Eleanor Wood Bowyer

Curatorial Assistant of Collections, Whitworth Art Gallery.

Course: MA Art Gallery and Museum Studies, 2025.

What does a curatorial assistant do?

I help to support the Curatorial Department across the care and management of the Whitworth’s collections

Part of my work involves making the collection accessible to researchers, visitors, and wider audiences. I support everything from acquisitions and study visits to research enquiries and digital image licensing.

No two days are quite the same! I could be helping to digitise the collection, assisting with exhibition installs and deinstalls, ordering materials, organising spreadsheets, minuting meetings, or arranging travel.

Did you always know you wanted to do the career you’re in now?

My time at university definitely influenced my career path. As a child, I always said I wanted to be an author or artist - I even used to say I wanted a studio in Manchester!

As a teenager, I struggled with academia a little and began to feel pushed away from those creative ambitions towards something more ‘practical’. Coming to UoM gave me the opportunity to return to what I think I knew was right for me deep down.

I threw myself into the MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies and absolutely loved it. The Whitworth had been a significant part of my experience in Manchester for many years. I undertook object research in their Study Centre and did my placement at the gallery, working alongside their Women in Revolt! exhibition.

How did the course prepare you for your current role?

The course gave me the academic and theoretical knowledge to better understand the museum and gallery sector, while also encouraging me to develop my own ideas and interests. Just as importantly, studying at UoM gave me access to connections and opportunities within the sector through a placement and research visit that helped me begin building a network.

What was the most surprising takeaway from your course that helped you later in life?

The most surprising part of my MA was actually the people I met. I knew I would enjoy the academic side of the course, but because much of my BA had been affected by Covid, I felt I had missed out on some of the social side of university.

By the time I started my MA, I had already spent five years in Manchester and had lots of friends from home, university, and work in the city, so I didn’t go into the course feeling that I needed to make new friends. Yet, I came away with best friends for life! It was a lovely reminder that university can give you much more than the qualification itself.