Based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Open to remote and regional opportunities across the UK
Curatorial experience spanning archival research, exhibition design, condition checking, and personal collections — from historic houses and museums to vibrant community events.
🖼️ Curatorial Work 🖼️
Curatorial Experience 🗝️
This section highlights my curatorial and exhibition support work, combining remote editorial contributions with hands-on collections care across museum and heritage projects.
Through roles at Erewash Museum, Gloucester Folk Museum, Holst Victorian House, The Poetry Archive, Sheffield Museums Trust, Heeley City Farm, and the Yorkshire Natural History Museum, I have developed practical experience in curation, digitisation, catalogue management, documentation and audience engagement.
My work includes researching fashion and textile history for public exhibitions, digitising and cataloguing Victorian artefacts, developing interactive family activities, and supporting the launch of the Poetry of South Asia collection through research, content creation, and data auditing.
Recent projects include proofreading and editing for New Horizons and supporting the Crafted at Christmas selling exhibition with collections handling, documentation, inventory management, and display set-up for Sheffield Museums.
These experiences have strengthened my skills in heritage interpretation, archival practice, and inclusive public engagement, reinforcing my career focus within the museum and archive sector.
My curatorial approach balances preservation with accessibility, ensuring that each object — from natural history specimens to social artefacts — is documented, interpreted, and displayed with accuracy and ethical care. I am particularly interested in how inclusive narratives and material handling practices connect audiences with underrepresented histories.
Freelance Support
Looking for help with data entry, research, copy typing, or digital administration? I offer reliable, remote freelance support alongside my museum-sector work.
Archival, Collections, and Exhibition Skills 🗃️
Exhibition Development and Interpretation
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📚 Content Research & Development — Researched textile trade, costume history, natural history, and literary heritage for physical and digital exhibitions.
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🧠 Artefact Interpretation — Interpreted museum objects and archival materials, linking them to wider historical, cultural, and scientific narratives.
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✍️ Text Panel & Label Writing — Produced accessible interpretation for public audiences; edited and proofread panel text for Sheffield Museums’ New Horizons exhibition.
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🎁 Visual Design & Storytelling — Created exhibition visuals and digital slides, applying narrative structure and design principles to enhance visitor engagement.
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💻 Digital Contribution — Developed content for The Poetry Archive’s Poetry of South Asia project, improving accessibility and global reach.
Collections and Archival Management
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📑 Document & Inventory Control — Catalogued artefacts, archival records, specimens, and poet biographies to professional standards.
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📦 Collections Handling for Display — Supported Crafted at Christmas (2025) through condition checking, object handling, and display preparation, including arranging makers’ items for exhibition.
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📂 Archival Cataloguing & Indexing — Structured and maintained archival data using professional metadata practice for accurate long-term retrieval.
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🗄️ Records Management — Organised physical and digital records using ISAD(G), DCMI, and Spectrum-aligned systems.
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💻 Digital Archiving & Data Management — Digitised over 100 historical items and created searchable databases for improved researcher and public access.
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🔍 Primary Source & Archival Research — Located, examined, and contextualised archival materials for academic work and curatorial projects.
Audience Engagement and Accessibility
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🤝 Inclusive Audience Awareness — Applied accessibility principles informed by training and lived experience to ensure exhibitions and events meet diverse needs.
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🏫 Educational & Family Programming — Delivered creative workshops, trails, and children’s engagement activities.
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🎭 Event & Public Engagement Support — Assisted with museum events, festivals, and curator talks, supporting donations, visitor guidance, and interactive activities.
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📣 Outreach & Public Interpretation — Delivered hands-on museum engagement through Sheffield Museums’ Talking Tables project, facilitating safe object handling with visitors.
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📊 Visitor Research & Evaluation — Collected digital visitor surveys to inform exhibition development and improve audience understanding.
Collaboration and Professional Practice
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👥 Curatorial & Archival Collaboration — Worked alongside curators, collections teams, educators, and archivists across multiple heritage institutions.
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📽️ Collaborative Presentation — Contributed to group exhibitions, interpretive projects, and cross-team initiatives.
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📦 Preservation & Collections Care — Applied preventive conservation techniques and safe handling standards — including work with bones, skeletons, and fossils at the Yorkshire Natural History Museum.
