Work Placements

The museum's 'Islamic collection', as it is loosely defined, is what is called an 'orphaned collection;; that is, it has never had its own dedicated curator. After receiving an Effective Collections grant from the Museums Association, the World Museum for the first time was provided an opportunity to open its boxes to see what might be hiding in the stores. My placement follows up on the work done using this grant in an attempt to discover, across as many departments of the organisation as possible, what is the nature of their Islamic holdings? Under the guidance of Ms. Emma Martin, Head of Ethnography, I have been working with collections databases, history files, and even old-fashioned index cards to investigate the stores. I like to think of myself as a 'history detective'. Even after a few days, already treasures are revealing themselves in boxes no one has opened for decades: modern Egyptian earrings supposedly owned by Florence Nightingale or an enormous beaded snake made by a Turkish prisoner of war in 1920, given to Sir Henry Wellcome by the British Museum.

Curatorial work may not be as glamorous as it seems in the movies, but everyday you learn something new as you get to know the collections that represent many people's legacies.

In films we are led to believe that curators spend their time solving mysteries or coping with dinosaurs that come to life. At my work placement at the World Museum Liverpool, part of the National Museums Liverpool consortium, I've found that the former is, at least, partially true. 

The museum's 'Islamic collection', as it is loosely defined, is what is called an 'orphaned collection;; that is, it has never had its own dedicated curator. After receiving an Effective Collections grant from the Museums Association, the World Museum for the first time was provided an opportunity to open its boxes to see what might be hiding in the stores. My placement follows up on the work done using this grant in an attempt to discover, across as many departments of the organisation as possible, what is the nature of their Islamic holdings? Under the guidance of Ms. Emma Martin, Head of Ethnography, I have been working with collections databases, history files, and even old-fashioned index cards to investigate the stores. I like to think of myself as a 'history detective'. Even after a few days, already treasures are revealing themselves in boxes no one has opened for decades: modern Egyptian earrings supposedly owned by Florence Nightingale or an enormous beaded snake made by a Turkish prisoner of war in 1920, given to Sir Henry Wellcome by the British Museum. 

Curatorial work may not be as glamorous as it seems in the movies, but everyday you learn something new as you get to know the collections that represent many people's legacies.

Some of the offered placements in 2009-10  included: 

 

Chinese Arts Centre, Programme Intern

Chinese Arts Centre is the international agency for the development and promotion of contemporary Chinese artists. Areas of work include: research, audience development, project management, data input and processing, marketing of exhibition, looking after artists, etc.; assisting in the logistic arrangement of an international exhibition in January; research and preparation for the projects taking place in spring & summer; and day-to-day operation in the centre.

Henry Moore Institute, British Sculpture: collections display research

Manchester Museum, 'Ancient Worlds' Gallery Redevelopment
The Manchester Museum is in the second year of a four-year capital development project to redisplay the ancient Egypt and Archaeology galleries into what will become the galleries of the Ancient World. You will be working on the development of themes and content and/or audience development, consultation and evaluation. This will include: background research into thematic content; object research, including in depth research into individual objects in the Museum's collection and comparable objects elsewhere; creation of object lists related to chosen themes; input into design and interpretation of particular themes/objects; evaluation of existing galleries and comparable galleries in other Museums; developing consultation materials and methods, for within and without the Museum; assisting at consultation events within and without the Museum, and evaluating feedback

Manchester Museum, Visitor Research: Personal Meanings, Public Engagement and Evaluation
The exhibitionary character of the Manchester Museum is changing radically, and we want AGMS students to help us understand what this means to our audience(s). The Museum is marking the 2009 bicentenary of Charles Darwin's birth with an innovative temporary exhibition, Charles Darwin: Evolution of a Scientist and a brand new permanent family-friendly 'Nature Discovery' space. Furthermore, planning is well underway to renovate the Animal Life gallery as the 'Sustainable Planet'. Running alongside these plans is a collaborative museological project, 'The Afterlife of Animals' which addresses the diverse cultural and historical meanings of natural history specimens. As integral components of these projects, we want AGMS students to find out how visitors engage with the natural world in the museum.

Manchester Museum, African Anthropology Collection
You will be contributing to the restorage and documentation of the African Anthropological material. You will work their way through the objects; you will clearly label any boxes, photograph the contents, and attach the accession numbers and photographs to the outside of the box. You will also be required to put the precise locations of the artefacts onto the Museum database KE EMu.

Manchester Museum and Whitworth, Developing Adult Education
This project aims to provide a range of models to inform future development of formal adult education provision at the museum and gallery. Scoping exercise: Models of formal adult education provision (posts, partnerships, programmes, residencies, outreach) in museums and galleries in the UK. Models of formal adult education provision in other cultural organisations (eg: West Yorkshire Playhouse, SAGE) Map and develop database of adult education providers in the region. Details of current funders and programmes (government and private) in this area. Present findings to Heads of Learning and Interpretation at both sites.

