ITP 2013: September 12 – Elghazafi Yousif
Hello, before I tell you how we are doing in Birmingham, I’d like to again thank the ITP organizers Claire and Shezza, and also Eileen who accompanied us to Birmingham.
I left my comfortable apartment in Birmingham early in the morning on 12th September to discover what was waiting for us at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
In my apartment in Birmingham
We started our day by having an introduction to the security of the museum and then a welcome meeting from Zelina Garland, Curatorial Services Manager. This was followed by a short meeting with Simon Cane, Interim Director of Birmingham Museums Trust and with Toby Watley, Director of Collections. It was really interesting and useful- we discussed the various methods of developing the museum and its collections and compared them with the Indian, Libyan and Sudanese experience.
with the director
Before visiting Birmingham, I had heard that it is a city famous for industry and we were lucky to visit the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and experience a tour of the Smith & Pepper factory, famous for making jewellery. We found out that this handmade jewelry was very prestigious. The staff at the museum gave us some gifts which we were very pleased to receive.
Tour and demonstration in the Smith & Pepper factory
In the afternoon, we had a wonderful introduction to the new Birmingham History Galleries by Jo-Ann Curtis, Curator of History. We spent a lot of time in the galleries looking at the modern displays and almost lost track of time!
With Jo – Ann Curtis