🧩 Featured Case Studies 🧩
This section highlights selected specimen and curatorial projects that demonstrate applied skills in preservation, ethical handling, and interpretation. Each case study presents reflective documentation of practical work, showing how technical precision and sustainable methods inform my approach to collections care and heritage interpretation.
🗂️ Archival Work and Collections Care
Projects highlighting data management, documentation workflows, and digital heritage standards.
🦴 Archival Practice: Yorkshire Natural History Museum (Ongoing)
Developing cataloguing workflows aligned with Spectrum 5.1 and ISAD(G) standards.
Assisting with the development of a new cataloguing workflow, applying Spectrum 5.1 and ISAD(G) standards to improve record accuracy.
🌏 Metadata Research: The Poetry of South Asia Collection
Data auditing, metadata structuring, and accessibility considerations in digital heritage projects.
Supported The Poetry Archive through spreadsheet auditing of 571 poets' data and metadata table creation, improving accessibility and consistency across multilingual digital records.
Updated: 11/11/2025 (Project completed May 2025)
🎼 Digital Collections Management: Holst Victorian House
Digitisation, cataloguing, and metadata entry for Victorian domestic history collections.
Digitised 100+ Victorian artefacts to professional museum standards during university placement, applying structured metadata systems for improved accessibility and long-term preservation.
Updated: 11/11/2025 (Project completed March 2024)
🖼️ Exhibition and Public Engagement
Projects focused on audience engagement, interpretation, and exhibition setup.
🎄 Collections Handling & Display: Crafted at Christmas Exhibition
Collections care, documentation, and collaborative exhibition setup at Sheffield Museums Trust.
Assisted the retail team with handling, documentation, and display setup for a selling exhibition of contemporary mixed media craft.
Updated: 08/11/2025 (Project completed October 2025)
🌅 Exhibition Editorial Assistant: New Horizons
Research, editing, and interpretive text development for a contemporary art exhibition.
Proofread and edited display text for Sheffield Museums' New Horizons exhibition, ensuring clarity, accessibility, and interpretive accuracy across curatorial materials.
Updated: 07/11/2025 (Project completed October 2025)
🧵 Research Contributions: Threads Exhibition
Research and interpretation for fashion and textile history collections at Gloucester Folk Museum.
Researched Victorian fashion trade and Queen Victoria's 'Buy British' policy for public exhibition, displayed September 2024.
Updated: 07/11/2025 (Project completed May 2023)
☠️ Specimen Preparation and Conservation
Reflective studies on ethical specimen handling, cleaning, and sustainable preservation methods.
🐦⬛ Specimen Preparation: Comparative Crow Skulls Study
Cleaning, preservation, and ethical handling of avian remains using sustainable methods.
Conducted a comparative study of two crow skull preparations, refining cleaning and preservation techniques while maintaining ethical standards in specimen care.
Updated: 06/11/2025 (Project completed April 2024)
☠️🌏 - 🎄🌅🧵 - 🐦⬛🐝
🗃️ Archival Work & Collections Care 🏺
A showcase of my developing experience in collections care, documentation, and preservation.
From digital archives to natural history collections, these projects demonstrate my growing understanding of how to protect, organise, and interpret museum objects and records. Each role has deepened my knowledge of cataloguing, data management, and preventive conservation—skills that bridge my personal practice with professional museum standards.
My work reflects a commitment to accessibility, accuracy, and ethical collections care—ensuring that artefacts, specimens, and records are preserved, interpreted, and shared responsibly for future research and public engagement.
Sample Collections Record (Training Example)
This section showcases my developing archival and collections management practice, focusing on documentation, metadata creation, and the ethical handling of natural history and social artefacts in alignment with museum cataloguing standards.
Example training record created for portfolio purposes. No real collection data or specimen identifiers are included.
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Yorkshire Natural History Museum
☠️ Archive and Collections Assistant (Volunteer) 🦕
January 2026 - Present
YNHM Socials
Following induction in September 2025, I will be supporting the cataloguing and care of approximately 15,000 natural history specimens.
My Role and Responsibilities:
Assisting with cataloguing and inventory of up to 15,000 natural history specimens and archival materials.
Supporting collections care through handling, storage, and preservation tasks.
Helping digitise records to improve internal and research access.
Learning and applying sector standards for archiving, documentation, and museum collections management.
