DCDC21 | Keynote - Melanie Keen, Wellcome Collection
Channel: ResearchLibrariesUK
Date: 05/07/2021

DCDC stands for Discovering Collections, Discovering Communities. It is a cross-sectoral conference, hosted by The National Archives, RLUK and Jisc, that brings together the GLAMA sectors (galleries, libraries, archives, museums and academia) to shine a light on our shared experiences, innovations, interests and concerns. The DCDC21 Conference explored how crisis can act as a catalyst for change within libraries, archives, museums, and cultural organisations. https://dcdcconference.com/

Melanie Keen is Director of Wellcome Collection, a free museum and library in London which aims to challenge how we all think and feel about health. Prior to joining in October 2019, she was Director and Chief Curator at Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), where she was instrumental in the revitalisation of Iniva’s mission and vision by making the library collection its creative hub. Melanie sits on a number of boards and advisory committees including the Government Art Collection and the Board of Visitors of Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. She was on the selection committee for the British Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2019 and one of the judges for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2020.

Libraries: more than a home for books

This presentation reflects on Melanie Keen’s experience of transforming a cultural institution, Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts), by placing its library, conceptually, at the heart of its work. In thinking differently, she ponders how the role of the library, such as Wellcome Collection’s library, can act as catalyst for changing the nature of engagement with and by cultural institutions, particularly in moments of crisis.