Lingyi Guo, an MA student placement from University College London, reflects on her time with us at the Society and compares it to working at a Museum from, her native country.

I am an MA student majoring in Museums and Galleries in Education. I’ve just completed a three-month placement at the Society of Antiquaries. One reason I chose to complete my placement at SAL, a relatively small cultural heritage site, is because I already had experience of working as an intern in a large museum.

The Guangdong Museum of Cantonese art, nature, culture and history is a huge, modern gallery space in Guangzhou, China. Because the organisation is so large, during my internship I mainly interacted with people working in the communication and design departments and didn’t gain an understanding of the activities carried out beyond these areas. The Society of Antiquaries employs fewer than thirty people. Apart from the Library and Collections team, most ‘departments’ at SAL consist of just one or two staff members. During my time at Burlington House, I’ve met with people in different positions and discovered what they do day-to-day, which in turn has given me a better sense of how the cultural heritage sector works.

As I’m supporting the Learning and Outreach ‘Team’ (one person!), I’ve had plenty of opportunities to take part in public-facing activities, like Open Fridays and educational workshops as part of the National Lottery Heritage Funded project ‘Sensing History’. This has given me useful experience in interacting with audiences of all ages.

The first thing that struck me about the Society was the sense of inclusiveness. In fact, when I arrived for the first day of my placement, I felt quite anxious. English is my second language, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to express myself clearly, but I quickly realized that listening can be a valuable skill in the workplace. In the weekly Wednesday staff meetings, everyone is encouraged to share updates and views but it’s okay even if you don’t have anything you want to say. Meanwhile at the Open Friday events our team of volunteers always meet for a debrief after every shift. When it was my turn to offer a reflection on how the event had gone, I was a bit apprehensive at first, but everybody’s encouraging words and supportive body language gave me more self-confidence.

The performance in the exhibition hall, Guangdong Museum, 2022

What connected my experiences at the Guangdong Museum and the Society of Antiquaries was that I took part in Late Events at both sites. The Guangdong Museum runs regular Friday Lates, with changing themes inspired by displays and exhibitions in the galleries. One event I supported there focused on Song and Yuan cultures in China. Visitors had the chance to discover life during the Song dynasty (960–1279 AD) through activities like tea-making and incense burning. There was an immersive element to the night, as a professional dance group performed among the exhibits in the museum.

The Society of Antiquaries runs Late Events less frequently, but (just as at the Guangdong Museum) these are interactive and vibrant events which respond to displays and exhibitions. They also happen on a Friday evening! So, on Friday 28 June, the Society welcomed over 200 people to their Tudor-themed Late Event, ‘Henry VIII’s Right Royal Revelry’. The whole building was full of activity. There was a costumed interpreter dressed as Henry VIII, a crown-making workshop that allowed everyone to become king or queen for the night, and choral performances of rarely heard songs from the Tudor period.

I was on front of house duty during the event and, as I watched everybody enjoying themselves, it made me think that in both China and the UK, in different cultural contexts, people are always brought together by art and culture.