“We’re not just about Victorian paintings,” says Elizabeth Scott, the head of Guildhall Galleries in the City of London, which comprises the Guildhall Art Gallery, London’s Roman Amphitheatre, City of London Police Museum and Billingsgate Roman House and Baths.
The biggest venue of the four is the art gallery, which holds a diverse collection of art including contemporary works. However, it is known for its strength in Victorian and pre-Raphaelite art, which is hung in salon style, true to the era it was made in.
This year, the gallery celebrates 20 years in its current building (the original 1886 building was destroyed during the second world war) and to celebrate this, Scott is excited to announce that four new works will enter the collection. “They all represent London and Londoners and bring new artists and narratives to our collection here,” she says.
Not only does the topic of London form the heart of the collections Scott looks after, but it is also a topic that she is passionate about. Guildhall Galleries, where she’s been for two years, is the fifth London museum organisation she’s worked for in just 13 years.
One of Scott’s first experiences of working in a London museum was in one of the most unusual: the Crime Museum at New Scotland Yard. As part of the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the museum holds crucial bits of historic evidence from often headline crimes from 1874 to now. Apart from an exhibition at the Museum of London in 2015-16, the museum remains entirely for professional police use to this day.
“It was crazy, honestly,” says Scott of her 10-week placement there during her MA in Museum and Gallery Management at City University.
“We’re talking about things like the murderer Dr Crippen’s case of poisons, death masks, guns that weren’t deactivated because they’re evidence, and items from murder scenes like 10 Rillington Place where the serial killer and necrophile Reg Christie would kill his tenants, bury their bodies in drainpipes and keep clippings of pubic hair in a tobacco box. I was there actually holding this kind of stuff.”
Made from tough stuff, Scott says she didn’t freak out until her ninth week there when two cases really played on her mind. “It was only when I got to the more contemporary showcases that I got really weirded out.”
Scott was particularly upset by objects associated with Victoria Climbié, a girl who had come from West Africa to Europe in search of a better life, but was tortured by her guardians because she was thought to be possessed. No UK authority acted on the claims of abuse and she died of her injuries in London in 2000.
Demonstrating diversity
Most of Scott’s museum experience is less dramatic. After she’d completed her master’s, she successfully applied for the the Museums Association’s Diversify Bursary.
“I can say without a shadow of a doubt, I would not be working in museums without that,” she says. “I remember – actually it was kind of silly – taking my passport to the interview because I’m aware that I don’t necessarily come across as black, asian or minority ethnic when you first look at me. But I’m mixed race – half Chinese, half English – and I took my passport to prove that my middle name is Chinese.”
The bursary led to three-months at the Museum of London as a trainee assistant curator in 2006. “I was based in the early history department, but got to do work with learning, conservation and registrars, so I gained a lot of experience.”
She then moved to the Imperial War Museum (IWM) to become exhibitions manager for the organisation’s London branches. “Did you know that IWM’s largest accessioned item is HMS Belfast? I got to work on it.”
After two years at IWM, Scott became the head curator at London Transport Museum (LTM). “When I look back at what I actually achieved during my three years there it blows my mind: a permanent gallery, two major temporary exhibitions, small temporary exhibitions, I co-authored a book and project managed another. We did a design festival on Regent Street as well as built the team from 10 to 17.”
Scott is pleased to have moved onto Guildhall Galleries though. “There’s a lot more I can influence here. LTM is a much larger organisation – they have 90 staff compared with nine of us here – so things like loan requests had to go to a committee, but here they come to me for approval.”
Building a picture
Scott wants to build Guildhall’s events and exhibition programmes, including museum lates. The gallery isn’t as well known as many venues in London, so it has to work hard to attract visitors.
“We’re not the place that people immediately think of on a trip to London,” says Scott. “We have to fight like a pit bull for our visitors and hold events that really capture people’s imaginations.”
Scott’s next challenge is curating Architecture of London, which opens on 31 May. Spanning 400 years, the exhibition will explore how London’s buildings have been depicted over the centuries, from the Great Fire of London through the second world war to the present day.
