CuratorKat

10/04/2026

Curator reviews the Samurai exhibition at the British Museum. Amazing! Get there before it closes.

02/04/2026

Amazing news! It's incredibly rare that stolen historic objects made from gold survive, normally they are taken for the metal content and are melted down straight away. In a strange way, it's fortunate that these were stollen to order (though not stolen at all would obviously be best). It was the objects themselves wanted, not just gold.

01/04/2026

It survived the Vikings but a shopping centre nearly destroyed it. The York Helmet

09/03/2026

Curator Reviews Joseph Wright of Derby's Candlelight paintings exhibition 'From the Shadows'

24/02/2026

18/02/2026

For laughter in the face of danger, come along to my talk on Cold War comedy at this free webinar next month!

𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥: 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗼𝗻 - 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗿 (𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟮 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝟭𝟴:𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟵:𝟯𝟬)

From Dr Strangelove to the Fantastic Four, the Cold War has been part of popular entertainment for decades. While some film outings, such as the BBC’s 1984 film Threads, gave a bleak and realistic depiction of the reality of nuclear war, terrifying the nation, many are far more light-hearted.

This FREE webinar will focus on the Cold War as entertainment, both at the time and today. Dr Laura Crossley (Bournemouth University) and Dr Kathryn Bedford (English Heritage) will explore how comedians navigated their own and their audiences’ fears of destruction, as well as how the Marvel Cinematic Universe uses Cold War references to make contemporary points.

Book your free place 👇
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/entertaining-armageddon-how-popular-culture-made-sense-of-the-cold-war-tickets-1980573004171?aff=oddtdtcreator

18/02/2026

Such a small moment that changed the world in such unexpected ways! It'll be interesting to see how it works as part of a V&A visit, and what visitors think

13/02/2026

The Veroli Casket - how unusual is this really?

03/02/2026

Looking forward to this sold out event next week 😀

𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟬𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲.

This meeting will bring together curators, historians, veterans, and Network members to share research, collections, and lived experience of the Cold War.

Highlights of the programme include:
➡️ Nick Gould on The Civil Defence College
➡️ Rowena Willard-Wright on how Britain prepared for the worst
➡️ John Schofield on archaeological encounters with the Cold War at the Teufelsberg in Berlin
➡️ Philip Walton on memories of the CND and nuclear protect
➡️ James Donaldson on British Armour in the Cold War

We look forward to welcoming colleagues and members for an inspiring day of Cold War history and networking.

Please note that this conference is fully booked and a waiting list is in operation.

Learn more about The Cold War Network: www.coldwarnetwork.co.uk

23/01/2026

The less glamorous side of being a curator 😂.

13/01/2026

Finally managed to get this token out on display! We were able to buy it at auction with money raised in the second hand bookshop on site and its taken over a year to get to this point.

05/01/2026

Vikings! Curator reviews the Jorvik viking Centre in York. I was very impressed.