After finishing my BA in Art History in 2005, I went on to do a one-year Post-Baccalaureate Certificate program in Art Conservation at Studio Art Centers International in Florence. I specialized in paper and book conservation, having already had some experience doing similar work in my on-campus job at the Libe. After completing my course I was hired by Washington State University’s Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections Unit as their Preservation Museum Specialist, a post I held for two years before starting graduate school. I completed my MA in Art Museum and Gallery Studies in the UK at Newcastle University’s International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies in September 2009 and began work at the Lakeland Arts Trust, which manages four cultural venues in the Lake District of North West England, soon after.
In my current position as Curatorial and Exhibitions Assistant for the Trust, I spend most of my time based at Abbot Hall Art Gallery (a Georgian villa which houses a permanent collection of predominantly 18th and 20th century British art, and which puts on four temporary exhibitions per year) and I also assist the curator at Blackwell, the Arts and Crafts House with exhibition installations, conservation cleaning and collection care issues. A good deal of my time is spent working on temporary exhibitions, which usually involves liaising with artists and other galleries or museums, preparing interpretation, working on installations, and doing research. My duties are varied, and working in a smaller organization gives me frequent opportunities to broaden my experience. My background in Art History and Conservation prepared me well for curatorial work, because I have knowledge of the physical properties, appropriate handling, and display requirements of the objects I work with, as well as their cultural significance.