Standards for Volunteer Involvement. He was education and research director for Volunteering Queensland for many years and has worked with more than 15,000 community groups and initiatives.
Mark provides a range of masterclass programs in leading volunteer programs and consulting in this field. He has a passion for grassroots leadership and all volunteer groups and works with communities to build capacity for local programs and initiatives.
Peter White
With over 30 years of experience in the creative and cultural heritage sector, Peter White, a proud Gamilaroi Murri, leads First Nations Cultural Engagement and Strategy at Museums of History NSW. His mission is through championing the cultural rights of First Peoples communities, tangible and mutually beneficial outcomes are insured in protecting and strengthening cultural practices and mainstream sector engagement.
Excelling in formulating and delivering culturally appropriate strategic approaches and program development, and fostering extensive networks across arts, community, public, private, and education sectors, Peter is a recognised transformational and strategic leader within the First Nations cultural sector.
Rebecca Kummerfeld
With over 30 years of experience in the creative and cultural heritage sector, Peter White, a proud Gamilaroi Murri, leads First Nations Cultural Engagement and Strategy at Museums of History NSW. His mission is through championing the cultural rights of First Peoples communities, tangible and mutually beneficial outcomes are insured in protecting and strengthening cultural practices and mainstream sector engagement.
Excelling in formulating and delivering culturally appropriate strategic approaches and program development, and fostering extensive networks across arts, community, public, private, and education sectors, Peter is a recognised transformational and strategic leader within the First Nations cultural sector.
Keynote sessions
Mark Creyton
In these two sessions participants will go beyond discussions of recruitment and retention to exploring strategies to build resilient and sustainable volunteer-run museums.
Volunteer strategies for small museums: from planning to fully engaging
This session will provide the opportunity for participants to consider the new landscape of volunteering and what are their museum’s unique rationale, ethos and model for involving and working with volunteers. We will explore strategies to better communicate the engagement message and to work with different volunteer motivations, from those seeking experience to episodic and project volunteers. We will also delve into how to create effective early involvement and how to build and strengthen connections.
- Creating the culture, ethos and space for volunteering
- Considering volunteer opportunities and meaningfully connecting with volunteers
- Engaging volunteers in the unique work and culture of the museum
Succession planning for small museums: from building belonging to preparing for leadership
This session will explore how to create sustainable volunteer programs. We will examine how to transition from volunteers ‘helping out’ to volunteers actively involved as an integral part of the work of the museum, and ways to meaningfully sustain volunteer motivations. We will look at practical forms of enabling and creating leadership opportunities for volunteers and discuss succession planning and evaluation.
• Building belonging
• Preparing for leadership and succession
• Continuing to evolve and improve
Rebecca Kummerfeld
What teachers want from your museum
Discover ways to connect with teachers to encourage school groups to visit your museum. Consider the way your museum collection connects with the school curriculum, what teachers look for in a museum visit and simple ways to make your museum engaging and relevant for school groups.
Peter White
AMAGA First Peoples: A Roadmap for Enhancing Indigenous Engagement in Museums and Galleries.
We have a Roadmap with strategic directions, we know what the goal is, how does this work for the small to medium sector?
Breakout sessions
Introduction to the Caroline Simpson Library
Dr Matthew Stephens, Research Librarian MHNSW
Join library experts as we explore a unique collection of rare books, ephemera, archives, and objects dating back to the late 18th century. Learn about the history of the home in NSW through items such as store catalogues, linoleum and wallpaper sample books, furnishing textiles, photographic collections and much more.
Textile Collections Care
Sarah-Jane Rennie, Coordinator Collections Care, Museums of History NSW
Learn about housing, labelling and handling textiles. This is a hands-on demonstration using Museums of History NSW collection items.
Caring for collections
Lang Ngo, Senior Advisor Conservation, MHNSW
Care, housing and handling of archive collections – a hands-on demonstration using MHNSW collections.
Collection Management
Alex Shapley, Registrar, MHNSW
Collection documentation, from acquisition through to deaccession. This presentation will cover documentation for acquisitions, loans and deaccessions and will touch on assessing condition at acquisition and link in collection management policies.
How to create engaging experiences for children onsite at your museum
Naomi Manning, Senior Producer, Learning, MHNSW
Tamsin Birch, Producer, Learning, MHNSW
Jo Chapman, Producer, Learning, MHNSW
In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to discover three different modes for engaging children in your museum: object-based learning, sensory activities and role play.
How to create useful web resources from your collection for teachers and students to access
Edward Washington, Learning Manager, MHNSW
Discover methods for developing online teaching resources, allowing teachers to use your collection in their classrooms.
Significance Assessment
Anna Cossu, Curator, MHNSW
What it is, where to start and how it helps us make decisions about our collections
Researching your collection
Michael Lech, Curator MHNSW
An introduction to uncovering the hidden production and historical details of your collections with the help of the Caroline Simpson Library.
A more complete understanding of your collection will help you to produce new stories that attract more diverse audiences.
Introduction to the State Archives Collection
Bonnie Wildie, Lead Archivist MHNSW
This session will include a demonstration of online resources.
Storytelling - Where to start, and how to end
Kate Gahan, Storyplace Manager, M&G NSW
Tips and Tricks for Storytelling with Museum Objects
Tour guiding essentials
Scott Cumming & David Key Visitor Services Coordinators, MHNSW
Join our Visitor Service Coordinators, as they talk and then walk through their experiences of welcoming visitors and delivering tours.
Join two of our Visitor Service Coordinators, Scott Cumming and Dave Key as they talk and then walk through their experiences of welcoming visitors and delivering tours across a variety of museum contexts – from small houses, exhibitions, farms and gardens. The session will include practical demonstration of tour delivery and includes Acknowledgement of Country; welcoming, engaging visitors and delivering tours.
Museums and AI
Tim Girling-Butcher, Head of Digital Design
A brief overview of the history of AI, MHNSW’s day to day use, upcoming projects and expected changes.
Tim Girling-Butcher will provide a brief overview of the history of AI, how he and his team use it in their daily work, upcoming projects, and the changes it’s expected to bring to MHNSW over the next five years.
Marketing your museum
Karen Rivera, Head, Marketing & Audience Insight MHNSW
Marketing your museum: explore how to use your own marketing channels such as your website, enewsletters and social media to drive audience awareness and engagement.
Join members of the MHNSW marketing team to explore how to effectively leverage your own marketing channels such as your website, enewsletters and social media to drive audience awareness and engagement. Learn about how MHNSW undertakes audience evaluation, pros and cons of different data collection methodologies, and existing third party audience data sources.
Creating simple object labels
Rhiain Hull, Editor, MHNSW
Anne-Louise Falson, Exhibition Graphic Designer, MHNSW
Learn how to produce a basic object label – including text hierarchy, font size and other design layout. Includes label-making demonstration.
Exploring First Nations Engagement
Peter White, Head, First Nations Cultural Engagement
A deeper dive into how to apply the key principles guiding AMAGA’s Roadmap in your work.
Grants and Funding
Emily Cullen, Sector Development Manager, M&G NSW
Alice Norwood, Museum Coordinator, M&G NSW
How to find funding, write applications and understand what assessors are looking for.