Kirsty Warner (KCL) - 2020-21 Students
kirsty.warner@kcl.ac.uk

UK-EU Changing Relationship and its Impact on UK National Museums: A study of the time period 1991-2021

Through a combination of case-study and archival research and interviews this interdisciplinary PhD project seeks to investigate how three key events of change in the UK-EU relationship, inclusive of the UK’s signing of the Maastricht Treaty (1992), Lisbon Treaty (2010) and Brexit (2020), have influenced four pivotal fields of UK national museums’ practice: touring exhibitions, research collaborations, funding and workforce.

This PhD study both aligns with and aims to contribute to investigations into organisational and managerial change to museums practice; led by scholars such as Peakcock (2008), Mccall & Gray (2014) and Janes (1997). This project has been instigated by the current uncertain and shifting UK-EU relationship resulting from Brexit and its impact on the UK museum sector. This moment of transition in the UK-EU relationship offers a unique opportunity to review and assess how this relationship has historically impacted upon UK national museums and shaped their practice, with the purpose of understanding how the UK’s museum sector may formulate future connections with the EU. This vital academic research will aid in establishing a new vision for the UK museums sector, informing future policy makers, museum professionals and Museum and Heritage Studies scholars.

Primary supervisor: Dr Serena Iervolino, KCL
Seondary supervisor: Dr Hye-Kyung Lee, KCL

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