Written by Carlotta Rosella, MA student in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at the University of East Anglia and Museum of Cambridge Volunteer.
Hi! I’m Carlotta and I had the pleasure of joining the Museum of Cambridge team as a work placement student for 4 weeks as part of my MA in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies at the University of East Anglia. I had the opportunity to get involved with a range of activities within the museum such as assisting with the management and conservation of objects in the collection, researching objects in the museum’s collection for an upcoming project, helping with educational events, duty managing, and writing for the museum’s social media!
I started my placement in March, but my relationship with the Museum of Cambridge goes way back! I am a Cambridgeshire local, having lived in the village of Harston, just 5 miles from Cambridge my whole life, and have visited the Museum of Cambridge as a child (known then as the Cambridge and County Folk Museum). Then, nearly two years ago I joined the Front of House Volunteering Team and later the Fundraising Volunteering Team. If you came along to any of our fundraising pub quiz events you would have seen me hosting! So, when my master’s course called for me to undergo a 4-week museum work placement, I knew exactly where to ask. And I’m so glad I did!
It was great fun to gain hands-on experience with handling objects in the collection. With the wonderful support from Milly, the Collections and Projects Officer, I learnt how to correctly handle, clean, and package up objects to be stored in the museum’s collection, and use the digital cataloguing system Modes to ensure the objects were accounted for in the records.
Here I am in action cleaning and documenting objects!
A very exciting aspect of my placement was the research I conducted on the documentation of Cambridge’s history through paintings and photos. From the skills I gained from my collections work with Milly, I was given the freedom to explore objects of interest on Modes and then go into the collections store to look at them myself. There was something so rewarding about uncovering these items that aren’t on permanent display in the museum.
Through my research, I became particularly interested in the works of Mary Greene, the late 19th/early 20th century Cambridge based artist whose work features heavily in the Museum of Cambridge’s collection. The streets and old buildings of Cambridge are the subject of many of Greene’s paintings. Her wonderful use of colour and impressionist-like brushstrokes create a striking portrait of her home city.
Overall, my placement has been an absolute blast! The whole team at the Museum of Cambridge have always been so warm and welcoming to me and I thank them for all the support they’ve given me over the course of my placement. If you are considering volunteering with the museum, rest assured that you will be in the safest of hands!
On the left is the White Horse Inn by Mary Greene, 1909. (CAMFK: 305.80). On the right is the same view today
The Museum of Cambridge is the independent social history museum of the City and County of Cambridgeshire. As a registered charity the Museum relies on your support to enable volunteering opportunities such as this.
For more information on how to support the Museum of Cambridge’s vital work to preserve local history for future generations, visit www.museumofcambridge.org.uk or phone 01223 355159.