What is life like at a museum?

Our Woman of 2018 takes us on a journey through life at the museum. She tells us what it means to be a curator; the struggles of being a female leader; her aspirations for setting up her own business, and writing a book.

How did you get into museum work?

I have been working in the museum sector since 2001 following a short time working in archives. I did my MA in Museum Studies at the Textile Conservation Centre (then part of the University of Southampton) and passed with distinction so I thought museum work must suit my love for knowledge and communication.

Which museums are you now linked to?

I run my own curatorial consultancy for clients across the country, but most of my work is for Cornish museums. I have been working particularly closely with the Royal Institution of Cornwall which runs the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro, and the charity Cornwall Museums Partnership which invests in the development of museums in Cornwall.

Can you explain what work you do for the museums?

My main specialism is in collections work. That means, as a curator, I research collections to find out more about a particular theme or subject or person; I audit collections to help museums understand their potential for generating new information, programme and exhibitions; I curate exhibitions, interpreting collections to tell new and hidden stories; and I organise events based on sharing the joy of old and curious objects.

What is the most exciting thing you have discovered so far?

This changes all the time depending on what I’m working on. The most exciting object I came across recently was a gold nugget found in the Carnon River in Cornwall. Through some community research I found out that this nugget is what many gold prospectors around the world aspire to find from Alaska to Lapland. It is in the collections of the Royal Institution of Cornwall but even they didn’t know how famous this specimen is.

What does a daily work life look like?

Communicating and networking takes place mostly online for me and I spend a fair bit of time building and maintaining relationships with old and new colleagues. I am always looking for opportunities to join up people and organisations with common goals, sometimes that includes me as well. I am heavily engaged in advocacy too, particularly in cultural leadership and diversity so I facilitate workshops, attend events and represent these issues to national agencies such as Arts Council England and the Museums Association.

I am also developing my business plan for the Curators Institute – my new business to provide research, products and services to the curatorial sectors in museums and the art and antiques world, particularly in mentoring, coaching, education and training.

You obviously have a passion for museum work. What do you enjoy the most?

Getting in deep with collections research. I love finding out more about the material and natural culture that tells us so much about the world we live in. I have a particular interest in geology, minerals and gems, and also in metalwork. I also really enjoy social history and industrial collections. I am still intrigued by how and why museums and heritage organisations can use the power of storytelling to elevate the everyday objects of people past into timeless artefacts whose meanings change all the time.

That’s interesting. Can you give an example?

While curating an exhibition on women at sea, when I was working for National Maritime Museum Cornwall, we highlighted a small collection of objects that, on first glance, would seem dull, a rubber rung of a lifeboat ladder, a bottle of oil amongst others. They were used by Lyn Robertson who helped her family and their friends survive for 38 days at sea after their yacht was wrecked in the Atlantic. The oil was from the turtles they lived off and was used as a balm to sooth skin sores and the rubber rung was used as an enema tube so they could keep hydrated using the contaminated sea water that surrounded them, that if they drunk in the normal way would have poisoned them.

Is there anything you find more of a chore whilst working for the museums?

Writing reports for clients. I always enjoy my client work, helping organisations to find new ways of doing things and I love the conversations with colleagues, but I feel that reports tend to end those conversations so influence can be quite limited. One of the reasons for starting the Curators Institute is to create an organisation dedicated to promoting a new philosophy on curatorial knowledge and communication.

Have you come across any challenges being a female leader?

Plenty. The museum sector is entrenched in traditional hierarchies. There is a pecking order of organisations in terms of perceived importance and value and with that comes a bias towards traditional management (often mistaken for real leadership) being in the image of an older (white) middle or middle-upper class male. This is particularly prevalent on museum governing boards which are lagging behind the profession itself in terms of embracing diversity and leadership. The museum sector is ahead of others in addressing gender issues in leadership. I have just completed an 18-month leadership programme supported by Arts Council England called Change Makers. This provided me with a platform to lead and influence in a way that would not have been possible before simply because it is so difficult to get on the radar of policy-makers, particularly if you come from a rural region like Cornwall.

Have you come across any challenges being a female academic?

The same joy in the pursuit of knowledge and learning that keeps me working in museums is the reasons why I also enjoy academic work. These days I dip into academic research as and when I have time and where my interests lie. I enjoy this freedom. I left the university sector because I did not like the direction UK universities were going in nor the ways in which short-termism was dominating research programmes. I don’t think I experienced any particular difficulties being female, more just being a younger academic who lacked the right kind of patronage to be promoted into good positions and opportunities. That mattered more than gender.

What research have you conducted in the past?

My PhD was in medieval history, in particular the material culture of early medieval southern Italy and the Mediterranean. I spent a lot of time with museum collections and Latin charters that painted a picture of the range of possessions people had and traded. Retaining my interest in commodities and materials, I have conducted a lot of research on the copper industry, particularly in Cornwall and Wales.

Are you currently researching anything?

I am currently working on something completely different and related to my personal interest in Cornish folklore and customs. My husband Tom and I have been researching a Christmas-Time custom called guise dancing which is a form of mumming. It was when groups of friends went out in disguise for their own entertainment and to entertain their community. They would play music, put on a little drama like St George and the Turkish Knight, or prank their neighbours. This has involved a lot of research in old newspapers and antiquarian accounts.

Do you aim to do anything with this research is it purely for pleasure?

We will be sharing the sources we have revealed online for free so that others who enjoy the custom can be inspired by what people did in the past, and we will also be publishing a range of articles both here in Cornwall and in the folklore world more widely.

Do you have any tips or advice for anyone looking to work at a museum?

Do it for the love of it. Demand for museum jobs has always been higher than the number of jobs and opportunities available. This has been the case over the 18 years I have worked in the sector. Diversify your experience–I used to think doing a series of short-term contracts was a bad thing–but now I am more involved in recruitment I can see that it is a distinct advantage over those who have only worked in one role or organisation for many years. Most important of all, have a reason to care about why museums are important in a civil society.

What are your future plans and hopes?

All my energies are focused on getting the Curators Institute off the ground. At present, I am collaborating closely with Cornwall Museums Partnership to expand a major work-based training course in modern curatorial practice called Citizen Curators which was successfully piloted over the last 6 months. I am looking for other curators to with whom to work to develop masterclasses, products and training–in particular I am looking for curators with really good subject and technical expertise. I am also working on a book that outlines my philosophy and methodologies for modern curatorial practice.

How can people get in contact with you?

Email – tehmina@goskar.com

Website, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn