Moving on Up, a one day conference for early career
professionals, was held at the School of Museum Studies at Leicester University
on 24th February. The event was sold out, with people travelling
from all over the country to attend. The day has been about a year in the
planning, so it was gratifying for the organising committee that it was so well
supported!
There was a range of speakers from across the sector, all
addressing the issues that face us all in the early stages of our career. NTU’s
own Neville Stankley gave a masterclass of quick fire interview tips. Mine was
the only raised hand in the room when he asked if anyone never got nervous in interviews, which shocked me (even Neville
called me a weirdo). I can’t be the only one?
There followed a very interesting question and answer
session with three experienced and respected leaders in the sector: Tony Butler
of Derby Museums Trust, Maggie Appleton of the RAF Museum and Iain Watson of
Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums. They were all eloquent on the challenges
that they have faced in their careers and were generous with their advice. The
best advice centred on staying true to your own values and being brave when
making career decisions, particularly if that means a more divergent path than
you were expecting!
The day was full of great advice from respected people in
the sector, and there was plenty of space for delegates to discuss their own
views on what was said. The room was perpetually abuzz with conversation, it
was a great atmosphere to be a part of.
The standout moment of the day though was the opening
keynote speech from Kathryn Perera of Movement for Change. Disillusioned with a
career in the law (in which she was compelled to put moral beliefs aside), she
took the brave decision to resign in order to found Movement for Change, a
social enterprise that, in her words, “uses the power of community organising to make change happen”. Since their
inception in 2010 they have campaigned on issues such as
access to fair credit, the Living Wage and poor conditions in the private
rented sector. She was inspiring in her eloquence.
The day was a great success, and renewed my
faith that the people currently coming into our museums share a passion,
dedication and creative spirit that can only serve the sector well in the
future.
Rebecca Atkinson’s
blog and storify: http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/museums-journal-blog/25022015-success-is-who-i-am
Edited abstract of
Kathryn Perera’s speech: www.movementforchange.org.uk/dare_to_fear
This post was written by Simon Brown, Artefact Loans Officer at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries and the East Midlands member representative for the Museums Association. He manages the 11,000 strong Access Artefacts handling collection, based at Wollaton Park.
He graduated from NTU in 2004 with a BA in Heritage Studies with Human Geography, and has since gone on to work in various roles for Nottingham City Museums and Galleries and Nottingham Contemporary, including as a museum assistant, curator and documentation assistant. He is currently studying for the AMA.
