Museums Association facts for kids
Logo for the Association, used since 2020
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| Abbreviation | MA |
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| Formation | 1889 |
| Legal status | Non-profit company |
| Purpose | Museum, Gallery and Heritage |
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Region served
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United Kingdom |
The Museums Association (often called the MA) is a special group for people who work in museums, art galleries, and heritage sites across the United Kingdom. It's based in London. The MA also welcomes members from other countries. It helps these professionals and organisations do their best work.
Contents
A Look Back: The MA's History
The Museums Association began a long time ago, in 1889. A small group of museums started it. Their goal was to protect and support museums and art galleries. The very first meeting happened in York on June 20, 1889. This makes the MA the oldest museum association anywhere in the world.
What the MA Does
The MA works hard to support museums. It speaks up for them and helps them grow. The association also creates rules for how museums should act. These are called ethical standards. It also offers training and ways for members to improve their skills. This helps people working in museums advance their careers.
Key Activities and Projects
The MA organizes a big meeting every year. This annual conference is the largest event in Europe for museum and heritage workers. It's a place where they can learn and share ideas.
Members of the MA get a magazine each month. It's called Museums Journal. The MA also has an online resource called Museum Practice. This website shares new ideas and good ways of working from museum experts across the UK. It also lets users share their own thoughts.
The MA has also worked with the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation. Together, they created the Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund. This fund helps museums take care of their collections. It builds on ideas from a report the MA made in 2005.
The MA also checks on how well UK museums are doing. It does this with a yearly survey called Museums in the UK.
In 2018, the MA started a project called Collections 2030. This project looks at the future of museum collections. It explores why museums keep things, how they use them, and how they should manage them in the long term.
Joining the MA: Membership
The Museums Association has many members. Over 8,000 people are individual members. There are also 580 museum groups and 250 companies that are members.
The MA offers a special program to help members grow their skills. This program includes mentors and regular training events. If someone completes this program, they can use "AMA" after their name. This means they are an Associate of the Museums Association. "FMA" means they are a Fellow of the Museums Association, which is an even higher level.
How the MA is Run
The Museums Association gets its money from its members. It is not controlled by the government. A group of trustees leads the association. These trustees are chosen by the members. They come from all parts of the UK museum world.
In April 2018, Maggie Appleton became the president of the MA. She is also the CEO of the RAF Museum. Kinvara Jardine Paterson joined the MA board in February 2025. She is a special trustee focused on climate issues. Many important people have been presidents before.
See also
- MDA (formerly the Museum Documentation Association)
- British Association of Friends of Museums
- Irish Museums Association
