Kate Newnham

History

Career Path: Kate Newnham is Curator of Eastern Art and Culture at Bristol’s Museums, Galleries and Archives, the largest museums service in the South-West of England. Her job is to look after about 6,000 objects from China, Japan, India and the Islamic world and interpret them for a range of audiences from adult visitors to school groups. She is currently researching Ellen Tanner, a Bristol collector who travelled to the Middle East in the 1890s. Kate’s undergraduate degree was in History, followed by a Masters in Museum Studies. She has twelve years curatorial experience gained at Bristol and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. She has also worked for arts festivals, museums and Japanese organisations on a freelance basis.

Curator Visit Expectations: I would like to gain an insight into Egyptian craft and art practice now which I hope will inform our programmes of contemporary collecting at Bristol Museum, including the Art Fund International project.