My 2026 Goals in the Museum & Heritage Sector 🏛️✨

Happy New Year! 🎉 As 2026 begins, I’m excited to share my goals and plans for the year ahead in the museum and heritage sector. This year promises new roles, fresh learning opportunities, and deeper involvement in the work I’m passionate about — from archiving and collections care to marketing heritage stories. I’m looking forward to nurturing my skills and contributing to preserving the rich history that shapes our communities.

🔭 Looking Ahead: New Roles and Opportunities

As the new year approaches, I’m feeling excited and hopeful about deepening my involvement in exhibitions, archiving, and collections care. This year, I’m stepping into new roles with two incredible organisations close to my heart: the Yorkshire Natural History Museum and the Sheffield General Cemetery Trust.

🦴 Yorkshire Natural History Museum: A Gentle Start

My journey with the Yorkshire Natural History Museum has been a gentle one so far. After completing my induction in September 2025, I’ve been waiting patiently as they update their filing system. While I haven’t yet started hands-on work in the archives, I’m looking forward to diving in fully in 2026 — there’s something special about caring for history through careful archiving that feels like tending a living garden of stories.

Gravid Female Ichthyosaurus

🪦 Sheffield General Cemetery Trust: Planting Seeds in Marketing

With the Sheffield General Cemetery Trust, I’m preparing for an introductory meeting in late January with the volunteer and marketing managers. I’m eager to understand how I can best support their marketing efforts and help share the stories of this unique heritage trust. It feels like planting seeds for new connections and growth.

📚 Learning and Growing: Workshops and Hands-On Experience

In the meantime, I’ve been immersing myself in online workshops about archiving and collections care, starting in December 2025. I’m grateful for the knowledge shared by organisations like:

• The Poetry Archive

• Museum Development England

• Arts Council England

• Historic Environment Scotland

• The National Archives

One highlight I’m particularly looking forward to is an in-person archive tour and conservation work at the D. H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum in Eastwood — a place close to my roots in Derbyshire.

🤗 2026: A Year of Quiet Nurturing and Passion

Each step feels like a quiet nurturing of skills and passion, preparing me to contribute meaningfully to preserving and celebrating heritage. Here’s to a year of learning, growing, and caring for the stories that shape us.

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✨ Learn more about my work and aspirations here: My Portfolio