A partnership between the V&A and Museums Sheffield was originally formed in 1999 to develop the new Millennium Galleries in Sheffield, enable the V&A to open its collections to new audiences and establish Sheffield as a flagship exhibition venue in Yorkshire. In January 2010 the partnership was renewed for a further five years under a memorandum of understanding. We continue to work together on a less formal but meaningful basis.
The V&A and Museums Sheffield relationship was based on a shared principle to inspire and educate through art and design. The partnership's objectives were:
- To make the V&A's knowledge and collections accessible to audiences in and around Sheffield.
- For the V&A and Museums Sheffield to support one another professionally by sharing expertise and collections.
The collaboration allowed the V&A to be part of the city's regeneration and the debate about the place of culture in city life, as well as enabling the V&A to engage a wider audience outside London.
Some project outcomes
- Almost 500,000 people visited V&A exhibitions hosted at the Millennium Galleries and Weston Park Museum, Sheffield.
- Exhibitions developed by Museums Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University: Food Glorious Food and Sports Lab (renamed Beautiful Games) were shown at the V&A Museum of Childhood, and 112,500 visitors saw the Museum of Childhood's exhibition Magic Worlds at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield.
- Museums Sheffield were the 2016 partner on the V&A Photography Curators' Training Programme. A display curated by the trainee from Museums Sheffield's collection of contemporary photographs opened in October 2016.
- Curators explored and shared knowledge on respective collections, especially in the field of metalwork and silverware, for which Sheffield has an international reputation.
- Information and expertise was exchanged in areas as wide ranging as management and marketing to technical operations, advocacy and digital reach.