From 2019 onwards, The Imagination Museum will be two things:

• a site-adaptive performance model continuing to respond to new spaces, artefacts, historical themes, events and ideas. You can find out about specific themed Imagination Museum performances at the top of our What's On page.
• a forum, online and in person, for dance artists and museums to share news, opportunities, case studies and top tips about ways of working with dance and movement in historical sites. You can engage in this collective Imagination Museum space by visiting our Consortium page.

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In May 2019 we held our first Imagination Museum consortium event at The Collection Museum in Lincoln, drawing together artists and heritage/museum practitioners to talk about ways of galvanising a movement of people interested in using dance in museums and heritage sites to engage a broad range of audiences. 

As a result of that consortium we started coming up with the following Mission Statement for The Imagination Museum, as a hub that might be able to offer support to the dance/heritage sectors. We are certain this Statement will change as we continue to learn more from our potential collaborators; these are early days for our development, so please let us know if you have any thoughts. 

Our mission: 

• to articulate why we use dance in museums and heritage sites, providing examples of the many ways in which dance can be used to be interpret a site or collection, and in so doing to engage new and existing audiences/visitors in a memorable, dynamic way 
• to advocate for this work, making a case for the need for/potential impact of working with dance in these contexts 
• to advise on and contribute to developing best practice working with dance in museums/heritage contexts, therefore enabling artists/museums to provide exceptional experiences that engage broad audiences. This will include:  
• building infrastructure to ensure the sustainability of the growing dance/heritage sector. 

Our priority for the Imagination Museum Consortium at this stage is to offer practical guidance, resources, advice, all geared towards action. In the first instance we are doing this via our imaginationmuseum.co.uk website, by sharing events, news and opportunities via social media and a growing mailing list and a series of Imagination Museum Consortium discussion events, taking place from 2019-21. 

The Imagination Museum is currently managed by Made By Katie Green, but exists to support all artists/museum practitioners working with movement and dance in heritage contexts. 

Where did The Imagination Museum begin?

The Imagination Museum began in 2013 as a promenade performance piece aiming to use movement and text to bring historical sites and artefacts to life in a new way.  

Since then, dance company Made By Katie Green has adapted the work to 31 museums and heritage sites across the UK, where it has been seen by over 6000 people. It has changed and expanded as it has moved around the country, integrating new elements from the different collections we have encountered and responding to the many different people we have met.