Mary Evans

Spalding Gentlemen’s Society has an extensive collection, containing several important items including scientific instruments, a library and an archive. The collection has never been formally reviewed and conservation work has been minimal up until now. The museum is fully volunteer run, and is looking to progress and extend their reach to a wider audience, despite having limited funds in order to do so. Mary has worked, as a volunteer, for just over a year at the museum, encouraging people to engage with heritage (particularly those who would not normally do so) and providing education and training in conservation skills. 

The project to conserve the collection has boosted the wellbeing of local people who have gotten involved, and has been highlighted on social media to help promote the value of conservation in preserving heritage objects. Mary and her team of volunteers have produced short films of them taking part in conservation activities, demonstrating their skills and engaging even more people with the act of conservation. Mary gives freely of her time to teach others about conservation, whilst never losing sight of her main aim to conserve and protect the heritage of the collection. This is an ongoing project, and the hope is that many more people will take part in conservation activities to bring the collection back to life. 

Lilian Amwada Ochieng

Lilian has run a project to restore a traditional Pokot dress and headgear which had suffered deterioration due to being in storage at the Kabernet Museum in Kenya for many years. She collaborated closely with the local Pokot and Tugen community elders throughout the restoration, taking on their invaluable insights into traditional conservation practices and the cultural significance of these items. The restored objects are now on display in an exhibition at the museum, where the local community have been able to see a piece of their cultural heritage on prominent display. Staff at the museum have received conservation training as part of the project, which has secured a lasting legacy of conservation practices at the museum for the future. Lilian also shared the results of the project online and ran educational sessions alongside the restoration for local schools so that the information gleaned from the project could be shared as widely as possible. Her work has increased visibility of conservation work happening at the museum and has also increased local interest in the museum. Lilian’s collaboration with the local indigenous community throughout the project has been invaluable and has demonstrated a collective effort to achieve the best results for heritage preservation.