A rekindled love of heritage leads islander to museums role

After a full-circle moment and returning to a career in heritage where he started off, he hopes to make history more accessible to all and increase engagement.

‘The registrar is primarily responsible for the records and the database, so I will know where everything is, the documentation, and it will be my responsibility to do the transport and insurance when we are loaning out items to another museum,’ he said.

‘I’m also part of the curatorial team, so I help them when it comes to exhibitions.’

Mr Lowe studied anthropology at university, returning to the island briefly before studying a post-graduate degree in illustration at the Art Institute of Boston, Massachusetts.

He lived in London working as a freelance illustrator for 11 years before returning to the island for a short break until Covid hit.

He then took up a job at the Priaulx Library, where he worked for two years before taking up his new role at Guernsey Museums.

‘I started in heritage, then went off to do art for a while and now I’ve ended back up in heritage, but there’s actually quite a lot of crossover between them,’ said Mr Lowe.

‘I’m very interested in looking at history in terms of collecting things now that will become history in the future whether that be a programme or brochure that we’d typically throw away, it could have historic value.

‘I’m also really interested in encouraging engagement, sometimes there is only a certain demographic that might visit museums or galleries, but it is for everyone and I’m passionate about making it accessible.’

Guernsey Museums’ newest exhibition Amazing Creatures begins today, showcasing some of the items in Guernsey Museums’ natural history collection.

‘It’s not just objects of local interest, a lot of the items have come from all over the world, but we also want to showcase old taxidermy models and skeletons and the legacy of how we got them,’ said Mr Lowe.

Items on display date back to late 1800s and early 1900s and most things have not been displayed in about 30 years.

‘Since I started back in heritage working at the Priaulx Library and now Guernsey Museums, I have this level of passion and dedication to these topics.

‘I’ve learned so much over the past couple of years and it’s really rekindled my love and interest in local history and so I’m excited to see where we can go from here,’ he said.

• The Amazing Creatures exhibition runs until 15 September at Candie Museum.