Isles of Scilly Museum appoints new curator
The Isles of Scilly Museum has appointed Dr Rachael Utting as their new curator from April 2024.
After five years of hard work helping to secure a future for the Museum, Kate Hale will be stepping down as the Curator Manager of the Isles of Scilly in a planned handover.
Dr Utting has been working alongside Kate for the last 18 months as Collections Officer.
Kate Hale said: “The last five years have been phenomenally challenging and utterly compelling. What a journey we have been on! I will look back on the last five years as some of the most interesting and enjoyable in my life and will be supporting from the sidelines as this exciting project moves forward.”
She added: “I would like to thank everyone who has supported me and the project and to express my delight at being able to hand over to such a consummate professional as Rachael, who has taken to the job and life on Scilly like a duck to water.”
Rachael Utting has worked for over a decade within the heritage sector in both regional and national museums working in collections care and interpretation. She undertook a PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, focusing on the collecting activities of whalemen in the British Southern Whale Fishery, doing fieldwork in America, Australia and New Zealand.
In November 2022 Rachael moved to Scilly to take up the post of Collections Officer for the Isles of Scilly Museum.
She said: “The Isles of Scilly Museum faces an exciting future, and I am enormously excited to be appointed curator as we move towards a new home in the Town Hall. I have received a huge amount of support from both Kate and the Board of Trustees over the last 18 months and it's a privilege to work with such a great team.”
Dr Rachael Utting
Marthe Broadhurst, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Isles of Scilly Museum, said: “We are very proud and excited to welcome Rachael, who brings a swathe of museum skills and a deep investment in the project. We know that with her on board we will be going from strength to strength.”
She continued: “Kate has put in an almost superhuman amount of work, and we could not be more grateful to her for her wisdom, enthusiasm, and can-do attitude. She has been a truly wonderful curator and will be missed.”
The Isles of Scilly Museum will find a new home as part of the ongoing Cultural Centre and Museum project in Hugh Town, St Mary’s – with the new museum scheduled to open in 2026.
The Cultural Centre and Museum project - led by the Council of the Isles of Scilly working in partnership with the Isles of Scilly Museum - plans to rejuvenate the legacy of the former Town Hall building by creating an attractive, year-round flexible venue.
The renovated Town Hall will provide a new home for the Isles of Scilly Museum, celebrating the culture and stories of Scilly and shining a light on the rich heritage of the islands.
The building will become a new venue for live music performances, art exhibitions, craft fairs, cinema and theatre - creating a vital performance and exhibition space for local artists and performers and touring companies.
Creating a space for local people to gather is at the heart of the project, and the building will provide a community hall available to hire for events and celebrations.
This project is led by the Council of the Isles of Scilly, working in partnership with the Isles of Scilly Museum Association. Our funders included Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Shared Prosperity Fund, Arts Council England, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
