Hello and welcome to my blog!
My name is Carmen and I am currently studying MScR Collections and Curating Practices at Edinburgh College of Art. I will be using this blog to reflect critically on my involvement in the group project “Deepening Collections Engagement Through Hybrid Programming” with the University’s Centre for Research Collections.
I am interested in working in cultural heritage because I believe that material history can be utilised to empower communities often removed from the historical record. My work experience in various access and outreach roles, including creating an online educational resource with Lothian Health Services Archive and presenting educational workshops to schoolchildren at the Museum on the Mound, has shown me first-hand how meaningful making the past relatable and accessible is.
A screenshot of the interactive digital resource on the history of bioengineering in Edinburgh I created during an internship post with the Lothian Health Services Archive, June-August 2019. All rights reserved to Lothian Health Services Archive (LHSA).
Throughout my time studying History at The University of Edinburgh, I furthered my knowledge in marginalised history through studying medical history and sex history. These subjects are of particular interest to me because I believe they are universal to the human experience, yet today we typically avoid talking about ‘taboo’ topics like illness, death or sexual behaviour. As such, these topics are also commonly absent in museums, especially national museums which receive government funding and thereby face complications on what they can and should collect and display.
A plush penis with piercings on display as part of The Museum of Broken Relationships exhibition at York Castle Museum. I feel this is a very innovative and engaging way to use exhibitions as a platform to spark a wider discussion about sexual relationships and sexual behaviour. Photograph taken by the author in February 2020.
I am excited that this guided research placement is a project that focuses on digital output, as I would love to enhance my experience in this area; I believe this is a step in the right direction to making heritage accessible to all. Furthermore, as the guided research placement is centred around health and healthcare, I would like to increase my understanding of important issues like patient data protection and ethics and how the GLAM sector can sensitively preserve and/or display materials which encompass such intimate experiences.
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