Activating Culture
If you are thinking about starting, expanding, renovating, improving a museum or cultural centre, I can help. I will work with you and your team to make sure you are empowered to make solid decisions for an exciting visitor experience and a sustainable future.
Thoughts and things
Professional Services
I provide the professional services below. If you're not sure what you need, be in touch and we can figure it out together.
Cultural Consulting
Advice on creating, developing and improving cultural assets for the benefit of diverse users.
Visioning
Concept Development
Interpretive Planning and Curatorial Frameworks
Master Planning
Programme Development
Community and Stakeholder Engagement
Sustainability Planning
Making sure your ideas match your funds, people and space.
Feasibility Studies
Business Planning
Strategic Planning
Staffing Planning
Change Management
Diversity Training
Teaching, Speaking and Training
Talks. Courses. Personalized training. Skills Transfer.
I am invited to speak frequently as a keynote or part of a panel on themes related to museums and society, including diversity and inclusion, soft power, urban development and placemaking. I teach Masters students cultural leadership, learning and programming and curating and interpretation. I can also tailor a short course for your staff, specifically based on my two books, and/or informal learning.
Creating
Writing. Curating. Content Design. Innovative, insightful, relevant stories.
I have a journalism degree and worked for 12 years in television and documentary- producing, directing, writing and script-editing. I have been a performance poet, playwright and a writer. I am passionate about text writing in exhibitions. Developing new ideas. Creating and curating exhibitions.
Bio
I am a versatile and innovative cultural consultant with experience advising more than 55 museum and cultural projects worldwide. My specific expertise is in finding innovative ways to connect cultural resources (collections, ideas, stories, research, space and staff) to new audiences. Throughout my career, I have been based on three continents, and have worked with dozens of municipal, regional and national governments, museums, companies, foundations and individuals who are dedicated to sharing their cultures with others.
I am co-editor, with Ali Hossaini, of the Manual of Digital Museum Planning, (Rowman and Littlefield 2017) which provides practical guidance for cultural institutes to transform to reflect new digital realities.is I also co-edited, with Gail Lord, of Cities, Museums and Soft Power (AAM Press 2015) which urges museums to play a more vital role in creating equitable, inclusive and empowering cities.
Select Projects
Here is a selection of projects I have led. I have grouped them according to common motivations and themes. View similar projects or see the full list through the link below.
History for Today
How to engage and inspire diverse audiences today about a past that may exclude them or they may find irrelevant or painful. A common challenge for museums. Clue: Tech isn't the only answer...
Jerusalem Exhibition, Jewish Museum Berlin.
In 2017, I worked closely with the curators at the Jewish Museum, Berlin and the designers Kossmann.dejong to shape the complex story of Jerusalem- a city whose past and present are often violently intertwined.
This was to be the main exhibition during the redevelopment of the permanent exhibition, and given the bias assumed in a Jewish Museum tackling this subject- it was important to be engaging, whilst also providing a balanced reflection on a city that is at once empirical, holy and political.
Activating Culture Around the World
A work travelogue
Some images of my travels and work (and some personal ones, especially these days during lock-down!)
I have been lucky to be always learning through my travels, always finding things to inspire new ideas.