Each year, as part of the Annual Programme, fellows are asked to participate in the Object in focus project. This project has taken different forms over the years. It began with fellows making proposals for a one-object exhibition that could be displayed in Room 3 of the British Museum. At the end of the project, fellows would give a presentation on their Room 3 proposal to ITP and British Museum colleagues.
This evolved into the Object in focus project. Fellows were asked to plan and propose a temporary exhibition, drawing on their existing museum experience and the skills learnt during the programme. Working individually, in pairs or in groups, fellows were given an object from the Museum’s collection to propose a temporary exhibition working within a particular theme. The projects are presented at an evening reception towards the end of the programme.
For 2023, Object in focus was once again reimagined and fellows proposed a new interpretation for an object currently on display in the Museum.
Working in their departmental groups, with an object chosen departmental mentors, the fellows worked as teams to create and develop a reinterpretation of the object’s display. Each group considered various aspects of the object’s display including rewriting panels and labels, creating merchandise, and engagement activities for families and children.
Asia
Gao Rui, Researcher, Department of International Exchanges, The Palace Museum, China
He Yulei, Section Chief, International Cooperation and Exchange Office, Dunhuang Academy, China
Malissa Abdul Kadir, Curator, Sarawak Museum Department, Malaysia
Nguyen Hai Ninh, Head of Museum Management and Information Bureau, Department of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Vietnam
Rucha Vibhute, Senior Archivist, Museum of Art & Photography, India
Africa, Oceania and the Americas (AOA)
Ogechukwu Elizabeth Okpalanozie, Chief Conservator, National Museum, National Commission for Museums and Monuments
(NCMM), Nigeria
Elizabeth Alvarado
Cultural Manager and Museum, Specialist, Ministry of Culture, Peru
Kirikara Koraua, Assistant Museum Curator, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Kiribati
Kayla Annen, Ethnology Collection Manager, Bishop Museum, Hawaii
Kolawole Adeyera, Conservator, Unity Museum, National Commission for Museums & Monuments (NCMM), Nigeria
Rodah Lange, Curator, National Museums of Kenya, Kenya
Egypt and Sudan
Dina Ramadan Gohar Mekhemer, Curator, Alexandria National Museum, Egypt
Mamdouh Farouk Mohamed Hassan, Director, Imhotep Museum, Egypt
Greece and Rome
Mohamed Aymen Chihaoui, Director, Archeological Enfidha Museum, National Heritage Institute, Ministry of, Culture, Tunisia
Elif Büyükgençoğlu, Curator, Istanbul Archaeological Museums, Turkey
Ali Demirkiran, Archaeologist, Ephesus Museum, Turkey
Middle East
Mina Megalla, Curator, Boyana Church Museum, National History Museum, Sofia, Bulgaria
Twana Abubkir Mamand, Researcher, Salahaddin University, Iraq