Nottingham Trent University host the Nottinghamshire Heritage Conference and Awards 2018 at Clifton Campus

MA Museum and Heritage Development student Alexandra Gregory won the award for best poster design in her category

Mr Staw's House collecting the award for Heritage Site of the Year (Presented by Dr Katharina Massing)

This month, Nottingham Trent University hosted the Nottinghamshire Heritage Conference and Awards at Clifton Campus. The event, organised by Nottinghamshire Heritage Forum in collaboration with Culture Syndicates CIC and NTU, brought together heritage professionals from across the county to share best practice and celebrate the rich local heritage of the region.

Nottinghamshire Heritage Forum is a membership organisation supporting local heritage professionals and heritage sites, comprised of representatives from the sector as well as the local authorities and universities, including NTU.

The afternoon consisted of the Nottinghamshire Heritage Conference, featuring a keynote talk from NTU’s Dr Alison Oddey, which explored how artists and performers interact with and interpret heritage sites. Also featured in the conference were workshops on costumed interpretation and on collections management systems, as well as a feature on the Heritage Forum’s ‘Fighting for our Heritage’ project, which involves several local organisations.

The awards were judged by Jayne Nightingale from Visit Nottinghamshire, Lecturer in MA Museum and Heritage Development Dr Katharina Massing and Rebecca Morris-Buck, a freelance heritage professional who coordinates the NTU Alumni Fellowship Scheme. The master of ceremonies for the evening was BBC Radio Nottingham’s John Holmes.

There were eight awards categories during the evening, with an additional two Judge’s Special Awards announced, which were given to Bilsthorpe Heritage Museum and Clumber Park respectively. MA Museum and Heritage Development student, Alexandra Gregory won the award for the Best Poster Design by an NTU MA student.

The main award of the evening, Heritage Site of the Year, went to National Trust property Mr Straw’s House. The site had an extremely successful evening, having also taken home the award for ‘Engaging New Audiences’. Other award winners included Mansfield Museum, Greens Windmill and Science Centre and Canalside Heritage Trust.

The event was well attended by representatives from heritage sites across the county, as well as students from our MA course, offering opportunities for networking and collaboration. The celebratory evening demonstrated the strength of the heritage offering of Nottingham, which is supported by NTU.