Cameron Fleming (History) bagged his role as a History Curator with The Harris Museum in Preston, in summer 2018
My first journey to the Harris was one of the most daunting experiences of my life. Perhaps it seems ill to start what will be a resoundingly happy story with a sour note; but it makes the conclusion all the greater.
I Packed my bag in Lancaster, still telling myself I was working and not a student anymore. A real packed lunch (soup and a sandwich), a good book and a pre-booked train ticket in my bag. Did I forget anything? Will the staff like me? Was I really the candidate they wanted?
On went my earphones blasting ‘One day more’ from Les Misérables; that always put my nerves to rest. And it worked.
When I arrived, I had a full tour of the office: an open plan area with small bays of four desks a piece some occupied by full time curators, admin staff and managers of the museum. Other spaces were free used by volunteers or for specialist tasks: scanning, photographic manipulation or accessing data files. The stark difference between the two telling from the ever-growing piles of books, notes and assorted paper work on the occupied desks and the comparative minimalism of the unoccupied ones. You could tell immediately this was an office where the staff were always busy and passionate about their work and I hoped to be able to emulate this in my time there.
My supervisor, James Arnold was really understanding; he made sure the work for the first day wasn’t too testing. It involved helping in the set-up of a new installation, a travelling exhibition from ‘Stories’ in Newcastle about comic books. James and my part to play was in framing some original Minnie the minx cartoons on loan to the museum. The nerve wracking process of handling the cartoons mixed with the nostalgic craft appeal of the cutting of framing card to fit made the experience enjoyable.
Much of my first week followed suit; helping get the new exhibition ready for the public, from the manual tasks of moving seating and placing comic books on shelves to the more specialised tasks of checking light levels on every piece of art to ensure they are in a safe environment.
With the opening of the comic book exhibition the focus of the Harris moved towards its reimagining. I had the opportunity to attend a talk about the role of museums, such as the Harris, in civic renewal, citing projects encompassing local artists, community groups and institutions such as museums in bringing communities together. This tied into the museum’s bids for renovation which I had the opportunity to sit on committees for. This made me feel really valued and part of the team and not just ‘an intern’.
The majority of the remainder of the internship was spent in the store, cataloguing. This sounds boring at the start but once the correct techniques have been learned, and you view the items you are cataloguing through a lens of intrigue, you really appreciate the work. I had done similar work as a volunteer and knew how rewarding it can be, especially when you find an artefact that tells a real human story; giving you a sense that what you are cataloguing aren’t just bibles or cards or any numbers of documents and other artefacts but connections to the past. The connections for people living to their own past and the memories of those long gone.
Another rewarding aspect was finding items that were quite humorous, such as a pamphlet for the ‘Merry Married Men’s Musical Medley’ alongside many more sobering items such as artefacts from the first ‘teetotallers’.
As my internship ended, I reflected on my time there and the opportunities it had opened for me. My final day was spent on a Viking day in Preston flag market. We made replica coins using a reproduction die and taught children about the life of Vikings in the Lancashire area with the visiting living history group.
If I had to give advice to a future intern, it would be to keep an open mind about every opportunity that the internship may open for you. Be it a committee or an extra evening volunteering, every opportunity should be taken. Finally, I can’t thank the FASS internship team enough for their ongoing support and especially the group meeting before the commencement of internships; it proved invaluable to me when engaging on the internship.
Lastly, here’s a picture of me on the Harris’ unique Egyptian balcony dreaming of the pyramids.
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