The SEMFed holds events throughout the year which are for all members at minimal cost. Our events offer an opportunity for informal networking with fellow museums professionals.
Upcoming events
SEMFed events are an opportunity for those working in heritage in the south and east of England to share their knowledge and support each other.
Meeting St Edmund in 2026: approaches to religious heritage in Bury St Edmunds
Tuesday 29th September 2026, 10.00am‑3.30pm
On this South and East Museums Federation study day we will find out how heritage organisations in Bury St Edmunds are reviving and responding to the life and legend of St Edmund, considered the original patron saint of England.
- Dan Clarke of Moyse’s Hall Museum will take us round their current exhibition on St Edmund and the Heathen Army (closes 4th October). We will learn about the story of St Edmund and how it has been interpreted over the centuries, and how the Abbey founded in his honour brought pilgrims from far and wide to the town.
- Bury St Edmunds Town Tour Guides provide high-quality tours of the town and Abbey ruins. Jules Armour will take us on a mini tour of the ruins of what was once one of the biggest Benedictine monasteries in Europe.
- The Abbey Reborn project has recently been granted funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to undertake a wide-ranging scheme of work to improve and interpret the site of the enormous medieval Abbey of St Edmund. We will be hearing from Project Manager James Mellish and Interpretation Consultant Hannah Salisbury about the plans.
This is a great opportunity to visit Bury St Edmunds Abbey and Cathedral before improvement works are undertaken over the next few years, so you can visit again when they are complete for a compare and contrast!
Past events
SEMFed AGM and visit to Oxburgh Estate
Thursday 16th July 2026, 10.30am‑3.00pm
For our 2026 AGM we were kindly hosted by the National Trust’s Oxburgh Estate in west Norfolk. We heard about the development of the current ‘Regency Romance’ exhibition and about the National Trust’s Representation master planning process for prominent historic houses.
Online study session: Audience-led production
Wednesday 29th April 2026, 10.00am-12.30pm
For this session we were joined by team members from four different organisations from our region and beyond to share their experiences of audience led and audience co-production. What have been the high points, what proved difficult, and what can we all learn to help guide our own future projects.
We heard about:
- The development of the Children’s Country House at Sudbury by the National Trust
- Local community representation at the Museum of the Home
- Connecting Collections at North Hertfordshire Museum
- Audience-led and community co-curation funding opportunities and training resources with Museum Development South East
SEMFed Autumn Study Day 2025: Norwich Castle – a Royal Palace Reborn!
The transformation of Norwich Castle’s iconic Norman Keep was one of the largest UK heritage projects of recent years, generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It enabled the rebuilding of the medieval floors and rooms so that visitors can experience a Norman royal palace and its stories. The British Museum’s first medieval gallery outside of London has brought treasures of international importance to Norwich and for the first time everyone is able to explore all 5 levels of the Keep – from basement to battlements. We joined Project Manager Hannah Jackson on a tour of the new spaces to find out how the team approached this complex redevelopment in a building that has been permanently occupied for over 900 years.
Read the report on the Norwich Castle Study Day here.
SEMFed AGM 2025 — Ely Museum and Stained Glass Museum
The 2025 South and East Museums Federation (SEMFed) AGM was kindly hosted by Ely Museum. We heard about their recent refurbishment and enjoyed a tour of the museum, before our short AGM. In the afternoon we visited the nearby Stained Glass Museum.
Read the report on the Ely study day here.
Digital heritage interpretation: online study session for heritage & culture professionals
For this session we were joined by team members from four different organisations from our region and beyond to share their experiences of developing and maintaining digital interpretation on their sites.
Planning for Public Benefit through Community Partnerships
Our 2024 autumn study day was kindly hosted by the team at the National Trust’s Peckover House in Wisbech. The focus of the day was on how cultural organisations within a town can offer the most public benefit by thinking differently and working collaboratively. Read the report here.
North Hertfordshire Museum + Stevenage Museum — SEMFed Study Day and AGM 2024
The 2024 SEMFed AGM took place at North Hertfordshire Museum in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. We heard from staff from both North Hertfordshire Museum and nearby Stevenage Museum, two local authority museums on either end of the redevelopment process. North Hertfordshire Museum opened fully in 2019, following a merger of two old museums and relocation to a new town centre site. Stevenage Museum, by contrast, is at the early phase of its redevelopment story, with ideas still in formation.
Access in Action: online study session for heritage and culture professionals
This online session included four case studies of different ways heritage organisations are improving accessibility in a variety of ways:
- Matthew Platt, Assistant Curator, North Hertfordshire Museum — For the Love of the Game – away from the sidelines and into the foreground
- Jo Gillam – Freelance Museum Educator, Disability/Neurodiversity Trainer & Consultant — ’I’ve never seen (or heard of) a windmill in Brixton!’
- Marie Kennedy, Learning Associate: Young People, University of Cambridge Museums — Disability-friendly openings at University of Cambridge Museums
- Hannah Salisbury, Community and Learning Officer, Suffolk Archives — The Deaf Perspectives project
Study day: Cambridge
Monday 6th November 2023, 10.30am‑3.30pm
The theme for our next Study Day is Dealing with Colonial Legacies. We will be meeting in Cambridge, and the day will include a visit to the Black Atlantic exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum and a talk from Curator Vicky Avery. We will also be hearing from Katrina Dring of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology about how the museum has been handling colonial legacies of their collections during their major stores move.
Tea and coffee will be provided on arrival but we are asking attendees to bring their own lunch to help reduce costs and food waste.