Drawing inspirations from subject specialists (Doris Kamuye, Kenya, ITP 2024)
Written by Doris Kamuye, Curator, Malindi Museum, National Museums of Kenya (Kenya, ITP 2024)
A subject specialist is an individual with qualifications and experience in a particular field or work area, who by education and experience is a recognized expert in a particular subject.
The 2024 ITP has exposed fellows to a varied range of subject specialists who offered essential deep insights into their areas of work from which we could practically borrow/ adapt to improve in our work. Invited speakers, departmental work sessions, visits to other museums, sites , monuments and sessions in galleries have each in unique ways presented a wealth of specialized knowledge from British Museum’s and UK partner placement venues.
My placement experience at Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums in Newcastle proved to be an eye opening experience. Visiting the network of Museums in the Tyne and Wears Archives and Museums collection – an efficiently run network – was impressive. Our team interacted with the administration starting with meeting the Director and Assistant Director, Bill Griffiths, (a great enthusiast of Roman History), curators, conservators, archaeologist, fundraisers, gallery interpreters, learning team leaders among others. A great opportunity to enjoy displays as part of the museums audience, with an added advantage of discussions with the great minds behind the whole museums concept.
The Discovery Museum specializes in scientific history of the region, milestones achieved during the industrial revolution, developments in automotive, the rich ship building industry in Tyne and Wear, and coal mining, among others. A rich and well preserved archival collection with diverse subjects spanning over 150 years stood out as a dependable point of reference.
Noticeable work went into study of the region’s Anglo-Saxon history, with Roman Empire Forts along Hadrian’s Wall – A UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as archaeological interpretation of global collections in the galleries at the Great North Hancock Museum. The Laing Art Gallery housing art exhibitions, had the historic Turner paintings on display. Their learning teams conducted educative painting sessions with children and young adults to keep the great legacy of Turner alive!
Upon return to BM after the partner placement, the ITP team, beaming with joy, shared great experiences of what transpired in the various placement museums. A subject specialist in archaeology walked the African team through the Africa Gallery, with highlights on objects of outstanding archaeological value on display. We noted the oldest object, a handaxe (pre-historic stone tool), in the British Museum’s collection from Africa was not on display. Our sentiment would be for the BM to re-consider strategically displaying this oldest piece as it can be used to tell the story of human origins since Africa is the cradle of humankind.
Friday 9th August started with a thought provoking session on leadership and management in the cultural sector presented by Dame Janet Vitmayer, former chief executive officer, Horniman Museum. A specialized and experienced trainer in her own right. Her participatory approach in sharing knowledge was particularly interesting in the sense that all ITP fellows had a chance to select and clearly state with justifications what their ideal leadership would be. This summed up the purpose of leadership to establish change, align people, motivate and inspire to produce useful change. We also critically examined our organization’s mission statements and rated their clarity, scope, purpose, popularity and effectiveness. This led to diverse, interesting and productive discussions on possible improvement measures.
The session on leadership was crowned by a meeting with the Director of British Museum, Nicholas Cullinan for tea and coffee. This was a rare opportunity, greatly enjoyed as we chatted about our general experiences in the ITP programme and how we hoped to apply the skills gained. The Director reaffirmed his intent for international collaboration as a way forward- staying true to the British Museum’s mission of being a global collection for the global audience.
We later had a session on fundraising, facilitated by Alice Parr, Philanthropy Officer (Grants) and Olivia Wheeldon, Senior Patrons Manager. The pair complemented each other and led us through the different approaches employed at the British Museum to raise finances to sustain its numerous programmes. Specialist fundraisers have over the years put in place strategies to pursue individual and corporate philanthropy opportunities. Most of which have achieved incredible results. This proved educative, especially in the essence of collaborating with departments to establish priority areas as well as transparently accounting for all the funds raised to the satisfaction of the Museum’s financial support teams.
The versatile subject specializations we have come across during ITP training are amazing and worth learning from.