BY: KATHLEEN LEW
Welcome to a SPECIAL edition of Internship Check-In! This week, I had the privilege of hearing from three MMSt students who are completing their internships at Lord Cultural Resources. Read on to learn about their experiences!*
Meghan Drascic-Gaudio is working with Lisa Wright, Senior Consultant: Interpretive Planning, Content Development, with a focus on exhibition planning and interpretation.
Hailey Graham is working with Rebecca Frerotte, Librarian & Research Consultant, with a focus on research and content development, communication and marketing, and information management.
Lucy Beale is working with Sarah Hill, Senior Consultant: Heritage and Historic Sites, with a focus on strategic planning and interpretation.
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| [Left to Right] Hailey, Meghan, and Lucy at Lord Cultural Resources! Photo courtesy of Lucy Beale. |
What is Lord Cultural Resources and why is it a fulfilling place to intern?
Meghan, Hailey, & Lucy: Lord Cultural Resources is a consulting firm that carries out exhibition and facilities planning, business development, and strategic planning for cultural institutions all over the world. Clients include museums, galleries, heritage sites, botanical gardens, parks, city departments, sometimes even entire cities, to develop their cultural capital. We can’t actually tell you what projects we’re working on as part of the confidentially clause in client contracts. Some projects are close to home and some are very far away, some are short and small projects whereas others are high profile and multifaceted.
Lord is a fulfilling place to work because it is the premier cultural consulting company in the world. As a result, we get to work with and learn from unbelievably talented consultants from all areas of the firm. With numerous projects on the go at any given time, this experience allows us to work on a diverse range of projects. We are lucky to not have all our efforts concentrated on just one area of museum studies, we are becoming well-rounded and well-versed in all areas of cultural development.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your museum-related interests.
Meghan: My museum-related interests are in exhibition development and management. This includes holding brainstorming workshops for exhibitions, writing interpretive plans, designing an exhibition layout, and coordinating all personnel, objects and texts during installation. I love this area of museums because you are responsible for making both the curator’s vision a reality and ensuring that visitors can experience a dynamic exhibition. Many times, I find that there is a disconnect between what the curator envisions as a great exhibition and what actually resonates with audiences. I love the challenge of bridging this gap and ensuring both sides are satisfied.
Hailey: This fall I will be entering the 3rd year of the CRO (now the CDP) program. I’ve always had an interest in culture and history, so after completing my undergraduate degree the MMSt and MI programs seemed like the right choice. I spent my undergrad working at museums in Ottawa and Trenton, and found myself wanting to pursue this path. When I entered the program I had an interest in collections work, but now I find myself more interested in the front end of museum work. I am still trying to find my niche. I’m most interested in the digital transformation of museums, visitor engagement, donor relations, and public programming. Ultimately, I want to make museums more open, accessible spaces for everyone.
Lucy: I was the projects and program manager for a writers’ organization in London, responsible for getting paid work for poets/spoken word artists/novelists/graphic artists. I started managing writing residencies in museums and galleries across London/south east of England; it was an amazing job. Working so closely and creatively with curators, visitors, volunteers and communities was empowering in the way it let people engage with these spaces they either took for granted or never set foot in. I became interested in breaking down pre- and misconceptions about cultural sites, reinterpreting how they can be used by communities and unearthing lost stories to tell them in new ways.
Meghan, Hailey, & Lucy: Lord Cultural Resources is a consulting firm that carries out exhibition and facilities planning, business development, and strategic planning for cultural institutions all over the world. Clients include museums, galleries, heritage sites, botanical gardens, parks, city departments, sometimes even entire cities, to develop their cultural capital. We can’t actually tell you what projects we’re working on as part of the confidentially clause in client contracts. Some projects are close to home and some are very far away, some are short and small projects whereas others are high profile and multifaceted.
Lord is a fulfilling place to work because it is the premier cultural consulting company in the world. As a result, we get to work with and learn from unbelievably talented consultants from all areas of the firm. With numerous projects on the go at any given time, this experience allows us to work on a diverse range of projects. We are lucky to not have all our efforts concentrated on just one area of museum studies, we are becoming well-rounded and well-versed in all areas of cultural development.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your museum-related interests.
Meghan: My museum-related interests are in exhibition development and management. This includes holding brainstorming workshops for exhibitions, writing interpretive plans, designing an exhibition layout, and coordinating all personnel, objects and texts during installation. I love this area of museums because you are responsible for making both the curator’s vision a reality and ensuring that visitors can experience a dynamic exhibition. Many times, I find that there is a disconnect between what the curator envisions as a great exhibition and what actually resonates with audiences. I love the challenge of bridging this gap and ensuring both sides are satisfied.