“I’m really excited to be borrowing a Canaletto painting,” she says. “It’s a particularly interesting work because it shows Westminster Bridge while it was being constructed, and there’s this little bucket hanging from the bridge.”
Naturally, Scott has made sure the show is part of the London Festival of Architecture programme, and that it is still on during the Open House architecture weekend.
“We’ve got the momentum – we just need to keep it going,” says Scott. It seems that she does too, and shows no signs of stopping.
Elizabeth Scott studied archaeology at University College London, and then an MA in museum and gallery management at City University, London.
She received a Museums Association Diversify Bursary to be a trainee assistant curator at the Museum of London in 2006. She became an assistant curator for the museum in 2007 before being promoted to exhibitions project manager in 2010. She became the exhibitions manager, London branches, at the Imperial War Museum in 2012, and then went to the London Transport Museum to be the head curator in 2014.
In 2017, Scott was appointed the head of Guildhall Art Gallery. Her role has since grown to become head of Guildhall Galleries, which also encompasses London’s Roman Amphitheatre, the City of London Police Museum and Billingsgate Roman House and Baths.
Guildhall Galleries comprise the Guildhall Art Gallery, London’s Roman Amphitheatre, City of London Police Museum and Billingsgate Roman House and Baths, all in the City of London. All are free to enter. The five organisations are funded and overseen by the City of London Corporation, which is the governing body of the Square Mile.
There is a total of 12 staff across the five sites. Four are full time. Nine staff run the Guildhall Art Gallery, but they are supported by up to 50 volunteers.
The biggest venue of the four is the art gallery, which holds a diverse collection of art including contemporary works. However, it is known for its strength in Victorian and pre-Raphaelite art, which is hung in salon style, true to the era it was made in.
This year, the gallery celebrates 20 years in its current building (the original 1886 building was destroyed during the second world war) and to celebrate this, Scott is excited to announce that four new works will enter the collection. “They all represent London and Londoners and bring new artists and narratives to our collection here,” she says.
Not only does the topic of London form the heart of the collections Scott looks after, but it is also a topic that she is passionate about. Guildhall Galleries, where she’s been for two years, is the fifth London museum organisation she’s worked for in just 13 years.
One of Scott’s first experiences of working in a London museum was in one of the most unusual: the Crime Museum at New Scotland Yard. As part of the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the museum holds crucial bits of historic evidence from often headline crimes from 1874 to now. Apart from an exhibition at the Museum of London in 2015-16, the museum remains entirely for professional police use to this day.
“It was crazy, honestly,” says Scott of her 10-week placement there during her MA in Museum and Gallery Management at City University.
“We were redisplaying everything in the museum, unofficially known as the Black Museum, and my job was to remove everything from each showcase,” says Scott.
“We’re talking about things like the murderer Dr Crippen’s case of poisons, death masks, guns that weren’t deactivated because they’re evidence, and items from murder scenes like 10 Rillington Place where the serial killer and necrophile Reg Christie would kill his tenants, bury their bodies in drainpipes and keep clippings of pubic hair in a tobacco box. I was there actually holding this kind of stuff.”
Made from tough stuff, Scott says she didn’t freak out until her ninth week there when two cases really played on her mind. “It was only when I got to the more contemporary showcases that I got really weirded out.”
Scott was particularly upset by objects associated with Victoria Climbié, a girl who had come from West Africa to Europe in search of a better life, but was tortured by her guardians because she was thought to be possessed. No UK authority acted on the claims of abuse and she died of her injuries in London in 2000.
Demonstrating diversity
Most of Scott’s museum experience is less dramatic. After she’d completed her master’s, she successfully applied for the the Museums Association’s Diversify Bursary.
“I can say without a shadow of a doubt, I would not be working in museums without that,” she says. “I remember – actually it was kind of silly – taking my passport to the interview because I’m aware that I don’t necessarily come across as black, asian or minority ethnic when you first look at me. But I’m mixed race – half Chinese, half English – and I took my passport to prove that my middle name is Chinese.”