Opportunity for cleaning and restoring skeletons and fossils
Skills Demonstrated
🦈 Specimen Handling Experience - bones, skeletons, and fossils
🦷 Cataloguing, Documentation, and Digitisation of a large physical archive
Impact and Key Achievements 🎯
🌟 First experience working with a Natural History collection in a museum setting, building on knowledge and skills developed through curating my own personal collection.
🌟 Gaining insight into the behind-the-scenes processes of a developing museum and its growing collection base
🗃️☠️🗂️
Sheffield Museums Trust's
🎄Crafted at Christmas at Millennium Gallery 📦
October 2025
Displayed 24 Oct 2025 to Dec 2025
Sheffield Museums Socials
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Supported the Retail team through careful condition checking, documentation, and inventory administration.
Condition Checking Process:
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📦 Unpacked and organised artworks and craft pieces from over 35 makers across the UK
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🧾 Checked condition, matched delivery notes, and recorded any discrepancies
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🏷️ Labelled and priced items according to museum retail guidelines
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🪶 Followed conservation and handling standards throughout the process
Key Contributions 📌
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Ensured safe handling and accurate documentation
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Collaborated with retail staff to prepare items for display and sale
Skills Demonstrated
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🖐️ Object Handling & Condition Checking
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📋 Inventory Management & Documentation
This was my first opportunity to contribute directly to the setup of a major selling exhibition, combining retail operations with museum-standard care for objects.
Impact & Key Achievements 🎯
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🌟 Strengthened practical collections handling and documentation experience
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🌟 Supported a key museum retail initiative promoting UK makers
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🌟 Gained insight into the behind-the-scenes logistics of exhibition preparation
💍🎄👜
The Poetry Archive's
🌏 Poetry of South Asia Collection 💻
October 2024 - May 2025
Launched 31 May 2025
The Poetry Archive Socials
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I contributed to digital curation and public programming that made South Asian literary heritage accessible to global audiences.
Exhibition Development Process:
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💻 Created and edited poet profiles for the South Asia Collection
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📄 Independently developed an internal, searchable poet birthday database for editorial planning
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🤝 Collaboration with Poetry Archive curatorial team and on-site festival audience engagement team
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💬 Credited and quoted contributor on official webpage
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🎉 Final collection launched at Khushwant Singh Literary Festival 2025
Key Contributions 📌
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Researched poet information for my four assigned poets in Google Docs - documenting and fact-checking the Poetry Archive's website for correct personal information, publications, and awards.
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Independently created and audited an internal, searchable poet birthday database for editorial and social media planning
Key Research Discoveries 🔍
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A deeper understanding of South Asian poetry
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Armajit Chandan's life story as a child, activist, and poet
Skills Demonstrated
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📚 Digital Archival Curation & Metadata Organisation
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🤝 Professional Collaboration with established literary institutions
My research and data management work supported the development of the collection from the archival organisation through to its public launch.
Impact & Key Achievements 🎯
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🌟 Supported digital publication workflows by maintaining accessible and secure Google Drive documentation
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🌟 Contributed to the public launch of the collection through on-site support, including audience engagement, promotion, and logistics
🌏📝💻
Holst Victorian House
🎼 Collections and Digitisation Assistant (Placement) 📃
March 2024
Holst Victorian House Socials
This role was a part of my third year of study for my Research and Enquiry module, which involved this work placement.
Supported the cataloguing of historical artefacts and engaged in hands-on collections care.
Key Contributions 📌
100+ Victorian artefacts digitised to museum standards.
Skills Demonstrated in Archival Context
📑 Collections management and documentation
💻 Data and metadata entry using Microsoft Word
📄 Paper Archiving - music scores, letters, photographs (laminated)
This placement provided hands-on experience with ensuring accurate documentation and traceable cataloguing in line with ISAD(G) descriptive principles. As well as establishing workflows for digitising paper artefacts.
Impact & Key Achievements 🎯
🌟 Enhanced the accessibility of the museum’s collection through digitisation.
🌟 Expanded experience in museum collections work, supporting career development in archiving and heritage.
🗃️💻🎼
🖼️ Exhibitions & Public Programming 👋
A collection of experiences in exhibition support, event delivery, and public engagement.
