We are delighted to announce that Emma Chaplin will be the new Director of AIM. She will be taking up her post in February. Emma will be known to many AIM members and others in the museum sector, not least from her time as an AIM Council member, from 2003 to 2014.
She is a highly respected consultant who has worked with many AIM members, both large and small, in England and Wales. She has also undertaken work for Arts Council England, the Welsh Government and museum development teams in England, frequently working with small independent museums. She previously held curatorial and senior management roles in independent and local authority museums. She has a deep knowledge of the museum and heritage sector and its networks.
Talking about her appointment, Emma said, “I am delighted to be joining AIM as its new Director and looking forward to working with the Chair, Council and staff to continue to represent and deliver great services for our members. AIM has been a beacon of advice, knowledge and inspiration for me throughout my career and I relish the opportunity to build on its success of recent years as it embarks on an ambitious new chapter.”
Welcoming Emma, Richard Evans, AIM’s Chair, said “We had an astonishingly strong field of applicants for the role and we are delighted to have selected Emma Chaplin, who demonstrated her strong experience with and understanding of independent museums, as well as her commitment to continuing AIM’s work in partnership with other organisations across the UK, to support independent museums and help them to thrive and prosper.”
AIM’s staff team will be managing AIM’s work in the interim after our current Director, Tamalie Newbery, leaves in mid December and before Emma Chaplin starts in February. During this time work will continue as normal with much to look forward to including the Preparing to Prosper seminar series and the announcement of the 2018 conference programme. Emma will be attending the Birmingham and Edinburgh Preparing to Prosper seminars and looks forward to meeting members at these events.