Thoughts And Feelings On My First Two Weeks at the British Museum (Asuman Alpagut, ITP 2019, Turkey)

Written by Asuman Alpagut, Museum Researcher & Anthropologist, Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (ITP 2019, Turkey).

Greetings everyone, I am Asuman and I’m from Ankara, Turkey. I work as a museum researcher and an anthropologist at the Anatolian Civilizations Museum. I was very excited to join this ITP programme at British Museum which I received the news about 6 months ago.

And now I’m here and two weeks into the programme. Me and my ITP colleagues, we were amazed to be in the garden of the British Museum starting on the 8th of July. Yes, we were standing in front of the gorgeous British Museum building where tonnes of cultural heritage from many places sit together. When I first entered the building, I could not hold still without looking towards Great Court ceiling, it was amazing.

On my first day, we were introduced to the ITP team and the other fellows on the programme. Everyone were very warm and professional. Each programme sessions shows how museum interaction is alive and strong.  I truly understand now from the presentations and workshops, how this museum can host more than 8 million visitors each year in such a brilliant way. I really cannot describe in words, in this small text the value of the museum and the capability of this museum’s interaction with the visitors.  It is nearly impossible for the global visitors not to explore another treasury within this museum. Catalogues, books and souvenirs make each exhibition unique considering the huge area of the design of the shops shows that a very strategic and serious marketing approach is also considered.

When I first entered the Museum’s archives, it was an unbelievable experience for me. The Museum works strongly on collaboration to host more than 6 million people and house 8 million objects. It has amazing capabilities on “how to exhibit” that I’ll write in another blog next time when I have explored more of the Museum. 

Before writing this, I found a chance to visit the Love and Angst exhibition about the artist Edward Munch and two more sections of the British Museum. Honestly I am not sure that I can see everything in the Museum in 6 weeks! This is a real treasure for me and believe me I’ll do my best while on the ITP.

Asuman