Mrs Lorraine Cornish

I am currently Head of Conservation at the Natural History Museum managing a team working across all areas of collections and exhibits. I am a highly experienced museum professional with over 35 years expertise in conservation, collections management and exhibitions. My current role includes leading on the strategic development and management of the care and conservation of NHM collections. I ensure the effective management of the conservation division, delivering work required for the museum’s strategic, project and departmental business plans. I am an advocate for NHM collections and actively advise on conservation, preservation and collections care matters. I work with other colleagues to identify and prioritise activities and resources to ensure collections are expertly cared for and accessible for both research and public outreach. I have advised over 25 museums worldwide on aspects of collections management, conservation standards and practice. I completed a comprehensive inspection and review of 15 European Museums and developed a benchmark assessment mechanism to evaluate natural history museums for their Collections Management capabilities.

I have also led over 20 training courses worldwide on aspects of collections management and conservation.

I took a 3 year career break between 2011-2013 working in Saudi Arabia as Head of Museum and Exhibits for the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, an 80,000 m2 new build project in the Eastern Province. I was responsible for recruitment and development of specialist staff, planning and building a collection, development of a suite of conservation studios, developing policies and producing a set of 6 exhibit spaces.