Hailey: This fall I will be entering the 3rd year of the CRO (now the CDP) program. I’ve always had an interest in culture and history, so after completing my undergraduate degree the MMSt and MI programs seemed like the right choice. I spent my undergrad working at museums in Ottawa and Trenton, and found myself wanting to pursue this path. When I entered the program I had an interest in collections work, but now I find myself more interested in the front end of museum work. I am still trying to find my niche. I’m most interested in the digital transformation of museums, visitor engagement, donor relations, and public programming. Ultimately, I want to make museums more open, accessible spaces for everyone.
Lucy: I was the projects and program manager for a writers’ organization in London, responsible for getting paid work for poets/spoken word artists/novelists/graphic artists. I started managing writing residencies in museums and galleries across London/south east of England; it was an amazing job. Working so closely and creatively with curators, visitors, volunteers and communities was empowering in the way it let people engage with these spaces they either took for granted or never set foot in. I became interested in breaking down pre- and misconceptions about cultural sites, reinterpreting how they can be used by communities and unearthing lost stories to tell them in new ways.
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| Lucy at Lord Cultural Resources. Photo courtesy of Lucy Beale. |
What is a typical day at your institution? What are your responsibilities?
Meghan: As the exhibitions intern at Lord, I am responsible for assisting the consultants with the numerous projects that they are juggling. These projects are taking place across Canada, the United States, and South America, and span everything from traditional museum exhibitions to public gardens, historic institutions and conservation spaces. Therefore, this means that there is no typical day. One big project that I have assisted on is the “Content Development” package for an exhibition. This included taking an interpretive plan written by a Lord consultant and conducting the research needed to make the exhibition’s plan a reality. This project is particularly exciting because I have the opportunity to attend meetings with the exhibition’s designers and fabricators. At these meetings, I assist the team in determining how best to convert scholarly research into a physical exhibition space that is both engaging and informative for visitors.
Hailey: Busy. There is always something to work on, whether it is specific project work or internal workflow. As many have said before, there is no typical day. I work with the Research Consultant, so primarily my work involves research support for comparables data, image sourcing for exhibits and presentations, and content research for exhibits, awards, and presentations. These tasks are assigned day-to-day, with some spanning more than a week and others just a few hours, and are for institutions all over the world. I have worked on sourcing data for sites in the UK, the Middle East, Asia, Canada (PEI), and the United States, and compiled research for science centres, cultural districts, museums, libraries, art galleries, and gardens. In addition to this, I help with writing marketing and promotional materials that are distributed digitally, and have an overarching project of creating a knowledgebase for comparables data.
Lucy: It’s very cliché, but there is no typical day. I check in with my supervisor Sarah first thing, and I am given research or responsibilities to complete for whatever project is the priority that day. The projects I mostly work on are heritage-based, and range from interpretation, business or strategic plans, sometimes a combination of two or all three. But, you can get pulled into helping any of the consultants at any time on anything they need a hand with. You quickly become an expert on the most random things – the average age of heritage workers across Canada, the original town limits and street names of 1796 Toronto, institutional governance models from the Pacific North West - on a daily basis.
What is something you have learned so far at your internship?
Meghan: The most crucial lesson that I have learned at my internship is to ensure that each exhibition has a set of “deliverables”. Deliverables consist of separate elements of an exhibition’s development, such as interpretive plans, draft text panels, exhibition design layouts, etc. At the start of an exhibition, it is crucial to plan the exact dates when each deliverable must be given to the client. Deliverables are essential for keeping the exhibition team on track, ensuring that all elements of an exhibition are given enough time to fully develop, and making sure that clients have enough time to respond to any changes. With this process, all elements of an exhibition’s development are given individual attention, ensuring that every element of the final product has been well-thought out and meets the highest standard.
Hailey: We talk a lot about community consultation in class, and more specifically about the benefit of it. However, after having worked with data collected from community consultation, I can also now see why institutions choose not to partake in this. I think that this demonstrates that there are certain instances where community consultation can fall short and not be helpful – so, I guess learning about the realities of the field is what I see as having the most benefit in the long run. I’ve also learned that my writing style is too academic, and present tense is the way to go (always listen to Barbara Soren!). Most importantly, I’ve learned that there is a need for cultural preservation all over the world. Lord has a considerable number of projects on the go, demonstrating that people are actively seeking cultural experiences and institutions (and not just museums) are looking to make these experiences more fulfilling to their communities.
