From January to July 2021 Bodmin Keep will be offering 5 people the opportunity to participate in a fantastic free training programme which gives them the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills, and gain experience of being a museum curator. The Citizen Curators programme is run by Cornwall Museums Partnership in collaboration with seven museums across Cornwall, including us at Bodmin Keep, and is funded by the Museums Association’s Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund.
In addition to online training sessions covering all aspects of curatorship, the Citizen Curators will be helping us to research the Second World War and their findings will contribute to a major project that we’re working on with the Imperial War Museum. They’ll be investigating many aspects of life and military history in Cornwall, including the Walker Lines Camp which was used by the US Army in the lead up to D-Day, Everyday Life at the Barracks, St Lawrence’s Psychiatric Hospital, the Jewish community in Cornwall, and the experiences of US Soldiers including Black GIs. They’ll be supported by our Archivist Andrew Sims and our Digital Intern Charlotte Marchant.
Our Citizen Curators this year are Paulette Burgess, Runi Liverod, Tami Cross-Halls, Maddie Sheldon and Sarah Silbereis and we’re very much looking forward to working with them.
The images above and below are previous groups of Citizen Curators (below) looking at the Lucknow Quilt (prior to lockdown and social distancing rules)
