The Museums Association has announced details of the successful applicants to its ‘transformer’ programme which helps mid-career heritage professionals trial and develop new ideas in their museum, with 27 appointees across the UK.
The Museums Association writes:
The Museums Association (MA) has announced the successful applicants to its Transformers 2015-16 programme designed to support people in mid-career develop fresh thinking and experimental ideas at their museum in England, Wales and Scotland.
Projects being pursued by successful applicants include taking an iconic museum brand to an airport setting, building a national network to better understand and support neurodiversity, and using collections to generate corporate partnerships and develop corporate volunteering.
Participants in 2015-16 range from exhibition officers to chief executives, and come from a range of different types of museum across England, Wales and Scotland.
Jess Turtle, the MA’s project coordinator, said: ‘We are really pleased that the programme has again attracted such a high level of applications in its second year. There are some very exciting themes emerging, from activism to radical philanthropy. It is wonderful to see that museum professionals continue to respond to current challenges with such creativity. We have a very broad spread of regions, disciplines and types of museums in the cohort, which will translate into an incredibly rich learning experience for participants, the lessons of which can then be shared with the sector.’
The cohort for 2015-16 will be:
- Rachel Ball, Volunteer Manager, Royal Air Force Museum, London
- Denise Bowler, Secondary and Post-16 Co-ordinator, The Whitworth
- Kathy Cremin, Director of Co-operation, Bede’s World
- Becky Cund, Director of HR and Administration, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
- Nicola Cunningham, Exhibitions Officer, National Museums Liverpool
- Megan Dennis, Curator, Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse
- Jody East, Creative Programme Curator, Royal Pavillion and Museum, Brighton
- Shona Elliot, Lead Curator, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum
- Nicola Euston, Museum Manager, The Atkinson
- David Gelsthorpe, Curator of Earth Sciences, The Manchester Museum
- Rebecca Holt, Chief Operating Officer, Battersea Arts Centre
- Clare Hunt, Curatorial Manager, Southend Museum
- Halima Khanom, National and International Learning & Engagement Coordinator, Imperial War Museum
- Laura Lewis, Project Co-ordinator, Wardown Park Museum
- Kylea Little, Keeper of History, Discovery Museum
- Adrian Mason, Head of Marketing and Operations, Tullie House Museum
- Liz McCaffry Payne, Corporate and Trusts Fundraiser, Bletchley Park Trust
- Philip Miles, Museum Manager, Sheringham Museum
- Becki Morris, Collections Assistant, Heritage and Culture Warwickshire
- Diana Morton, Outreach and Access Manager, City Art Centre, Edinburgh
- Mhairi Muncaster, Development Manager, William Morris Gallery
- Alex Nicholson-Evans, Volunteer Development Manager, Birmingham Museums Trust
- Victoria Rogers, Museum Manager, Cardiff Story Museum
- Pollie Shorthouse, Executive Director of NCCL, Galleries of Justice, The Egalitarian Trust
- Caroline Storr, Heritage Development Manager, Salford Community Leisure
- Katie Taylor, Individual Giving Executive, Royals Museums Greenwich
- Caroline Worthington, Chief Executive, Bexley Heritage Trust
Transformers is funded by Arts Council England, Museums Galleries Scotland, The Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales, and Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales)
