Julie Finch

Julie joined Bristol's Museum Galleries and Archives Service in 2006 following a stint at the National Football Museum as Manager. Prior to that Julie managed Salford Heritage Services, in Greater Manchester. Her interests lie in providing access to resources for the public in creative and exciting ways and unlocking policy in order to establish the best possible outcome for the public. Connecting people with their history, contemporary society, their own identity and the identity of others is key to this. Formerly studying history at the University of Hull, Julie has a Masters degree from the University of Leicester in Museum Studies and is currently studying with the Open University. Julie is tasked with delivering the new museum on the harbourside in Bristol, and is well on the way to achieving this with the committed team, stakeholders, communities across Bristol, key funders and new partners across the city.

A new museum for Bristol

On the harbourside, close to the city centre in Bristol there is a major project progressing, it is a new museum for Bristol. This is a different type of museum that challenges the perception of what a museum is. Why is it different?

During its development the new museum engages with people across the city to ensure that the people of the city are represented. It meshes history, contemporary society, collections, multiple perspectives – past, present and future – and it places audiences at the centre of everything that it does.

The museum is open ended – it enables communities and visitors to discover and connect with the city's past and engage with its future through an open ended approach to content and programming.

It asks questions – it engages communities and visitors in discussing and presenting multiple perspectives over time and throughout the rich history of the city

It seeks the ‘local' but with a global relevance – it highlights Bristol's – and the people of Bristol – and the connections with the wider world.

Throughout its development, the new museum has engaged with many different communities across the city in new and exciting ways. The client team has formed new partners, listened to views and perspectives, undertaken collecting campaigns, utilised new media in doing so in order to develop a new type of experience that is born out of the city.

Communities are placed at the heart of the project, the project is reaching out to the traditionally underrepresented groups including those at risk of social exclusion. It will respond to their needs and interests through the displays and public programme. The content will address subject matter which is seen to be relevant to people's everyday lives and cater for various learning styles and ranges of ability. With an aspiration to broaden its users to represent all of society (locally, nationally and internationally) in accessing and developing the full range of services, the Museum's additional non-traditional offers, in particular the emphasis placed on community engagement before and after opening is most significant.