Lucy: Lord’s success is built on their ability to work with an institution to quickly identify what it needs, and assist them in instigating a plan to develop practical and innovative solutions. Working with the methodologies and draft templates of how Lord approaches each client, yet tailors it to the demands of each project, has been fascinating to be a part of and pick up. Also, I will never underestimate the importance of colored post-it notes for the strategic planning workshopping process.
Meghan: As the exhibitions intern at Lord, I am responsible for assisting the consultants with the numerous projects that they are juggling. These projects are taking place across Canada, the United States, and South America, and span everything from traditional museum exhibitions to public gardens, historic institutions and conservation spaces. Therefore, this means that there is no typical day. One big project that I have assisted on is the “Content Development” package for an exhibition. This included taking an interpretive plan written by a Lord consultant and conducting the research needed to make the exhibition’s plan a reality. This project is particularly exciting because I have the opportunity to attend meetings with the exhibition’s designers and fabricators. At these meetings, I assist the team in determining how best to convert scholarly research into a physical exhibition space that is both engaging and informative for visitors.
Hailey: Busy. There is always something to work on, whether it is specific project work or internal workflow. As many have said before, there is no typical day. I work with the Research Consultant, so primarily my work involves research support for comparables data, image sourcing for exhibits and presentations, and content research for exhibits, awards, and presentations. These tasks are assigned day-to-day, with some spanning more than a week and others just a few hours, and are for institutions all over the world. I have worked on sourcing data for sites in the UK, the Middle East, Asia, Canada (PEI), and the United States, and compiled research for science centres, cultural districts, museums, libraries, art galleries, and gardens. In addition to this, I help with writing marketing and promotional materials that are distributed digitally, and have an overarching project of creating a knowledgebase for comparables data.
Lucy: It’s very cliché, but there is no typical day. I check in with my supervisor Sarah first thing, and I am given research or responsibilities to complete for whatever project is the priority that day. The projects I mostly work on are heritage-based, and range from interpretation, business or strategic plans, sometimes a combination of two or all three. But, you can get pulled into helping any of the consultants at any time on anything they need a hand with. You quickly become an expert on the most random things – the average age of heritage workers across Canada, the original town limits and street names of 1796 Toronto, institutional governance models from the Pacific North West - on a daily basis.
What is something you have learned so far at your internship?
Meghan: The most crucial lesson that I have learned at my internship is to ensure that each exhibition has a set of “deliverables”. Deliverables consist of separate elements of an exhibition’s development, such as interpretive plans, draft text panels, exhibition design layouts, etc. At the start of an exhibition, it is crucial to plan the exact dates when each deliverable must be given to the client. Deliverables are essential for keeping the exhibition team on track, ensuring that all elements of an exhibition are given enough time to fully develop, and making sure that clients have enough time to respond to any changes. With this process, all elements of an exhibition’s development are given individual attention, ensuring that every element of the final product has been well-thought out and meets the highest standard.
Hailey: We talk a lot about community consultation in class, and more specifically about the benefit of it. However, after having worked with data collected from community consultation, I can also now see why institutions choose not to partake in this. I think that this demonstrates that there are certain instances where community consultation can fall short and not be helpful – so, I guess learning about the realities of the field is what I see as having the most benefit in the long run. I’ve also learned that my writing style is too academic, and present tense is the way to go (always listen to Barbara Soren!). Most importantly, I’ve learned that there is a need for cultural preservation all over the world. Lord has a considerable number of projects on the go, demonstrating that people are actively seeking cultural experiences and institutions (and not just museums) are looking to make these experiences more fulfilling to their communities.
Lucy: Lord’s success is built on their ability to work with an institution to quickly identify what it needs, and assist them in instigating a plan to develop practical and innovative solutions. Working with the methodologies and draft templates of how Lord approaches each client, yet tailors it to the demands of each project, has been fascinating to be a part of and pick up. Also, I will never underestimate the importance of colored post-it notes for the strategic planning workshopping process.
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| Hailey at Lord Cultural Resources. Photo courtesy of Lucy Beale. |
What are you excited about accomplishing throughout your internship?
