Mouza Sulaiman Mohamed Al-Wardi

Biography

Mouza is Assistant Director General for Museum Affairs at Oman Across Ages Museum, a new museum which opened in 2023. Her role involves contributing to the strategic management of the museum, developing institutional programmes, supporting staff training and professional development, and strengthening local and international partnerships and Embassy’s in Oman. She is also involved in developing initiatives that enhance community engagement, museum sustainability, and collaboration with cultural institutions.

Mouza is recognised as a pioneer in Oman’s heritage and museum sector. She was the first Omani woman to obtain a degree in Cultural Heritage Studies, and the first Omani woman to hold a leadership role within the museum sector. Throughout her career, she has contributed significantly to the development of museums in Oman through strategic leadership, curatorial practice, collections management, and international cultural collaboration.

Mouza has also been actively involved in supporting the wider museum sector in Oman through capacity-building initiatives for private museums. She has developed and contributed to training programmes and guidance initiatives aimed at strengthening professional practices, improving museum standards, and supporting private museum owners in areas including collections care, interpretation, exhibition development, and museum management.

Mouza graduated from the School of Art at the University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia with a bachelor’s degree in Heritage and Cultural Studies. After graduating she worked as a Project Coordinator for the Omani Heritage Gallery to establish a training system to improve quality, efficiency and product development of Omani Traditional Crafts. She then took on the role of curator for the new National Museum project, working under the Ministry of Heritage and Culture. This involved new research on the existing collection, reviewing gallery designs and museography plans, and organising local and international acquisitions and loans. More recently Mouza has taken on the role of Head of Studies and Research for the new National Museum project. In 2019, Mouza was appointed as Director of the Collections Department at the National Museum.

Throughout her career, Mouza has led and contributed to major museum projects and international exhibitions, including collaborations with institutions such as the British Museum, State Hermitage Museum, National Museum of Kenya, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, and other international cultural organisations. Her work has focused on strengthening museum narratives, developing exhibitions, supporting cultural exchange, and promoting Oman’s heritage internationally.

Mouza is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester (Online).

At the British Museum
During her time on the International Training Programme in 2013, Mouza was based in the Middle East Department, and her partner placement was spent at Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, Newcastle.

In 2013 participants are asked to prepare a project outlining an exhibition proposal based on the space and programme for the British Museum’s Asahi Shimbun Displays in Room 3.  Mouza’s exhibition project proposal was entitled The Form of a Snake.

Mouza’s place on the programme was generously supported by Thomas Neurath: Thames & Hudson.

Continued dialogue
Mouza worked with British Museum colleagues on the 2023 Asahi Shimbun Display Making their mark; women silversmiths from Oman which explored the stories of three women who are helping to revive the longstanding tradition of silversmithing in Oman.

Mouza is currently representing the Sultanate of Oman at ICOM Arab and continues to contribute to the development of museums, cultural heritage preservation, capacity building, and international cooperation within the museum sector.