Insight into textiles part 2 - Jenny Lister, V&A Museum

Article Added: 20/11/2009 14:39:09
In the second instalment of our ‘Insight into Textiles’ series we caught up with Jenny Lister, curator of the fashion and Textiles collection 1800-1914 at the prestigious V&A Museum in London. We spoke to her to get the low-down on what her job entails…

HHT: How would you define your role?
JL: There are several aspects to my role a curator, the first being collections management – which involves maintaining appropriate storage, liaising with textile conservators about conservation treatment and monitoring and updating existing displays. I also update catalogue records, both on computer and in the related paperwork, and research the history of objects in the V&A collections and develop the collections by acquiring new pieces to fill in the gaps. Sometimes these will come through donations and sometimes we purchase objects from auctions or collectors.

The second chief area is putting together a public programme so that visitors can see our collections, which is of course why we have them here in the first place. This involves setting up exhibitions, lectures, conferences, gallery tours, writing publications such as books to go with exhibitions and writing information for the website. The website is an increasingly important part of the museum’s work and we try to make the collections available online with text and images as far as possible.

I also devote quite a bit of time to responding to enquiries from the public, who write in requesting information about the V&A collections, and often about their own objects, and also enquiries from the media - producers and journalists who need to check facts or want an interview for a radio or TV programme. We also run appointments for researchers and designers who need to see objects in the museum stores.

HHT: What would you say is the best way for students to get a job in a museum or gallery?
JL: It isn’t easy to find a job in any industry but the arts world in particularly competitive, so for this reason I would say that work experience is essential. Work experience is also a great way to find out if curating is for you, as well as gaining valuable experience at the same time. Most local museums are a very good starting point if you want to volunteer and see what the job entails. The V&A does accept students for work experience for fashion and textile students, ideally during the second year of a BA degree onwards, and the best way to go about arranging a placement is to visit the ‘contact us’ section of the website www.vam.ac.uk and then select the email address for the Human Resources department. You can then write in by email, with a CV and covering letter, or send this in the post.

HHT: Would you recommend students do further courses after completing their degree or is it best to get into the ‘real world’ as soon as possible?
JL: Both! There are some MA courses that specialise in curating and others that focus on the history of design or specific areas of textiles and fashion history, but it is very important to start getting some practical experience too. As I mentioned before work experience is a great way to do this, but for instance, I also found that previous employment in retail was very helpful as you require a lot of the same skills and personal qualities needed for interacting and working with the general public and dealing with queries.

HHT: Do you know of any scholarships or funding that are available to help students get started in their career?
JL: In my personal experience I had some help towards my postgraduate studies from a local educational trust. There are a few charities such as the Pasold Research Fund www.pasold.co.uk, and specific guilds and companies such as the Clothworkers Company www.clothworkers.co.uk but these are more geared up towards helping individuals with small donations towards specific research projects, and securing this kind of funding is a very competitive process. The Costume Society www.costumesociety.org.uk and The Textile Society www.textilesociety.org.uk run a very limited number of annual awards to help with costs towards student projects.

HHT: What is your advice for someone with a degree in fashion or textiles but doesn’t know what they want to do with it?
JL: If you can afford it I would suggest getting a part time job so that you can use your spare time to do some voluntary work and find out what sectors interest you – there are several areas involving fashion history to consider, such as auction houses, museums and galleries, or working as a film or theatre costumier. If you are lucky you can get a placement so you can see exactly what the job involves, including of course the more mundane and down-to-earth aspects.

HHT: What hours do you work?
JL: The hours are at least in theory 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, but there can be extra hours to put in if you are working on a particular project and the deadline is looming – as is often the case with working in the arts world. And sometimes we work on museum events in the evening or at weekends. In any case this is the sort of job that also occupies your mind outside of work hours too!

HHT: What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career and how did you overcome it?
JL: The ideal for most people is to have a full-time job but the biggest challenge I faced was that these were so hard to come by. Often only part-time work is available or you might find you have to move to a new city because of a job. It’s also worth bearing in mind that few museum jobs focus entirely on fashion and textiles, so you may have to consider working with more general museum collections. In my experience it’s a question of being flexible - volunteering and short term contracts help to build up your CV and can help you towards the dream of a full-time job working with a museum collection.

HHT: What is the best bit about your job?
JL: I really enjoy using my skills as a historian to research the stories behind museum objects. It is also great to combine this with the creative and practical side of producing exhibitions and displays. I really like working in a large stimulating organisation where there are many opportunities and challenges, and working with colleagues with a great deal of experience and specialist knowledge in a variety of subjects – you learn new something every day!