Blog/Articles
M.A.’s Question Time
As part of Freelancers’ Week 2025, the Museums Association invited me to share my thoughts on life as a freelancer in the sector. I share my experience and offer some tips and reflections in the hope that it may help those thinking of navigating an alternative career pathway.
Read more about my reflections and those of other freelancers in the museum sector, who were selected to represent different views.
The Railway Engineering Legend - Thomas Brassey
A new bronze statue of Thomas Brassey appeared outside Chester Railway Station and it’s brilliant! People stop, look, read, reflect and connect. That’s the mark of a great piece of public art.
The bronze sculpture, created by the talented Andrew Edwards, captures Brassey holding a map...
The Art of Tour Guiding
It's an exciting time for history lovers! We have a surge of virtual tours, online experiences, Matterport technology, mobile apps and on-site audio tours – so much choice! But with all these advancements, is there still a place for the good old-fashioned, in-person guided tour?
A Study: Wellbeing in Welsh Museums
The research study collected quantitative data on visitor wellbeing in Welsh Museums using University College London’s (UCL) Creative Wellbeing Measures Toolkit. In particular the ‘Positive Generic Wellbeing Umbrella’. The Toolkit was designed to enable audiences to self-report on changes in mood and emotion before and after engaging with a museum or gallery. As a collective, wellbeing across these emotions improved by 28%. This research was commissioned and published by the Welsh Government’s Culture Division. Further online training was devised and provided to the Welsh museum sector.
CASE STUDIES: Health and Wellbeing in Welsh Museums
Ten case studies of wellbeing projects from Welsh museums have been collected as a resource. It shares best practices from the Welsh museums sector to encourage more museums to engage in wellbeing work and to highlight the range of initiatives. The wellbeing activities cited include supporting people living with dementia, volunteer programmes with young people and sharing stories by using museum collections to represent local and global communities. This research was commissioned and published by the Welsh Government’s Culture Division.
Lindisfarne Castle
To be honest, I was already intrigued with Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island before I arrived! Described as a Castle (that's not a Castle) and on an Island (that's not an Island). It stands on a rocky crag 100 feet above the North Sea...
