Young Curators see the light!

Open Treasure is transforming public access to some of the Cathedral’s most spectacular spaces, opening up the previously hidden monastic buildings and allowing people to get closer to the Cathedral’s breath-taking collections.

We’re also opening up hearts and minds through the Open Treasure Learning and Outreach programme, enabling members of the local community to get involved in this exciting new chapter of the Cathedral’s story.

One of our most exciting projects is Young Curators, a brand new group for 11 – 16 year olds. Young Curators will have unique opportunities to explore the new exhibition areas, handle and display objects, interpret the collections and help develop a new guide book based on their experiences.

We’ve recruited a great group of Young Curators from across County Durham, and we’ve met three times since September. So far, our Young Curators have explored the Cathedral, enjoyed a special show-and-tell session in the Cathedral Library and started to pull together ideas for their own guidebook.

In their latest session, our Young Curators even got the opportunity to meet local artist Mick Stevenson who designed Litre of Light, one of the most popular installations at Lumiere Durham 2015, the UK’s largest light festival.

It’s really rewarding to see our Young Curators immersing themselves in the history and heritage of the Cathedral and learning as they go. And we’ve learnt so much from our Young Curators too! By questioning our own understanding of the Cathedral and its remarkable stories the Young Curators have opened up our minds, teaching us to see the Cathedral in a new light.

Our sessions with the Young Curators have highlighted the fact that Durham Cathedral itself is an Open Treasure with countless opportunities for learning and exploration, and we can’t wait to learn more over the next few months.

Philippa Coad

Learning and Outreach Officer