Television can be a great vehicle to promote museums and collections, Lucy Worsley has told delegates at the Museums Association conference in Liverpool.
Worlsey, the chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), has presented several series on BBC 2 and BBC 4 on history over the past four years, including Tales of the Royal Bedchamber and History of Murder.
“I’ve taken a lot of care to be associated with HRP – it’s an important part of my persona on screen,” Worlsey said. “It gives me the authority to speak. But I still spend the majority of my time doing my day job. HRP hires me out to the BBC and we actually make a profit from it.”
She also shared the “dark side” of museums working with television programmes.
“Is television your friend or not? On one level, it’s not – the crew’s aim is to get you to give more of your time for less money than you want, to divert you from your other work… to possibly damage the integrity of your institution.
“But some pockets of television industry can be your friend. They are interested in art and have overlapping aims with you about bringing audiences in.”
Museums share a lot of common ground with television directors, and understand that there are many different audiences, she said.
“They appreciate that some programmes aren’t necessarily aimed at them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not successful in their own terms. Just as an exhibition aimed at goths won’t appeal to little old ladies.”
She also said museums should take care to get the most out of any television experience. “When museums are offered a credit location fee, they often take the credit. I would say that if your [museum or historic property] is not being featured as itself and is just a backdrop, then it’s better to take the money.”
Worlsey, the chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), has presented several series on BBC 2 and BBC 4 on history over the past four years, including Tales of the Royal Bedchamber and History of Murder.
“I’ve taken a lot of care to be associated with HRP – it’s an important part of my persona on screen,” Worlsey said. “It gives me the authority to speak. But I still spend the majority of my time doing my day job. HRP hires me out to the BBC and we actually make a profit from it.”
She also shared the “dark side” of museums working with television programmes.
“Is television your friend or not? On one level, it’s not – the crew’s aim is to get you to give more of your time for less money than you want, to divert you from your other work… to possibly damage the integrity of your institution.
“But some pockets of television industry can be your friend. They are interested in art and have overlapping aims with you about bringing audiences in.”
Museums share a lot of common ground with television directors, and understand that there are many different audiences, she said.
“They appreciate that some programmes aren’t necessarily aimed at them, but that doesn’t mean they’re not successful in their own terms. Just as an exhibition aimed at goths won’t appeal to little old ladies.”
She also said museums should take care to get the most out of any television experience. “When museums are offered a credit location fee, they often take the credit. I would say that if your [museum or historic property] is not being featured as itself and is just a backdrop, then it’s better to take the money.”
