Making museum professionals, 1850- the present

Making museum professionals, 1850- the present is an AHRC-funded international research network bringing together academics and museum professionals to investigate the past, present and future of museum work.

It seeks to support and develop campaigns for fairness, inclusion and transparency in the museum sector by investigating the historical roots of the museum professions and the structures that supported them, from the birth of the modern museum (c. 1850) to the present day. It considers the boundaries of the profession, how professionals are 'made' through training and career paths, and how transnational forces such as war and colonialism affect professonalisation.

Funded by the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council, from December 2022 to December 2024, the ‘Making Museum Professionals’ project operates through three workshops.

In these workshops, and in online spaces including a website, interested groups and individuals will work together to examine a range of critical issues relating to the museum workforce and its professionalisation.

Researchers are publishing findings on a website and in academic and sector journals, also producing campaign assets to help sector advocacy organisations continue their work to promote equitable professional development in the sector.