Tapunga Nepe, Tairāwhiti Museum, New Zealand and Guo Xifeng, Shanxi Museum, China: RĀNANA!
Tapunga Nepe, Kaitieki Māori, Tairāwhiti Museum and Guo Xifeng, Exhibitions Planner, Shanxi Museum
Message from Tapunga:
RĀNANA! (London)
Flying into London on an Air New Zealand flight with other Kiwis on board after the upsetting rugby score between the All Blacks and the Lions was disappointing but Rānana, it’s still a pleasure! Greeted by sunshine, great ITP hosts and meeting new friends, Rānana yes indeed, what a pleasure!
Māori-boy from Manutūkē, Gisborne in front of the British Museum!
Just in this short time here, I have truly enjoyed meeting and getting to know my fellow members on the International Training Programme 2017. Sharing and learning about each other, our respective professional backgrounds and diverse cultures. I greatly appreciate the work done by the ITP staff and the great hospitality of various BM staff members, who have warmly opened their doors and arms. A great big ‘Kia ora!’ (Thank you!) so far from me and looking forward to the weeks ahead.
Message from Guo:
I am Guo Xifeng from Shanxi Museum in Taiyuan city, Shanxi Province, China. I feel so lucky to be part of the ITP 2017 made up of 25 fellows from 18 countries, all of whom do wonderfully interesting work.
It is the British Museum’s ITP initiative to make the world come together in one place. I believe this is a good chance to approach different cultures and learn about the variety of work in museums across the world.
So far I have attended presentations, taken part in workshops, visited galleries and storerooms, etc. There are so many good things about the work of the British Museum that I want to learn and take back to my museum. The British Museum is open minded has sophisticated facilities, excellent management, advanced research, and so on. The most impressive part for me is that their work is so careful and serious. For example, ITP staff provide us with detailed information about everyday tasks, through which we all know what we will do at a certain time. Also, through the session on “Room 3 display-practicalities” with Evan York (Collections Manager), I found many important pieces of information to take away and learn from.
In the coming weeks, there will be so many interesting things to explore, and a lot to learn!