The Museum Curators are primarily responsible for the National Collections which are presented to the public through temporary exhibitions, gallery displays, Insight: Collections and Research Centre, publications and other activities undertaken by the Curatorial Team.
Get to know our Curators and find out about some of their favourite objects from the Collection.
-
Paul Goodman
Head of Collections and Knowledge
Paul is responsible for the management and development of the Museum Collection, and has overseen many significant acquisitions including The Royal Photographic Society Collection in 2002.
Paul has significant expertise in collection stewardship, and specialises in policy and strategic development, having steered a five-year Acquisition and Disposal Policy through Trustees' approval in 2010, and led the Museum to be awarded with a Museums, Libraries and Archives [MLA] Accreditation in 2007.
A regular contributor to seminars and professional publications, Paul is an external advisor to other cultural and heritage organisations. He has been Chair of the National Museum of Science & Industry's Collections Group since 2002 and is currently President of the Yorkshire & Humberside Museums Federation until 2011. He is a Trustee of the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, the Chambre-Hardman Photography Collection in Liverpool, Volunteering Bradford, and a Director of Bradford Bulls Foundation.
Paul is currently working on the acquisition of the Ray Harryhausen animation collection.
-
Michael Harvey
Curator of Cinematography
Michael Harvey is responsible for the National Cinematography Collection.
He has curated numerous exhibitions, including Magic Behind the Screen: 100 Years of British Cinema (1996); Bond, James Bond (2002) which toured to major venues in the USA and Canada; Myths and Visions: The Art of Ray Harryhausen (2006); Live by the Lens, Die by the Lens: Film Stars and Photographers (2008) and Drawings that Move: The Art of Joanna Quinn (2009), as well as permanent galleries on animation and other film topics at the Museum.
Prior to joining the Museum, Michael pursued a career as a photographer, documentary film-maker and educational television programme director. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Yorkshire Film Archive and the Editorial Board of Early Popular Visual Culture.
Michael has published on a diverse range of topics from Victorian artists and photographers to special effects and animation.
Michael is currently coordinating activities connected with the acquisition of the collection of the celebrated special effects animator Ray Harryhausen, conducting research into and restoring early colour film in the collection and contributing to a number of exhibition projects.
-
Philippa Wright
Curator of Photographs
Philippa responsible for for the National Photography Collection; this includes the acquisition of new materials and research and interpretation of the Collection through exhibitions and conferences.
In 2007, Philippa co-curated The Old Order and the New: P H Emerson and Photography (1885 -1895) and contributed to the accompanying book of the same title. In 2009, she co-curated Baby, Picturing the Ideal Human 1840s – Now.
In 2003, Philippa was a contributing author for Julia Margaret Cameron, The Complete Photographs.
Philippa is currently working on a major collaborative research project in association with the Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angleles, investigating aspects of the Photography Collection at the National Media Museum. The initial results of this project formed the subject of an international conference, Niepce In England, held at the Museum in October 2010.
Philippa is enrolled to undertake a PhD at the University of Bolton on a research project connected to the Collection. Her main area of interest is the early history of photography and the early photographic processes.
-
Colin Harding
Curator of Photographic Technology
Colin Harding is responsible for the National Photographic Technology Collection.
As well as permanent galleries on the history of photography, Colin has curated a number of exhibitions including The Dawn of Colour: Celebrating the Centenary of the Autochrome (2007); Sunny Snaps: Beach and Street Photography in Britain (2008); Don McCullin: In England (2009) and Fay Godwin: Land Revisited (2010).
Colin has written books and articles on the history of photography and cinematography and is a regular broadcaster on radio and television. His most recent book, Classic Cameras was published by the Photographers' Institute Press in June 2009. Since 2005 he has written a monthly column for Black & White Photography magazine.
In 2004 Colin received the Royal Photographic Society's prestigious John Dudley Johnston Award for his contributions to photographic history. He is a visiting lecturer at The University of Leeds and De Montfort University, Leicester, and is on the Editorial Board of Early Popular Visual Culture.
-
Iain Baird
Curator of Television
Iain Baird is responsible for the National Television Collection.
Exhibitions curated by Iain include Another Dimension (2010) concerning 3D television; Mirrors in the Sky (2009) concerning direct-to-home satellite TV in Britain, and Digital Switchover (2007) concerning analogue shut-down.
In the past Iain has worked as a curator at Toronto's MZTV Museum which developed Watching TV (1995-1998) a travelling exhibition which appeared at museums across Canada, and later as assistant curator at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Museum. He has also worked with several other Canadian television and radio museums. He presented a paper on Noctovision at the 2010 International Broadcasting Corporation in Amsterdam, and has presented papers for the 2009 MeCCSA conference about the misunderstood relationships between technology and content, and for the 2008 Westminster Media Forum about Video on Demand and the television image.
Iain is currently working on a book about early television, to be published in 2011. He is a grandson of the enigmatic Scottish television inventor, John Logie Baird.
-
Tom Woolley
Curator of New Media
Tom Woolley became the Museum's first Curator of New Media in 2007, and is now responsible for the Museum's youngest Collection.
Tom has been establishing and expanding the New Media collection to illustrate the development of digital media, with particular focus on the internet, home computing and videogames. In 2010 he curated the Robbie Cooper: Immersion exhibition and the Games Lounge display in the Museum foyer. In 2008 he helped to establish the National Videogame Archive in partnership with Nottingham Trent University. Tom programmes BAF Game, the games strand of the Bradford Animation Festival. BAF Game aims to help students connect with the videogames industry and showcases gaming's creative culture.
Before joining the Curatorial team, Tom directed the Bradford Animation Festival (BAF). He has a background in multimedia design, having graduated from the University of Bradford in 2002 with a BSc in Electronic Imaging and Media Communications.
Tom is lead curator on the forthcoming Internet Gallery - a new permanent gallery that will explore the history and social impact of the internet.
-
Claire Hampton
Curator of Broadcast Culture
Claire Hampton contributes to the many television-themed events and exhibitions at the Museum, is responsible for TV Heaven, and leads the team of volunteers who are helping to catalogue the Museum's extensive collection of television commercials.
In 2009, Claire curated Here's One We Made Earlier: Blue Peter 50, a temporary exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of this iconic children's programme, and she contributed to Experience TV – a permanent gallery exploring the history, technology and social impact of television.
Claire enjoys a wide range of television programmes and regularly features on the BBC Radio Leeds mid-morning show recommending the best of the week's television.
Before joining the Museum, Claire worked with Special Collections at the British Film Institute. She is a member of the Royal Television Society History and Archives Group.
-
Brian Liddy
Curator of Broadcast Culture
Brian Liddy has worked at the Museum since 1996. Initially employed to answer all Collection-related enquiries from members of the public, he then became responsible for providing public access to the Museum Collection in Insight: Collections & Research Centre.
Brian has curated several exhibitions, including A Matter of Focus: The Art of Photography 1892 to 1917 (2003), and Extra! Extra! (2007), which was drawn from the Daily Herald archive, held at the Museum.
Brian is a regular contributor to the Museum's magazine, Archive.
External publications include an essay on the development of British pictorial photography for Impressionist Camera: Pictorial Photography in Europe 1888-1918, (edited by Philip Prodger, 2006) and entries for The Encyclopaedia of Nineteenth Century Photography (edited by John Hannavy, 2007).