Collections Researcher

Overview

At Bath & North East Somerset Council we have one overriding purpose to improve people’s lives.

Fixed Term Contract (for one year)

Fashion Museum Bath holds one of the world’s leading collections of fashion, spanning 400 years of human creativity, from 1600 to the present day. It is an exciting time for the Fashion Museum as we undertake a major capital project to open a new Fashion Museum (relocated from the old site). Opening in 2030 the new Museum will transform access to the Collection, with dynamic exhibitions, displays and programming.

Fashion Museum Bath has received funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund to undertake a research project to uncover, highlight and reposition narratives around Global Majority makers, designers, and wearers. This role is directly related to this project. The grant funds a one-year full-time (or equivalent) Collections Researcher to lead on research, start to build partnerships with relevant organisations and community groups, and share findings with the Fashion Museum team and more widely.

• Uncover more Global Majority Stories within the collection
• Co‑de‑develop future priorities and initiatives for research, collection and co‑curating with communities
• Strengthen relationships with community partner organisations

We are looking to appoint a Collections Researcher to lead this project. Despite the breadth of the collection very little is known about the Global Majority stories held within it. The post holder will lead research into the collection to uncover stories held within. Given the expansive scope of this enquiry, and of our collection, we have kept the project brief quite open and will work with you to refine the focus, based on your own expertise and practice.

Potential areas of investigation could include:

• Designers and makers
• Materials and their provenance
• Design aesthetics and stylistic influences
• Known wearers
• Donors and sellers who contributed to the collection

Your own practice whether object‑based, archival, artistic, or community‑based will inform the methodology and area of focus within the collection. We’ll work with you to ensure this also considers the need for a set quantity of research, the community impact of the work, and its ability to shape the museum’s narrative.

The researcher will work collaboratively with local and national partners and organisations to co‑develop research priorities, shape interpretation, and inform future programming and priorities, including acquisitions.

The work will be flexible and iterative, responding to the nature of research and allowing space for co‑working and community‑focused inquiry. Activities will include in‑depth focused research, community engagement sessions, partnership‑building, and internal knowledge‑sharing.

We’re looking for an experienced researcher/ curator/ fashion practitioner with an interest and drive for uncovering and spotlighting Global Majority fashion histories within and outside public archives and sharing them with others in varied and accessible ways.

You will have:

• Significant experience and expertise in an area of research or practice related to Global majority fashions
• Experience identifying and building partnerships and networks
• Experience communicating your research, through talks and publications
• Experience of object‑based research

• Experience (or desire to learn) more about Museum record‑keeping and collections management, including use of a Collections Management system
• Experience of (or desire to learn) Museum’s acquisition process
• Experience curating exhibitions and displays
• Experience of budget management

Your work will be hybrid, split between the collections store in Warminster, our office in Bath, and home‑working. The role is recruited as a 1‑year full‑time post, but we are happy to discuss a part‑time post (3 or 4 days per week) over a longer period of time.

This post is part of a project funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Communities & Collections Fund.

The Esmée Fairbairn Communities & collections Fund is run by the Museums…