Our Communities in Residence work closely with St Albans Museums for a year, starting in either December or June. They need to be a formally established community group, and based in St Albans City and District.
We aim to work with communities who have been under-represented in museums in the past, or those who face barriers in visiting today. The groups are able to use our spaces and get to know our buildings and collections. They might want to learn new skills or share a specific message. Each residency is unique and tailored to the needs of the group, and in turn we gain unique insights into the museums that can inform our future practice, helping to build an inclusive museum service for all.
Introducing our Current Community in Residence
The Hertfordshire ME/CFS Group is run by volunteers to support people with chronic illnesses such as ME/chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, post-viral fatigue syndrome and long covid.
We organise social gatherings, opportunities for learning and for creativity, both in person and online. We started our year as a Community in Residence by displaying some of our artwork and poetry on the railings outside St Albans Museum + Gallery to raise awareness of the ‘#Millions Missing’ campaign. We have been using some of the museum spaces for our focussed art sessions and drawing on the displayed collections for inspiration. Look out for our work in the galleries in 2024!
