rebecca bridgman

curatorial and exhibitions manager

About

Rebecca leads the Curatorial and Exhibitions team on major projects from key aspects of redevelopment plans for Birmingham Museums to the Arts Council Collection National Partner Programme. She moved to the Trust in 2012 to become the organisation’s first specialist Curator of Middle East & South Asian Arts. Through socially-engaged curatorial practice, she has lead on displays including ‘The Past is Now: Birmingham and the British Empire’ and the audience-focused HLF acquisition project ‘Collecting Birmingham’. Nationally, Rebecca is chair of the subject specialist network for Islamic Art and Material Culture that shares knowledge and best practice throughout the UK museum sector. These roles follow research on Islamic ceramic collections at The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; postgraduate studies at Southampton and Seville Universities and archaeological fieldwork in Egypt and East Africa.

Country

united states

City

seattle

Industry

museums and institutions

Skill

museums, history, curating, cultural heritage, archaeology, art, museum collections, research, art exhibitions, museum education, art history, lecturing, archives, teaching, historical research, ceramic analysis, field work, editing, higher education, grant writing, historic preservation, archival research, report writing, analysis, conservation issues, excavation, petrology

Experience

curatorial and exhibitions manager

birmingham museums trust

2018-7 - Present · 8 yrs 3 mos

vice-president

society for the medieval mediterranean

2007-7 - 2013-7 · 6 yrs 1 mo

In this honorary position, I was jointly responsible for the running of the Society. I developed the Society's web pages and organised a conference, entitled 'Trade, Travel & Transmission in the Medieval Mediterranean' which took take place between 8-10 July 2013 at Churchill College, Cambridge.

researcher for islamic pottery

fitzwilliam museum

2009-1 - 2012-10 · 3 yrs 10 mos

I catalogued the collection of Islamic Pottery (available through the Fitzwilliam's website: http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explorer/) and in so doing identified the international importance of this material. Working with my colleague Dr Graeme Earl, we created the first interactive digital surface maps of lustre and gilded ceramics, through the technique of polynomial texture mapping (see: http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/projects/lustreware/). I also developed a new approach to object biographies using archaeological, art historical and archival data.

tutor

university of reading

2008-10 - 2008-12 · 3 mos

dr rebecca bridgman

museums association

2011-1 - 2011-1 · 1 mo

chair

subject specialist network for islamic art and material culture

2013-5 - Present · 13 yrs 5 mos

This is a group of UK museum professionals which aims to share information on Islamic Art and Material Culture. After receiving an ACE Resilience Grant, we have increased our activities to include a Specialist Support Scheme that helps regional museums unlock the potential of their collections and diversify their audiences. We also offer bursaries and run study days. Please see our web pages for more information: http://krc.orient.ox.ac.uk/iamcssn/index.php/en/

curator of islamic and south asian arts and curatorial team leader

birmingham museums trust

2015-7 - Present · 11 yrs 3 mos

In addition to my curatorial responsibilities, I now manage three members of the Curatorial and Exhibitions team and lead on the HLF funded project 'Collecting Birmingham'. This project aims to make Birmingham's collection more representative of the people of the city. It focuses on the theme of 'growing up, living and working in Birmingham' and through this project we are developing innovative approaches to collecting in consultation with local communities.

lecturer

university of southampton

2008-2 - 2008-11 · 10 mos

curator of islamic and south asian arts

birmingham museums trust

2012-10 - Present · 14 yrs

I am responsible for mapping, for the first time, this largely unknown collection of Islamic and South Asian Art. Using that collection, and together with colleagues, I am developing a new program of exhibitions and displays which aims to reach out to the city's diverse population. Since arriving at Birmingham I have been involved in the development of six exhibitions or re-displays, of which I led on four. These projects include 'Qalam: the art of beautiful writing'. This was the largest exhibition on calligraphy in Arabic script ever to be held outside the national museums. During it's three month run received over 33,000 visitors and doubled BAME audiences in Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Most recently, I worked alongside colleagues to develop a new permanent gallery, 'Faith in Birmingham'. This new display was co-curated with local Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities. It provides a voice for people of faith in the city. http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/bmag/highlights/faith-in-birmingham