The bursary led to three-months at the Museum of London as a trainee assistant curator in 2006. “I was based in the early history department, but got to do work with learning, conservation and registrars, so I gained a lot of experience.”
Scott went on to become an assistant curator there, working on the content of the new Galleries of Modern London redevelopment, and was promoted to the role of exhibitions project manager in 2010 to help deliver them in 2012.
Scott led the reinterpretation of the boiler and engine rooms on the battleship. “It was light touch – I instigated the original lighting to bring back what it was like to operate the ship during the second world war and put a red light in the boiler to give the hint of a fire.
"We also made a sound installation, which was quieter than it would have been, but was still so loud. Then, every half hour, an ex-Naval voice-over would say ‘cover your ears’ and we’d ramp up the volume to demonstrate what the real sound level would have been like.”
After two years at IWM, Scott became the head curator at London Transport Museum (LTM). “When I look back at what I actually achieved during my three years there it blows my mind: a permanent gallery, two major temporary exhibitions, small temporary exhibitions, I co-authored a book and project managed another. We did a design festival on Regent Street as well as built the team from 10 to 17.”
Scott is pleased to have moved onto Guildhall Galleries though. “There’s a lot more I can influence here. LTM is a much larger organisation – they have 90 staff compared with nine of us here – so things like loan requests had to go to a committee, but here they come to me for approval.”
Building a picture
Scott wants to build Guildhall’s events and exhibition programmes, including museum lates. The gallery isn’t as well known as many venues in London, so it has to work hard to attract visitors.
“We’re not the place that people immediately think of on a trip to London,” says Scott. “We have to fight like a pit bull for our visitors and hold events that really capture people’s imaginations.”
She believes in taking risks and likes the gallery to try something new for each show. “We had a mini zoo at one event, because the Victorian ceramicist William de Morgan often depicted animals. We made memento moris at another, as well as tote bags and Victorian Valentine cards.
"And for our current Seen and Heard show about Victorian children, we’ve given children a bit of power – children under 12 can bring an adult in free every second Saturday,” she says. “With each event we see more people come and, crucially, our mailing list gets a little longer.”
Scott’s next challenge is curating Architecture of London, which opens on 31 May. Spanning 400 years, the exhibition will explore how London’s buildings have been depicted over the centuries, from the Great Fire of London through the second world war to the present day.
“I’m really excited to be borrowing a Canaletto painting,” she says. “It’s a particularly interesting work because it shows Westminster Bridge while it was being constructed, and there’s this little bucket hanging from the bridge.”
Naturally, Scott has made sure the show is part of the London Festival of Architecture programme, and that it is still on during the Open House architecture weekend.
“We’ve got the momentum – we just need to keep it going,” says Scott. It seems that she does too, and shows no signs of stopping.
Elizabeth Scott at a glance
Elizabeth Scott studied archaeology at University College London, and then an MA in museum and gallery management at City University, London.
She received a Museums Association Diversify Bursary to be a trainee assistant curator at the Museum of London in 2006. She became an assistant curator for the museum in 2007 before being promoted to exhibitions project manager in 2010. She became the exhibitions manager, London branches, at the Imperial War Museum in 2012, and then went to the London Transport Museum to be the head curator in 2014.
In 2017, Scott was appointed the head of Guildhall Art Gallery. Her role has since grown to become head of Guildhall Galleries, which also encompasses London’s Roman Amphitheatre, the City of London Police Museum and Billingsgate Roman House and Baths.
Guildhall Galleries at a glance
Guildhall Galleries comprise the Guildhall Art Gallery, London’s Roman Amphitheatre, City of London Police Museum and Billingsgate Roman House and Baths, all in the City of London. All are free to enter. The five organisations are funded and overseen by the City of London Corporation, which is the governing body of the Square Mile.
There is a total of 12 staff across the five sites. Four are full time. Nine staff run the Guildhall Art Gallery, but they are supported by up to 50 volunteers.
The Guildhall Art Gallery receives 90,000-100,000 visitors a year.
