Robert Campbell: Exhibition Project Manager
Profile
Name: Robert Campbell
Job title: Exhibition Project Manager
Department: Museum in Docklands Directorate
What is your role as an Exhibition Project Manager?
I run exhibitions for the Museum in Docklands - this involves taking an idea for an exhibition and working with a large team of people to make it a reality.
I spend my time planning then monitoring the progress of the project and trying to make everyone work as a team.
It is very much about people management - getting people to deliver to a very tight schedule whilst not losing sight of the positive and fun outcome at the end - a new and enjoyable permanent gallery, website or temporary exhibition.
What were you doing before this?
I left university in 2003 and then worked as a 'temp' for a year with the Home Office. I went traveling round the world for 9 months. After that I worked as a 'temp' at the Independent Police Complaints Commission before working as PA to the Director of the Museum in Docklands from September 2005 - April 2007.
Why did you decide to be an Exhibition Project Manager at the Museum?
I always had a love of history and I didn't want to stay at University and try for a PHD or masters. I thought that working in a museum would allow me to pursue my interest in the past alongside the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of working in the public sector - and I was right!
I started with the first job I could get – PA to the Director, and worked really hard until I was in a position to get the job I have now. I now work even harder…
Have you always wanted to do this and why?
I have not always wanted to work in a museum. I wanted to be a banker or a lawyer or work in the civil service. However, having worked at the Police Complaints Commission and the Home Office (and seen many of my University friends become unhappy Lawyers), I did not feel they were the right jobs for me.
Having worked in a museum now I never want to leave the sector!
What do you love about your job?
I love that I am busy all day every day with interesting, varied and challenging work that brings enjoyment and knowledge into people's lives. I like the business of presenting the history of London to people. And I love the Museum building and the people who come with it.
What do you hate about your job?
I hate the inertia that sometimes paralyses good ideas due to a lack of funding or time.
What is the strangest or funniest thing that has ever happened to you in this job?
The strangest thing I have seen was on my first day when I was shown around the archives here at the Museum in Docklands. I imagined the shelves to be groaning under the weight of the minute books and records of long deceased dockers and dock companies. I was not disappointed, as this was what I found. However, I couldn't help but notice that in amongst the boxes of documents there was one box labelled 'Fossilised Cat with Fossilised Rat, FRAGILE'!
I did enquire as to when this artefact goes on permanent exhibition in the Museum.
What was your best day like?
My best day so far was being given the job of project managing a major temporary exhibition; Jack the Ripper and the East End Labyrinth. The exhibition is to open in May 2008 and it is very daunting to think about the number of different things I have to organize and accomplish before it can open.
However, I hope this day will be replaced as my best when the new London, Sugar and Slavery Gallery open at the Museum. This project, relating London’s role in Trans-Atlantic Slavery, its abolition and its legacy on the capital, is the only permanent gallery of its kind. The project means so much to so many people and will serve as a permanent marker to this forgotten aspect of British history.
Where are you going in the future?
I would eventually like to run a Museum! (Possibly in Hawaii).