Museum of Science and Industry, Supporting Revolution in Manchester
MOSI will be creating a new introductory gallery called the Revolution Manchester Gallery, which will open in summer-autumn 2010 following the
completion of the reconfiguration of MOSI's Main Building. You will assist with the following activities: formative evaluation of exhibits; collection of oral histories directly relevant to the chosen objects; research - e.g. picture/film research.

National Museums Liverpool, Tibet Collection Cataloguing Project
Working with NML staff you will create core and extended records, using the museum's paper archives, for the Tibet collections. This will including, unpacking, re-storing objects and creating new and amending existing records using MIMSYXG, the museum's relational database.

National Trust, Team member for installation of new exhibition
The placement is to help with the installation of a new exhibition at 59 Rodney Street Liverpool, celebrating the life of Margaret Hardman. The
exhibition installation work will start in November 2009 and be ready for the end of January 2010.

People's History Museum, Exhibitions and Collections Placement
You will work with the Exhibitions Officer in the maintenance, evaluation of the new main galleries at the People's History Museum. The galleries are due to open at the end of this year so you would be with us during the first months of being open, during which time any evaluation could inform improvements to the displays. You will also assist in the development of changing exhibitions in the new museum. You will be expected to search the collections and archives with the support of the Exhibitions officer to identify material for inclusion in exhibitions.

Royal Northern College of Music, Raising standards in documentation procedures

Curatorial Services & Projects: Stockport Heritage Services, Emergency Planning
You will be assisting with the emergency planning for the collections and our heritage attractions. You will be involved in creating the emergency plan and the operational sides of implementing the plan, such as identifying vulnerable areas of our sites and developing grab cards for important objects.

Stockport Heritage Services, Buxton Road Documentation Project   
Stockport Heritage Services acquired a large collection of objects during the 1990s from a local resident who bequeathed the contents of his house to us in his will.You will be involved with documenting the collection, reconciling the objects with the original paperwork, and producing an inventory. Using the MODES database, you would also search the collections and make recommendations as to which objects would be suitable for accession, disposal or for transfer to the handling collections at our various sites.

Stockport Story Museum, Market 750 Project
To help in the preparation of a special exhibition (or additions to permanent gallery) and related activities to celebrate 750 years of Stockport's Market Place. As well as helping with the planning, production and delivery of a special exhibition (or additions to permanent gallery), the student will also help with research for an audio guide on the history of the Market Place. The student will also be asked to assist the Collections Access Officer with other curatorial duties as they arise.

Tabley House Collection Trust, Tabley Photographs
Since the redecoration of the Dining Room, there has been increased interest in Tabley in the mid nineteenth century. The collection has a large number of Victorian photographs, and while they have been summarily catalogued, if we could find out more, it would be very exciting. You would be asked to locate the photographs in the collection, research them as far as possible and prepare them to be properly stored at the house. From this, you would make recommendations over future display or other ways to make the photographs accessible to the public.

Tameside, Curatorial Assistant
The curatorial assistant will assist the Social History Curator with the ongoing documentation project of the social history collection as well as assisting with general housekeeping. He or she will also be required to assist the Art Curator with the annual primary school art exhibition and Secondary School photographic exhibition; this will involve writing labels, liaising with teachers and assisting with the final hang of the exhibition.

Whitworth Art Gallery, Revenue Assistant
You will work with the Whitworth Art Gallery's Revenue team, assisting with fundraising applications, image reproduction sales, events promotion and organisation, shop stock development, promotions and catalogue distribution

Whitworth Art Gallery, Next Generation: Teaching and Cultural Learning
Over 50,000 children and young people visit Manchester Museum and the Whitworth Art Gallery with their nursery, school or college each year. These visits range from a one-off day out to long term in-depth partnerships and projects. Teachers increasingly understand the value of using museums and galleries to enrich the curriculum. You will: develop your knowledge and understanding of the relevant curriculum (through desk research and liaising with museum/gallery staff); identify organisations (museums and galleries, national organisations), bodies (advisory board) and companies that provide this training to teachers in the UK; identify charging structures (what schools pay and how they pay); present initial findings to museum and gallery staff in order to refine the mapping exercise.

Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, Exhibition Assistant
The placement will assist the Wigan Heritage Service exhibition team to install the exciting new permanent and temporary exhibitions at the History Shop, Wigan. The exhibitions are part of a large Heritage Lottery funded project at the History Shop, which will re-open to the public in Spring 2010. Tasks that the work placement will be involved in include: showcase preparation; movement of objects; fxing mounts for objects; installing interpretive panels; and other exhibition related tasks.