I am currently the Lead Assessor and Course Tutor for the New Museum School. The New Museum School is an HLF Skills for the Future funded project run by Culture& and Create Jobs. The project aims to make heritage more relevant, accessible and meaningful to more people and a greater range of people whilst ensuring that heritage continues to be a driving force for good that celebrates the distinctiveness and connectivity of culture. It aims to create a vibrant and passionate workforce with the skills and attributes that are relevant for the curation of heritage itself, as well as the people enjoying and shaping it. I am responsible for teaching, mentoring and assessing 16 trainees in museums and galleries across London to complete their Level 3 Diploma in Cultural Heritage.
From 2015-17 I was a Public Programmer, for UCL Museums and Collections part of UCL Culture. I ran public programmes for all ages at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and the UCL Art Museum. I learnt a great deal working within a university context and my skills in delivering for a student and adult learning audience were enhanced. I co-managed all aspects of audience engagement and public access to the collections.
I was the Acting Programme Manager for Families, at the V&A from 2014-2015. My responsibilities included managing a team of 2 full time and 2 part time members of staff and a team of 30 freelance facilitators and practitioners. I managed activities and the budget for the core daily and weekend offer as well as regular holiday programming for families in the Museum. I was also responsible for implementing a new families’ community engagement offer, working in partnership with Westway Trust and access charities such as SENSE. At the V&A, I consolidated my previous experience of running family programmes and developed new expertise in performance for early years and digital learning.
As Education Officer/ Manager, at Kensington Palace, Historic Royal Palaces I established and managed the education programme and the Clore Learning Centre at Kensington. I developed, delivered and managed the schools, higher education, adult learning and family learning programmes. I line managed a team of 2 full time staff, 12 freelance practitioners/artists/performers and 30 education volunteers. I was a member of the project team to deliver the education section of the HLF funded Kensington Palace £12million Transformation project. In September 2012 I worked on a month’s project at Paleis Het Loo, Holland, funded by the European Commission Leonardo programme. I developed transnational materials and networked with heritage education colleagues across Europe. I have a great enthusiasm and passion for heritage learning and I developed an extensive knowledge of interpretation and engagement styles at Historic Royal Palaces.
As Education Officer, for Open House (now Open City), an architectural education charity, I led the Open House education informal and formal learning programme. I coordinated and delivered education programmes for primary and secondary schools across London as well as running family learning and children’s activities during the annual Open House weekend in September. I also worked on adult learning events with architects and others in the creative industries. At Open House I gained valuable experience of producing learning activities in connection with contemporary art and design.
Jenny Pistella Associates 