Claire Walsh Email & Phone Number

Tring

St Albans, Hertfordshire

Museum consultancy related to collections rationalisation, documentation and general management, provision of temporary exhibitions and education workshops. Short term Interim Museum Directorship. Clients have included Luton Culture and Welwyn Hatfield Museums Service.

Content creation and copywriting, brand social media strategy, account creation and website accessibility. Clients include Tesco, Plum Baby, Britax, Yeo Valley, Walker Books, Random House and Simon and Schuster, Think Jam, Netflix, Amazon.

Chalfont St Giles, Bucks

Hertfordshire

• Developed, brokered, obtained funding and managed partnership projects (including holding budget), for example, Traditional Hertfordshire was a £78,000 HLF project involving 5 museum temporary exhibitions and associated activity• Development of a countywide exhibition project involving national loans and £150,000 grant application• Management of c. £100,000 budget in line with requirement of Hertfordshire County Council and SHARE Museums East/ Arts Council England• Relationship management working with a variety of stakeholders across the county from museums to local councillors, sponsors and other health and wellbeing and cultural providers• Active promotion and development of partnership working across cultural and health organisations within the region• Work with Audience Agency to promote Audience Finder and other agencies including Royal Opera House Bridge to ensure that museums are audience centred in all their activities• Provide training on specialist areas such as disability access, collections management, social media, fundraising and best practice in interpretation as required or commission consultants to provide the training if required• Delivered 28 objectives set via Arts Council England to ensure that Hertfordshire’s museums are resilient, appropriately governed and are high quality, reaching as wide and diverse audience as possible• Represent Hertfordshire Museums or Hertfordshire County Council at key strategic meetings, providing presentations as required

St Albans

Founding director. • In 2014 I worked to build the inaugural St Albans Literary Festival from scratch, this resulted in over 40 events and 1600 ticket sales. A second festival was launched in 2016• Negotiated events with publishers, authors and venues. For example, Terry Wogan at St Albans Town Hall, Alison Weir and Conn Iggulden at St Albans Abbey• Gained commercial sponsorship and public support for the festival which included £24,000 worth of funding from private, commercial and public bodies in 2014• Managed and recruited a team of 200 volunteers• Managed the festival budget• Managed a schools programme to fit in with the objectives of the National Curriculum• Wrote a forward plan and evaluated festivals.

• Planned and executed a programme of temporary exhibitions, including writing panels and sourcing objects from within the museum collections and other museums. • Responsibility for static gallery displays, new interpretation and maintenance• Key responsibility for the proper documentation and management, security and care of the Museum Service collections to SPECTRUM Standards• Museum lead working with council officers and other staff to ensure the appropriate of the museum and its collections at all times including loans• Developed specialist knowledge of museum databases, XML and the Vernon Systems Collection database• Project managed the move of the museum collection store to a new out of town location, including, meticulous planning, liaising with contractors, staff and volunteers, procurement of equipment and contractors and management of c. £200,000 budget. I also ensured professional collections management standards were adhered to• Actively disseminated information about collections to a wide variety of audiences through lectures, website development, online catalogue and general public outreach, including special event days• Collected oral history and objects for the museum collections • Successfully applied for grants• Re-wrote museum policy documents in advance of a successful Accreditation application. Including the Collections Management Policy, Documentation Policy.• As part of the Museum Service management team I helped shape museum development and direction, including liaising with external consultants, Trustees, elected members and other stakeholders

• Working alongside the Keeper of Archaeology I took special responsibility for specific aspects of the archaeological collections• Maintained and updated gallery displays at Verulamium Museum and worked as part of a team to deliver engaging temporary displays at The Museum of St Albans• Developed outreach projects such as archaeology days, lectures and public events

Master’S Degree, Museology/Museum Studies

MA Museum Studies

Associate Of Museums Association

Master’S Degree, Environmental Archaeology And Palaeoeconomy

MSc. Environmental Archaeology and Palaeoeconomy

Bachelor’S Degree, Archaeology

BSc. Hons Archaeology