A detailed look at “Changing the Script”
As our 49th IATM conference is coming closer, we take a look at what to expect.
In our first panel, we welcome three impressive speakers with a breadth of experience in creating new spaces and places through heritage within larger infrastructure projects. While Kerrie Sweeney, Chief Executive of the Maritime Belfast Trust will contribute a local experience and share Maritime Belfast’s vision and process, Graeme Craig, Director & Chief Executive of Places for London shares the broader perspective on shaping an entire city. We are excited that Huw Edwards, responsible for Stations and Placemaking at HS2 will join the panel and provide us with his insights on a new train line and stations. IATM Board Member & CEO of the London Transport Museum, Elizabeth McKay, will chair this introductory session.
Changing Cities and Identities through Heritage
Meredith Greiling, IATM Board Member & Principal Curator, Technology Science and Technology Department at National Museums Scotland will chair the next session, building on the previous discussions. We will dive into specific examples of Heritage changing cities and identities. Following the large response to our call for papers, we were able to invite museum voices from different parts of the world.
In her talk, Suvi Jalli, Head of Exhibitions and Public Engagement at the Finnish Postal Museum, explores how exhibition and contemporary documentation can strengthen professional identity and create dialogue between past and present postal communities. Especially during a period when digitalisation is rapidly changing the role of postal services. By looking at the recently opened new permanent exhibition of the Finnish Postal Museum, Suvi shares how transport and communication museums can act as engines of social and cultural change by strengthening occupational identity and documenting the human impact of digital transformation.
The National Technical Museum in Prague is dealing with another real-world phenomenon that has turned a historic railway depot into a heritage island within a district reshaped by speculative real estate development and the economic pressures of urban transformation. Adam Horký, Curator of the Railway Collection at the National Technical Museum in Prague will critically explore how cultural institutions can navigate community building, local and foreign audiences, and memory-making amidst rapidly developing surroundings. While Adam points to sites being endangered among such changes, another example shares and draws a different perspective.
The joint presentation by Stephen Quick, General Director of the Musée régional de l’Outaouais in Quebec, and Paul Jennings, Director of XCENTUATE ltd. representing Dundee Transport Museum, will highlight the anticipated impact of these cultural institutions on the revitalisation of their respective city centers. Both museums play a pivotal role in reimagining urban spaces, promoting cultural engagement, and fostering community pride. Through unique programming, exhibitions, and community outreach, they aim to not only enhance the cultural landscape but also to drive economic growth, increase tourism, and improve the overall quality of life for residents.
Our first day continues with a visit to the Ulster Transport Museum in Cultra, where Curator Clare Ablett will introduce us to the exhibitions before leaving us off to explore the premises by ourselves.
A Dinner at the famous Northern Whig will conclude our first day.
Another day at the docks…
Tuesday takes us to the Titanic’s tender ship, the SS Nomadic. Here, we will discuss stories of engaging communities and the role of placemaking in museums.
The day opens with Session 3: Engaging Communities, chaired by Stephen Quick, IATM Board Member and General Director of the Musée régional de l’Outaouais. Together with a welcome from Minister Gordon Lyons, Minister for Communities in Northern Ireland, this session explores how museums can become active partners in education, sustainability and communities.
Chris Kitzan, Director General of the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, demonstrates how a national museum is helping to address Canada’s aerospace labour shortage by connecting industry, educators, government bodies and young people to build a sustainable talent pipeline for aerospace.
From the Ulster Transport Museum, Clare Ablett talks about Ulster Transport Museum’s partnership with Hydebank Wood College and Women’s Prison approaching the delicate topic of disposal and deaccessioning and its opportunities.
Researcher Zoe Few from the London Transport Museum and the University of Westminster challenges traditional narratives of London’s transport history by uncovering LGBTQ+ experiences and highlighting how participatory research can reshape museum collections and community engagement.
Concluding the session, Marina Bergström from the Finnish Railway Museum shares how volunteering, internships and work experience programmes have transformed the museum into one of Finland’s leading examples of social impact and community participation.
We are very honoured to welcome a special update on the current situation of museums in Ukraine from Yurii Savtchuk, Director of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War.
Taking up space
In our final session, Jens Toftgaard, IATM Board Member and Director of the Danish Railway Museum, will guide us through museums creating meaningful places.
Our examples will start with Elizabeth McKay, CEO of the London Transport Museum. She will introduce “Transported by Culture“, an initiative that is transforming the museum’s identity through art, performance and public programming in the heart of Covent Garden.
From Bremerhaven, Prof Dr Ruth Schilling and Dr Pablo v. Frankenberg share how the German Maritime Museum’s new permanent exhibition “Ship Realms – The Ocean and Us,” takes a new course. Moving away from the sole idea of telling history through material culture, it frames maritime history as an ongoing narrative that includes both documented and undocumented elements. A special focus is the correspondence of these narratives to contemporary social, technological, political, economic, and ecological contexts.
Still, material evidence and particularly large objects obviously shape our work and reception in the public. In Hamburg, Ursula Richenberger, Head of Public Programming, has developed the the historic (cargo) sailing ship PEKING into a vibrant space for storytelling and community activities. She will share their approach and experiences with us.
Finally, Matevž Šlabnik and Barbara Rezar Grilc from the Technical Museum of Slovenia trace the museum’s evolution from a event and spectacle-focused approach to collections and public engagement to a dynamic community hub, where transport heritage becomes a starting point for reflections about mobility and society.
Last, but not least, Natalija Polenec, Director of the Technical Museum of Slovenia, will give us a preview of what to expect at the 50th IATM Conference in Bistra near Ljubljana next year.
The day concludes at Belfast’s iconic Titanic Experience, including a visit to the award-winning museum, before we gather for the Conference Dinner at The Bridge.
Off to explore
This year, our study day offers a variety of excursions and we are looking forward to welcoming many of you to the tours:
- Downpatrick and County Down Railway
- the Ulster Aviation Society,
- National Museum of the Royal Navy’s HMS Caroline and Belfast Historic Waterfront Walk sponsored by Maritime Belfast Trust. Explore Belfast’s historic waterfront, a working port for over 300 years and once home to the world’s largest shipyard. The walk will take in key heritage sites including Thompson Dock, The Great Light, Titanic Slipways, the former Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices and SS Nomadic, bringing Belfast’s rich industrial and maritime heritage to life. The tour will finish at Queens Quay Kiosk for a coffee.
We are looking forward to welcoming you to Belfast, NI this year. You can still register until Sunday, 30 August 2026!
