In association with the

Cultural Intern Scheme Placement Proposal // 2014 - 15

SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST


Proposed placement period
(six month duration)
From: 06 October 2014
To: 27 March 2015

Address where placement would
be carried out




The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
The Shakespeare Centre,
Henley Street,
Stratford upon Avon
Warwickshire.
CV37 6QW
Department responsible for the
placement
Collections and Interpretation

Placement supervisor

Nic Fulcher, Interpretation Manager

Description of the project/s to
be undertaken
(Please do not describe the
organisation)
Specific details of the project/s to be delivered, with any
associated milestones and targets.

The intern will be based within the Shakespeare
Birthplace Trusts (SBT) Interpretation team, a part of the
wider Collections and Interpretation department, for the
duration of the placement. The placement will see the
intern make a significant contribution to the
development and delivery of SBTs spring 2015 exhibition
programme with a particular focus on a new exhibition at
Anne Hathaways Cottage.

Key milestones:

November 2014: Completion of induction and site
orientation programme involving all members of the
collections team and other relevant SBT departments.
December 2014: Complete concept development work
for exhibition at Anne Hathaways Cottage
January 2014: Assist with install of Shakespeares
Treasures exhibition at the Shakespeares Birthplace.
March 2014: Deliver new exhibition (concept still
currently to be finalised) at Anne Hathaways Cottage



In association with the

Interns role within the main
placement project
Specific details of the role to be undertaken by the intern
and details of the activities that the individual will
undertake.

The intern will be involved in and support all aspects of
the development and implementation of the Trusts
spring exhibition programme for 2015, as well as the
development and delivery of interpretation at the five
Shakespeare houses managed by the SBT. The exhibition
programme includes the refresh of the Shakespeares
Treasures exhibition at the Shakespeare Centre Exhibition
at the Birthplace for January 2015 and also a new
exhibition at Anne Hathaways Cottage. The intern will
also have the opportunity to join the New Place
interpretation project team for the delivery of a 4.9m
project to represent New Place in time for the 400
th

anniversary of Shakespeares death in 2016. This is a
major project for the Trust which will see significant work
in the area of interpretation, audience development and
stakeholder consultation during the period from October
2014 March 2015. During the placement the intern will
also work with the learning department to develop
accompanying formal and informal education
activities

Key activities to be carried out by the intern include:
1. Exhibition/interpretation planning and design
2. Object based research
3. Text and script writing
4. Curating a series of blogs to accompany the
exhibition programme
5. Digitisation of artefacts
6. Audience research
7. Exhibition evaluation

In addition the intern will get the opportunity to shadow
roles across the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and in
particular to assist with various events and activities that
the Trust organises across the year.





In association with the

Purpose of the placement What will the intern gain from the placement, to be
described in terms of skills, knowledge, experience ,
competencies and networks to be developed.

During their placement, the intern will not only gain an
insight into all aspects of museum interpretation work
but will also have the opportunity to gain a broader
understanding of the wider Trust and the work of
delivering excellent visitor experiences at one of the
countrys leading cultural destinations.

During the course of the 6 months the intern will also
have very close contact with other specialist staff at SBT
including: Curators, Interpretation Officers, a Museum
Curator, Librarian and Archivist, Learning Support
Officers, Museum Technicians, as well as Visitor
Assistants. The intern will not only develop an
understanding of working with a Designated collection of
national and international significance, but will also gain
direct experience of the care and management of
museum collections, developing knowledge about best
practice. The intern will also gain skills in interpreting
collections, exhibition planning, audience development,
project management and practical hands-on experience
of developing and installing museum exhibitions on a
range of different scales.

Through the different activities, our intern will be gain
knowledge and skills in the following areas:
1. Project management
2. Exhibition research, planning and design
3. Working with Designated and diverse collection
of national and international significance
4. Object research
5. Written and oral communication skills text and
script writing
6. An awareness of the creative use of digital
technology to interpret historic collections
especially blogging.
7. Object handling and basic conservation
8. Knowledge of collections databases
9. Digital capture of museum collections
10. Interpreting historical/cultural/collections

In association with the

information for a range of audiences with
different educational needs and interests
11. Best practice in audience evaluation
12. Knowledge of Shakespeare and material relating
to his life and works

Nic Fulcher, Interpretation Manager will act as a mentor
for the intern to ensure they get the best out of their
experience and that their placement fully supports their
individual learning needs. Nic Fulcher is able to share his
considerable experience of leading and delivering
programmes of temporary exhibitions, collections
research and development, as well as working with a
wide range of national and international cultural
partners.

Benefit to the organisation Describe how the organisation will benefit from the
placement

The intern will provide vital resource to enable the
delivery of a temporary exhibition programme which is a
key strategic priority for the Trust. The temporary
exhibition programme supports the Trusts ability to offer
a high quality visitor experience and enable high levels of
visitor satisfaction, while also creating a compelling
reason to return; repeat business making a significant
contribution to the Trusts financial well being. After the
Birthplace, Anne Hathaways Cottage is the second most
visited of our five historic properties and is a key
destination for group bookings. Refreshing the offer at
Anne Hathaways Cottage has been identified as a key
priority for the 2015 season. A recent survey by Visit
England for the Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme
highlighted the need to improve the interpretation here
and the intern placement will enable us to focus more
resource on this important site.

The placement will also enhance the Trusts programme
to develop access to its world class Shakespeare
collections. The temporary exhibition programme
enables the Trust to showcase collections not previously
seen by the public and to put objects at the heart of the
visitor experience. The intern will also be responsible for

In association with the

writing a series of blogs to accompany the exhibition at
Anne Hathaways Cottage on the collections
Findingshakespeare blog platform which will enable c.
2,000 people around the world each month to access
knowledge about our collections.
(www.findingshakespeare.co.uk)

Training Activity Checklist

Category : Training Activities
Collections Management and Care Managing or maintaining database
Assisting with collections management activities
including storage conditions, condition checking and
housekeeping
Exhibition and Display Exhibition coordination (museums and galleries)
Assisting with the installation/de-installation of
exhibitions
Marketing and publicity Market research
Marketing and promotions
Audience development
Events Event coordination
Event delivery
Access and Interpretation








To deliver or assist with the delivery of education and
outreach programmes
Population of website
Social media
Giving guided tours
Developing and installing museum exhibitions on a
variety of scales
Interpreting historical and cultural information for a
range of audiences with different educational needs and
interests
Designing exhibitions and preparing artefacts for public
display
Policy and Finance Basic budgeting processes
Project management
Customer service
Writing or editing
Clerical assistance (photocopying etc)
Organising meetings
Other (please state)


In association with the

Checklist of applicable Skills/Capabilities expected to be developed

Some relevance Very relevant
Oral communication (including telephone) X
Written communication X
Writing/editing for publication (e.g. web,
promotional materials)
X
Team working X
Finance X
Marketing X
Social networking X
Research skills X
Problem solving X
Innovation (e.g. helping organization to develop its
services)

Personal initiative X
Use of a second language X
IT skills X
Other (please state)