From assisting at live museum events to contributing research for public exhibitions, this work demonstrates my ability to connect audiences with culture and heritage. Each project has strengthened my confidence in communication, accessibility, and creative collaboration—skills that bridge curatorial interpretation with visitor experience.
My involvement across different institutions reflects a growing understanding of how exhibitions and programming shape public connection to museums—transforming research, storytelling, and creativity into shared, meaningful experiences.
Sheffield Museums Trust's
🎄Crafted at Christmas at Millennium Gallery 🏷️
October 2025
Displayed 24 Oct 2025 to 24 Dec 2025
Sheffield Museums Socials
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I supported the Retail and Technician teams in the physical setup of Crafted at Christmas, Sheffield Museums’ annual festive selling showcase.
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This role involved assisting with the placement and display of artworks and craft items, ensuring they are presented attractively, accessibly, and in line with curatorial standards.
Gallery Setup Process:
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🖼️ Assisting with the arrangement and display of artworks, ceramics, textiles, and jewellery
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🪑 Preparing display plinths, cabinets, and shelving layouts to enhance visual presentation
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🏷️ Supporting with the placement of labels and price tags for clear visitor access
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🎨 Ensuring all display areas reflect the exhibition’s festive, professional aesthetic
Key Contributions 📌
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Supported the final staging and layout of a high-profile museum retail exhibition
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Applied curatorial principles to balance visual appeal with object safety
Skills Demonstrated
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🎨 Curatorial Display & Exhibition Design
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🖐️ Object Handling & Presentation Awareness
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🧩 Collaboration with Retail & Technician Teams
This role builds on my earlier Condition Checking work, expanding my involvement from behind-the-scenes preparation to hands-on exhibition setup. It provides valuable experience in spatial design and curatorial teamwork, central to my museum and heritage career development.
Impact & Key Achievements 🎯
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🌟 Enhanced understanding of the link between curation, retail, and display design
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🌟 Developed practical teamwork and coordination skills during exhibition installation
🧑🎨🎄🧶
Sheffield Museums Trust's
🌅 New Horizons Exhibition at Millennium Gallery 📖
October 2025
Displayed 18 Oct 2025 to 25 Jan 2026
Sheffield Museums Socials
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I contributed to the preparations for the New Horizons exhibition by supporting the Curatorial and Exhibitions teams through proofreading text for panels and labels to create accessibility in interpretation.
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Following my work with The Poetry Archive on their Poetry of South Asia Collection (2024-2025), I contributed editorial support to Sheffield Museums Trust's New Horizons exhibition, applying accessibility and interpretive skills across both literary and visual arts contexts.
Exhibition Development Process:
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📝 Reviewed exhibition text supplied by curators and community partners, checked SPAG, and ensured general clarity
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💬 Provided feedback on readability and accessibility where needed
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📋 Followed guidelines for formatting and comment submission
Key Contributions 📌
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Proofread interpretation text for panels and labels
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Collaborated with curatorial and exhibitions teams to maintain professional standards
Skills Demonstrated
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📝 Editorial Accuracy & attention to detail
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💻 Digital Document Management (Word and PDF)
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♿ Accessibility Awareness in Museum Interpretation
This role was the first exhibition project I contributed to with Sheffield Museums Trust.
Impact & Key Achievements 🎯
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🌟 Helped ensure accessible and engaging interpretation for visitors
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🌟 Developed professional skills in proofreading and exhibition preparation
🌅📖🗿
The Poetry Archive's
🌏 Poetry of South Asia Collection Launch 🎉
October 2024 - May 2025
Launched 31 May 2025
The Poetry Archive Socials
Khushwant Singh Literary Festival Socials
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I contributed to the collection's launch with event support and public programming, helping make South Asian literary heritage accessible to global audiences.
Exhibition Development Process:
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💻 Created and edited poet profiles for the South Asia Collection
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📄 Independently developed an internal, searchable poet birthday database for editorial planning
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🤝 Collaboration with Poetry Archive curatorial team and on-site festival audience engagement team
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💬 Credited and quoted contributor on official webpage
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🎉 Final collection launched at Khushwant Singh Literary Festival 2025
Key Contributions 📌
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Supported the public launch of The Poetry of South Asia Collection in partnership with The Poetry Archive.
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Assisted with audience engagement and event coordination during the festival.
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Promoted the Archive’s new collection, helping to connect visitors with its creative and cultural significance.
