What was it like to be the only person in a museum under lockdown?

A new six-part audio series launching today will give the public a glimpse into life at six museums and galleries in England under lockdown, as told through the eyes of caretakers and security staff.

The Caretakers will offer listeners a reimagined take on the traditional museum tour; each episode focuses on one object, chosen and narrated by a member of the institution’s security or maintenance team.

The series aims to give listeners “rare access into the hidden worlds of museums and galleries and the people that have been looking after them during the Covid-19 pandemic”.

The provenance of each object will only be revealed a day after the episode has been broadcast; the hope is that this will inspire an alternative and more contemplative approach to engaging with culture. 

Listeners will be encouraged to create and submit their own creative responses to the collections that are featured, in order to generate an online gallery of "reimagined treasures" created by the public, which will be documented on Twitter by @caretakertales. 

The series was conceived by contemporary artist Eloise Moody, who is also the project’s curator. “With the closure of museums and arts organisations throughout the country, the people with access to the nation’s cultural treasures are security and caretaking teams,” she said. 

“At a time when previously overlooked workers are recognised as essential, The Caretakers extends this reframing of importance and reliance to the cultural sector. While security and caretaking staff are the only people allowed inside our national museums and galleries, The Caretakers allow us to perch invisibly on their shoulders, seeing what takes their interest and noticing what they stop to consider. We are granted a personal tour offering fresh perspectives on suspended collections.”

The project is support by the arts organisation Metal Southend, whose assistant director, Andrea Cunningham, said: “The Caretakers project, conceived by artist Eloise Moody, is a powerful opportunity to amplify those marginalised voices working in the cultural sector in a beautiful and intriguing way at a moment in history that is reframing all our thinking.”

Each episode will be broadcast daily by Metal Southend and the participating museums and galleries via social media.

The six participating institutions are: