Meet the Alumni through this weeks Museums, Arts & Cultural Heritage Themed Week

Museums, Arts and Cultural Heritage Themed Week: Meet the Alumni

Want to get an honest insight into working in the Museums, Arts and Cultural Heritage sector? Come to our Alumni Networking Event on Tuesday 13 November, where you can meet UCL alumni from different areas across the sector and ask them about:

• Where and how to look for roles
• Who to contact, and
• What experience is needed

Find out about their experiences since graduating from UCL, including how they successfully transitioned from being a student to having a career in the sector.

There will be a panel discussion, giving you an opportunity to hear from the diverse speakers, followed by a Q&A session, with questions from the audience – so come prepared!

After this, you will have a chance to practice your networking skills; where you can ask more detailed questions to specific panellists in a safe and informal setting. Drinks and nibbles will be provided during the networking!

Chairing the event will be Dr Nina Pearlman (UCL MA Fine Art, 1996), Head of UCL Art Collections. The panel will include:

• Dhikshana Turakhia Pering, Youth Programme Manager at London Transport Museum (MA Museums and Galleries, 2008)
• Lisa Westcott Wilkins, Managing Director at Dig Ventures (MA Archaeology, 2002)
• Eric Brunjes, Chief Executive at Attack Magazine (BA History, 2006)
• Adam Klups, Historic Buildings Advisor at Church of England (BA History of Art with Material Studies, 2011)
• Jonathan Franklin, Librarian at National Gallery in London (MA Library & Information Studies, 1986)

To find out more about each of the speakers, see the short biographies below. Book now for this event happening TONIGHT as part of the Museums, Arts and Cultural Heritage themed week. We look forward to seeing you there!

Speaker biographies
Dr Nina Pearlman (UCL Slade MA Fine Art, 1996) – Head of UCL Collections, UCL Art Museum
Nina is responsible for the sustainable development of the Museum’s art collections, spaces, programmes, partnerships and team to ensure benefit for current and future generations.

Nina is also a contemporary art curator, writer and lecturer and specialises in interdisciplinary collaborations between research & art and public art. She studied fine art, history of art and critical theory, gaining her MA from the Slade and BA from the University of Haifa.

Prior to joining UCL Nina worked independently on curatorial projects, strategic planning and fundraising with artists and institutions drawing on a background in business development in the corporate sector. This, coupled with visiting lecturer contributions across the HE, built up an extensive contemporary art network nationally and internationally. She led the Cultural Heritage pathway for five years on the MA for Arts Policy and Management at Birkbeck College focusing on Museums for the 21st century, and has acted as a selector for the Bartlett School of Architecture’s Research Materialisation award since its inception and is a nominator for Prix Pictet, the global award in photography and sustainability.

Dhikshana Turakhia Pering (UCL MA Museums & Galleries in Education, 2008) – Manager of the Arts Council England funded Young People’s Skills Programme, London Transport Museum
Dhikshana manages the Arts Council England funded Young People’s Skills Programme for 18-25-year-olds at London Transport Museum, focusing on making the cultural and heritage sector accessible and diverse. Dhikshana has 12 years’ experience with the majority of her career spent at the Science Museum, working in learning teams on everything from delivery and development to management and operations. As Trustee of the Museums Association, Dhikshana works actively on sector-wide workforce developments. Her passion lies with actively diversifying the sector, by changing and developing the whole workforce model from recruitment to exit.

Lisa Westcott Wilkins BA MA MCIfA FRSA (UCL MA Archaeology, 2002) – Co-founder and Managing Director, DigVentures
As co-founder and Managing Director at DigVentures, Lisa has found the perfect place to combine archaeology with over twenty years of professional experience in communications, finance and journalism, including several years as Editor of Current Archaeology magazine. With a Master’s degree in Archaeology from UCL and a prestigious Clore Fellowship under her belt, she now focuses her energy wrangling field archaeologists and harnessing brilliant creative sector innovations for DV. She is an international speaker on crowdfunding for the creative and cultural sectors and leads on the consultancy aspect of DV’s work. She is responsible for the Americanisms, absurdly strong site coffee and early morning DV dance parties.

Eric Brünjes (UCL BA History, 2006) – Chief Executive, Attack Magazine and Music Producer
Eric Brünjes, aka ‘Brvnjes’, is a music producer and entrepreneur based in London.
As a music producer, he has produced for artists such as Fetty Wap, Feli Fame, Talib Kweli, Mobb Deep, The Recipe and Meridian Dan.
As a sound designer and composer, he has composed for Adidas, Puma, M&M’s, Schuh and Honda. In 2018, he recorded the backing arrangements for Ariana Grande’s live show.

He also runs Attack Magazine which is dedicated to dance music lifestyle and production. Attack released the book ‘The Secrets of Dance Music Production’ in 2016. Attack is publishing several other titles in 2019. Eric is based in London where he lives with his wife and young family.

Jonathan Franklin (UCL MA Library & Information Studies, 1986) – Librarian, National Gallery in London
Jonathan Franklin read classics, then took a Master’s in Library and Information Studies at UCL. He worked at the British Architectural Library and the National Portrait Gallery, before moving to Ottawa, Canada, in 1996, where he managed the Library and Archives of the National Gallery of Canada. Since 2014 he has been the Librarian of the National Gallery in London. He has been professionally active in the Art Libraries Society of UK & Ireland, the Art Libraries Society of North America, and the Art Libraries Section Standing Committee of the International Federation of Library Associations.