Curatorial training programme
Since 2006, the British Museum has run a training programme for
curators from outside Europe, including up to 20 participants
each year.
The summer programme seeks to expose curators to various aspects
of museum work, develop skills, and to create a network of
colleagues around the world.
To date, curators from China, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Sudan,
Ethiopia, Kenya, India and South Africa have participated. The
interaction between curators from different countries has proved
particularly fruitful.
Training sessions, attended by all the
participating curators, include the conservation and science
laboratories, exhibitions planning and delivery, collections
documentation, school and lifelong learning. 
In addition, each curator
spends part of their time at the British Museum hosted by a
specialist collections department which can offer focused training
and research time, tailored for the individual.
The last part of the programme features the
curators spending time at another UK museum, as part of the
Partnership UK
project. This allows the participants to experience multi-site
museums and different types of displays, and helps these museums
develop international relationships.
Tyne & Wear Museums,
Lincoln:
The Collection, National Museums of Wales,
The Manchester
Museum, Glasgow Museums and the
Bowes
Museum have participated in the scheme.
Report of the 2007
programme (pdf 303Kb)
The Programme would not be possible
without the generous support of several institutions and
individuals:
The Altajir Trust funds two places
for Iranian curators
The Barakat Trust makes the participation of an Islamic curator
from Egypt possible
The Wallace Trust supports an Indian placement.
Thanks are also due to Linda Noe
Laine, who funds an Iraqi curator's participation and the programme
as a whole is generously supported by Jayne
Wrightsman.
Image captions
Participating curators with Neil MacGregor, director of the British
Museum,
July 2006
Egyptian and Sudanese curators attending session in the
Organics
Conservation Laboratory
Iraqi and Chinese curators supervising the unpacking of the
Emperor’s
Terrapin at the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, a touring
exhibition
from the British Museum