Andrea Terrón Gomez

Biography

Andrea is an anthropologist, curator, lecturer, and museum specialist, who holds a Master’s degree from Osaka University in Social Sciences, specializing in Museum Anthropology. Her work in both her home country of Guatemala and her studies in Japan has brought an international perspective to her curatorial work. Her academic research focused on collection management, textiles in museums, and museums’ roles in identity representation. As a lecturer, Andrea has taught Mesoamerican Ethnology and Exhibit Design at Del Valle University.

Most recently, Andrea served as the Head of Gallery and Exhibitions at the Bateman Foundation in Victoria, BC. She has previously held positions at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala as well as the Museo Popol Vuh, which are home to a vast collection of Maya cultural belongings. Additionally, she was vice-president of the International Council of Museums-ICOM-Guatemala and was the British Museum’s Fellow in 2017 and Senior Fellow in 2018, for the International Training Programme-ITP.

Currently, Andrea is working as the Permanent Curator at the Museum and Archives of North Vancouver-MONOVA, in British Columbia, Canada. The past museum definition changes have shaped her research and current objectives. The opportunity to work in a Community Museum, working towards decolonization of collections and the inclusion of new practices in collection management, is something to look forward to.

Andrea’s dream for museums of the future is for museums to be a place for everyone: accessible, community museums that have a deeper impact and relationship with the people and collections they represent. She dreams of museums of ideas in which we have conversations and dialogues on the importance of culture, patrimony and just being human, and share what we want for the future in a context of truth, reality, and acceptance of the past.

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme 2017, Andrea was based in the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas and spent her partner placement with Norfolk Museums Service.

In 2017 participants were asked to develop a proposal for an Asahi Shimbun Display – a temporary exhibition in Room 3 at the British Museum – based around a ‘spotlight’ object.  Andrea worked with fellow Raneen Kiresh (Palestine) on her exhibition proposal project, entitled Red and Blue: The Evil Eye across Borders.

Andrea’s participation on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.

Legacy Projects
Andrea was the Senior Fellow for the 2018 summer programme. She supported the ITP team in the build up to, during and after the Summer Programme, attended by 23 museum professionals from 17 countries. Following on from this Andrea also took on the role of guest editor of the 2019 ITP newsletter.

In 2022 Andrea participated in the ITP+ Leadership Training and Museums Association Conference held in Edinburgh. Part of this week, with fellows from Armenia, Egypt, India, Philippines, Romania, Rwanda and Uzbekistan, Andrea attended a programme structured around the 3-day MA Conference exploring how museums can create better places to live and work.

Andrea is also a member of the ITP Advisory Board.

ITP Newsletter Publications
ITP Newsletter Issue 6 (2019), Connectivity in the 21st century: making collections accessible, Contextualising Guatemala’s archaeological past
ITP Newsletter Issue 6 (2019), Global perspectives: Museums in the modern, digital world
ITP Newsletter 9 (2022), Process, Development and Results Robert Bateman: Heart & Home