Morgan is based at Rainham Hall, a National Trust property in Havering, East London, and will be working on learning programming and community engagement projects, including arts workshops focused around wellbeing through the process of making. Morgan is an artist-maker interested in accessibility and representation. Having graduated in Costume Production in 2018, they now specialise in sensory costume and props for people with additional needs. Morgan is passionate about sustainable, slow-made crafts, and makes bespoke sketchbooks, journals and art books, such as their book on transgender representation in film which was exhibited at the Society of Bookbinders International Conference 2019. This year, they also created a podcast with co-host Samiir, which by honestly discussing their diverse projects and offering advice as early-career artists, is building a community of arts students and recent graduates. Since starting with New Museum School, Morgan has constantly been inspired by the cohort and is excited for the diversity of new ideas that everyone will bring, especially in highlighting underrepresented histories and engaging new audiences.

Bayryam is based at the Magnum Photos office and will be working on digital media and archive projects. After graduating in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at London College of Communication, Bayryam has continued his own photography practice, as well as working with Tate Collective Young Producers and volunteering for ‘BP or not BP?’. He is also facilitating various training and workshops in collaboration with Sofia Platform in Bulgaria that explores the collapse of communism and its consequences. Since starting the New Museum School he’s been inspired by the great scope of topics that Magnum photographers explored during the years and how Magnum can re-image and reinterpret its archive while bringing more voices from misrepresented backgrounds in the process of doing so.

Vanessa is currently undergoing research into the Royal Historical Palaces and will soon be based with the Collections Information Team at the Royal Collections Trust, assisting with auditing, curation and conservation.

Vanessa recently graduated in English Literature and Philosophy at the University of Sussex but has been inspired to pursue a career in art and historical preservation. She has always had a keen interest in the arts, developing a portfolio of her own paintings in her spare time, and history, being captivated by the works of historians such as Lucy Worsley and David Olusoga. She is also fascinated by the complexity of royal history and the stories of lesser known figures and the impact that they had.

Dominic is based at Rainham Hall, a National Trust property in the London Borough of Havering. He will be working on conservation, marketing and public programming – particularly surrounding the Hall’s new exhibition on 1960s inhabitant, Vogue photographer Anthony Denney, which begins in May next year.

Having recently graduated in Politics and Modern History at the University of Manchester, where Dominic’s passion for working within the cultural heritage sector began, he began conducting a curator’s corner at the John Rylands Library, thanks to their Head of Special Collections. Subsequently, Dominic completed an internship for the Civil Service in the summer of 2017, within their Fast Stream and Early Talent Team, and he is looking to develop his skills of events management learnt here, at Rainham Hall. Dominic found hearing about his fellow trainees routes to the New Museum School, and the work they do in their spare time, an inspiring experience, and something he wishes to emulate throughout the year.

Amber is based at William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, working with the Learning team to help deliver a programme of workshops, events, and activities relating to William Morris’ work as well as temporary exhibitions in the gallery. She will also be working across Vestry House Museum which has a focus on engaging the community with the local history of Waltham Forest.

Amber graduated in Politics from the University of Sussex earlier this year, and whilst completing her final year she volunteered at Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft and ONCA Gallery. She is fascinated by the way politics and the arts are intertwined and how museums can use art to challenge assumptions and put forward marginalised voices. She aspires to learn more about curation and archiving during her traineeship and gain the skills to be able to make arts and heritage accessible to all.

Qanitah is based with the National Trust Creative Team, she will be helping carry out exciting new projects in London that highlight special places and sites, centre in on heritage, wellbeing and culture, through public programmes, research, providing digital media support, and audience engagement.

 Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Qanitah moved to the USA to pursue her undergraduate degree at Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in Fine Art and minored in Anthropology. After graduating, she moved to London and has worked with several different art and cultural organisations to promote, preserve and re-think what culture and heritage entails in the 21^st century. At the same time, she also works on developing her art practice in illustration and helps curate and organise exhibitions with a group of artists in London. Connecting to a deeper, more aware self, and interacting with other artists to build community is what keeps bringing her back to her practice.

 She is thoroughly excited to be a New Museum School Trainee, to get to know more creatives, develop old and new skills, and to think critically about heritage and culture – how to weave under-represented narratives into the social fabric of a cosmopolitan and transient city like London.

Crystal is one of our 16 New Museum School trainees and is based at the Museum of London. During her placement she will be working in Collections Management, which involves environmental monitoring, pest control and other forms of preventative conservation. She will be working on a number of projects, including some contributing to the relocation of the museum.  

 Crystal recently did her foundation year in art and design at Croydon College, and has also spent this year volunteering with Paddington Development Trust and the Museum of Croydon. She is a practicing artist, studying artistic anatomy to develop her skills in representational art. Crystal has produced many human anatomical drawings, from which she hopes to move onto painting and drawing in the near future.

Jasper is based at Southbank Centre, working across their archive, the Hayward Gallery Library and the National Poetry Library. His work will be focused on digital archive development, including online delivery, digitisation, image management and copyright.

Jasper spent the final year of his Linguistics degree working in a public Library part-time, which fostered a passion for heritage and information management. Upon graduation he started his own project developing a personal archive of his Grandfather’s possessions dating back to 1914, mostly surrounding his service during WW2. This project enabled him to experiment in a wide range of areas, including database development, natural language processing, cataloguing, digitisation and conservation. He enjoys being able to combine his digital skills with his linguistics background, applying them to his work wherever possible.

 Since starting with New Museum School, Jasper has felt inspired by the future possibilities for museums and other heritage organisations, and the ways in which technology can be used to open up new avenues for engagement, particularly with regards to younger generations.