Meghan: One project that I am particularly excited about accomplishing is for a public garden in Canada that Lord is developing. This garden will also contain an exhibition that will feature stories from members of the community. In class, we spend a large amount of time discussing community consultation, but we have not had a real opportunity to put this into practice. For this project, I have created an enormous master list with contact information for over 100 people. In the coming weeks, my supervisor and I will be getting in touch with all of them. From there, the majority of these individuals will be interviewed, and I am responsible for assisting in the recording and transcription of these interviews. As well, I am working with my supervisor to determine which stories are the best fit for the exhibition. I am excited about getting first-hand experience in all aspects of community consultation, and using these new skills to improve future exhibitions that I am involved in.
Hailey: I’m most looking forward to some of my work at Lord becoming something tangible in an exhibition. I’m also really hoping that the knowledgebase I develop will be implemented.
Lucy: It’s very satisfying and surreal to think that what I am doing in the background here has a chance to be a lasting piece of institutional policy or physical design. I have really enjoyed being a detective doing comparable and investigative research and being shown how Lord approaches the business side of the cultural sector has been invaluable. Finally, if we find something in the ROM archives I’ve been researching obsessively to unearth and can use it in an interpretive plan then I’ll be satisfied.
If you could create any museum (no matter how ridiculous) what kind of museum would it be?
Meghan: If I could create any museum it would be about female imprisonment in Ontario, specifically Toronto, from the 1800s to the present day. In my fourth year, I wrote my final paper on female imprisonment at the Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women, previously located in Toronto. Using census records and archives I attempted to determine what incarcerated life was like in the early twentieth-century and what happened to these women upon release. This museum would address female imprisonment to the modern day, and the ways in which it has both evolved and stagnated. I would want this museum to make people think about our justice system and whether it is a “successful” system or one that needs reform.
Hailey: If I were to create any museum, my true crime loving self would definitely create one about Canada’s criminological past, present, and future.
Lucy: I want there to be a world-renowned museum celebrating extra/ordinary women. The remit would include research into forgotten women of recent and ancient history - scientists, freedom fighters, rulers, journalists, carers, explorers, artists, those using male psydenums – to accurately relate human history and commemorate the achievements of those who may have forgotten or erased.
Meghan: One project that I am particularly excited about accomplishing is for a public garden in Canada that Lord is developing. This garden will also contain an exhibition that will feature stories from members of the community. In class, we spend a large amount of time discussing community consultation, but we have not had a real opportunity to put this into practice. For this project, I have created an enormous master list with contact information for over 100 people. In the coming weeks, my supervisor and I will be getting in touch with all of them. From there, the majority of these individuals will be interviewed, and I am responsible for assisting in the recording and transcription of these interviews. As well, I am working with my supervisor to determine which stories are the best fit for the exhibition. I am excited about getting first-hand experience in all aspects of community consultation, and using these new skills to improve future exhibitions that I am involved in.
Hailey: I’m most looking forward to some of my work at Lord becoming something tangible in an exhibition. I’m also really hoping that the knowledgebase I develop will be implemented.
Lucy: It’s very satisfying and surreal to think that what I am doing in the background here has a chance to be a lasting piece of institutional policy or physical design. I have really enjoyed being a detective doing comparable and investigative research and being shown how Lord approaches the business side of the cultural sector has been invaluable. Finally, if we find something in the ROM archives I’ve been researching obsessively to unearth and can use it in an interpretive plan then I’ll be satisfied.
If you could create any museum (no matter how ridiculous) what kind of museum would it be?
Meghan: If I could create any museum it would be about female imprisonment in Ontario, specifically Toronto, from the 1800s to the present day. In my fourth year, I wrote my final paper on female imprisonment at the Andrew Mercer Reformatory for Women, previously located in Toronto. Using census records and archives I attempted to determine what incarcerated life was like in the early twentieth-century and what happened to these women upon release. This museum would address female imprisonment to the modern day, and the ways in which it has both evolved and stagnated. I would want this museum to make people think about our justice system and whether it is a “successful” system or one that needs reform.
Hailey: If I were to create any museum, my true crime loving self would definitely create one about Canada’s criminological past, present, and future.
Lucy: I want there to be a world-renowned museum celebrating extra/ordinary women. The remit would include research into forgotten women of recent and ancient history - scientists, freedom fighters, rulers, journalists, carers, explorers, artists, those using male psydenums – to accurately relate human history and commemorate the achievements of those who may have forgotten or erased.
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| Meghan at Lord Cultural Resources. Photo courtesy of Lucy Beale. |
*These interviews have been edited for length and clarity
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