We can only thank Ian for his masterly leadership...Arundel Museum Society Newsletter, January 2008
Museum Consultant
Museum Experience
| 2007- | Freelance writer, historian and museum consultant |
|---|---|
| 2002-07 | Chichester District Museum (Principal Curator) |
| 1992-2002 | Littlehampton Museum (Museum & Community Arts Officer) |
| 1988-92 | Mary Rose Trust, Portsmouth (Exhibition Manager) |
| 1977-88 | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (various posts including Medieval Historian 1981-86 and Research Co-Ordinator, Armada Exhibition 1986-88) |
Ian's museum experience ranges over 30 years. His achievements include:
- National Maritime Museum: key member of the Armada exhibition team
- Mary Rose Trust: innovative education work, taking the MRT's schools' programme in a new and successful direction
- Littlehampton Museum: played a key role in securing a £500,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant for the redevelopment of Littlehampton Museum; planned and led the successful redevelopment
- Littlehampton Museum: working with local councillors, artists and other colleagues, Ian developed and managed a lively community arts programme which staged or facilitated many events
- Chichester District Museum: ran the Museum for five years, managing successful public programmes and planning and implementing a major Collection storage move
- Chichester District Museum: major role in the project to develop and design a new Museum, including membership of the RIBA competition panel that selected the successful architectural practise for the project
- 1991-2007: led the research, development and staging of more than 40 temporary exhibitions and other displays - see Select List of Exhibition Work
Museum Consultant (from summer 2007)
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Since September 2010, Ian has been working with London-based designers Real Studios on the re-display of Neptune Court at the National Maritime Museum.
Tudor House Museum, Southampton
In advance of the recent re-opening (July 2011) of this important historic building and Museum, Ian carried out detailed research on a significant collection of c 1570-1620 graffiti found in one of Tudor House Museum's upper rooms. The graffiti includes many images of ships, people and animals, and some rather mysterious symbols. As well as researching and writing a detailed report and a catalogue of the graffiti, Ian was also heavily involved in developing the interpretation and script for the state-of- the-art AV show that now enables visitors to explore the graffiti.
New Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth
In 2011, Ian undertook a project for the Mary Rose Trust, developing the interpretation and content of the Ship's Rig displays that will be part of the Trust's exciting new Museum, due to open in 2012.
Sea City Museum, Southampton
From July 2009 to January 2010, Ian worked as a consultant to Urban Salon, designers of the new Sea City Museum in Southampton. As Interpretation Specialist for the project, he advised on many aspects of the interpretation plan for the new Museum. Also, working from Southampton City Council (SCC) documentation, he drafted key parts of the Interpretation Strategy for SCC's Stage 2 bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for Sea City Museum. In March 2010, SCC was successful in obtaining an HLF grant of £4.6 million for Stage 1 of the Sea City Museum Project.
Ian's special interests lie in research, interpretation and display development. However, his experience covers most areas of museum work. Between September 2007 and March 2008 he undertook a significant collection management project for Arundel Museum, pending the construction of a new Museum building in 2012.
If you think that Ian might be able to help with your project, please contact him.