WALTHAMSTOW: New broom set to run museum and gallery

6:06pm Wednesday 13th February 2008

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THE new curator for Walthamstow's William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum has been revealed.

Jemma Taylor, 28, has spent the past five years as manager curator at her local museum in Alnwick, Northumbria.

The Bailiffgate Museum opened six years ago, and Ms Taylor began her work there as a volunteer.

She told the Northumberland Gazette that she has enjoyed having a free rein at the museum, which has grown with the support of the community, trustees and staff.

Ms Taylor said of her new job: "It will be a brand new challenge. It is a bigger site and quite an important collection and there will be lots more staff."

The Bailiffgate Museum's permanent exhibition tells the story of the community around Alnwick using a mix of traditional and interactive digital displays.

Ms Taylor, who begins work in Waltham Forest on March 3, has overseen an increase in the number of staff employed at the Bailiffgate, and introduced a series of innovative schemes to encourage attendance.

These included pub quizzes, fashion shows, and a series of temporary art exhibitions.

The museum has grown considerably since its opening and launched a new website at bailiffgatemuseum.co.uk last year.