Skills Demonstrated
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🎟️ Public Engagement
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🗂️ Archival Project Representation
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🖼️ Exhibition and Event Support
My research and data management work supported the development of the collection from the archival organisation through to its public launch.
Impact & Key Achievements 🎯
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🌟 Supported digital publication workflows by maintaining accessible and secure Google Drive documentation
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🌟 Contributed to the public launch of the collection through on-site support, including audience engagement, promotion, and logistics
🌏📝🎉
Gloucester Folk Museum's
🧵 Threads: Belonging and Unbelonging Exhibition 👗
September 2022 - May 2023
Displayed in September 2024
Gloucester Folk Museum Socials
I created museum-standard interpretive materials exploring how Georgian and Victorian fashion trade in Gloucestershire, as part of a second year module at university.
The final presentation contributed to a public exhibition that engaged visitors with complex narratives about identity, belonging, and material culture.
Exhibition Development Process:
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💻 Initial research and slide creation
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🤝 Collaboration with my group and museum staff to adapt content for public display
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🖼️ Final presentation integrated into the museum's exhibition framework (content refined to avoid research overlap).
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🎉 Project displayed in September 2024
Key Contributions 📌
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Researched and wrote interpretive text on Queen Victoria's 'Buy British' policy and its impact on the domestic textile industry.
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Developed visual slides for public display on Victorian mourning dress and social class distinctions.
Key Research Discoveries 🔍
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Queen Victoria's "Buy British" policy and its economic impact
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How mourning dress regulations created class distinctions
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Regional variations in Gloucester's textile industry
Skills Demonstrated
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🏛️ Museum collaboration & professional communication
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🎨 Public-facing content creation & visual design
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📋 Adapting academic research for diverse audiences
As my first exhibition contribution, this project built foundational knowledge in museum display processes, collaborative research, and public-facing interpretation.
Impact & Key Achievements 🎯
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🌟 Built foundational knowledge of museum collections and display process, and being the first exhibition piece I worked on furthered my career.
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🌟 Developed skills in visual literacy, teamwork, and public history communication through curatorial simulation and academic research
🧵👑🖼️
🦋 Specimen Preparation & Personal Practice 🦋
Documenting hands-on preservation practice through natural history specimen preparation. Each project reflects developing skills in cleaning, preparation, and display techniques directly applicable to museum collections care and natural history curation.
I developed these skills independently through my personal collection work (2021-Present), and now I apply them professionally at the Yorkshire Natural History Museum.
Read my thoughts on the importance and the ethics of specimen collections:
💀 Personal Specimen Collection 🪲
2021 - Present
Alongside my academic and curatorial work, I maintain a personal collection of natural history specimens and creative curios, applying museum-standard preparation and preservation techniques to specimens I source and prepare myself.
Each piece reflects hands-on skills directly connected to collections care in museums and heritage settings. These projects demonstrate my ability to balance scientific preservation with aesthetic presentation—skills I now apply professionally as an Archive and Collections Assistant at the Yorkshire Natural History Museum.
The sections below organise this work by technique and purpose, showcasing the diverse skills required in natural history collections management.
All specimens have been ethically sourced, cleaned, and prepared in line with UK wildlife and museum collection standards, ensuring respect for both natural and cultural heritage.
Read my guides to at-home specimen preparation and the essential tools needed:
🗓️ Year by Year Growth
Documenting the progression of my natural history skills through specimen preparation, cleaning, restoring, and display.
🦴 Bone Cleaning
Showcasing my methods and outcomes in cleaning, articulating and conserving skeletal specimens for display and study.
🪲 Insect Pinning
Highlighting the preparation, labelling and mounting of entomological specimens for collection-use and exhibit purposes.
✍️ Reflective
Engaging in self-analysis of my practice and exploring ethical, methodological and interpretive issues in museum work.
🫙 Curios
Featuring unique finds, unexpected objects and creative assemblages that spark curiosity and narrative in collection contexts.
🖼️ Display Curation
Demonstrating specimen arrangement and visual presentation — from display mounting to interpretation labels and spatial layout, connecting hands-on skills to exhibition practice.
🎨 Anatomical Art
A series of anatomical illustrations combining artistic interpretation with curatorial precision, reflecting a detailed understanding of skeletal structure and form.
💀🪲🦋🐝🦴