The Volunteer - National Maritime Museum

A Life in the Day of
Amaya Wang
Can you tell us what your role is
and what you do?
Right now I’m volunteering in two roles;
I’m a Queen’s House Room Guide and
an Oil Painting Research Volunteer. I
recently started the research role and am
enjoying it a lot. The main thing I am
doing is reviewing
catalogue entries for
the Digital Archive. We
use spreadsheets a lot,
comparing those to the
hard copies, to make
sure there are no
missing dates, artists,
spelling mistakes,
wrong information or
mistakes in dates. If
there is something
missing or incorrect
and we cannot find the
correct information we
have to ensure that it is noted so that
when the next volunteer comes in they
know what’s what.
How would your typical day pan
out?
I usually get in at ten o’clock, log into the
computer and MIMSY system and then
spend the day going through all the
records ensuring that everything is
correct... It’s really important as in the
future these records will go online in
conjunction with the BBC, so that people
can access paintings that aren’t seen
because they are in storage. Hopefully it
will encourage more people to visit the
Museum once they’ve seen online what
the Museum has.
Why did you decide to volunteer
here?
I’ve always been interested in history, art
and architecture, as I live and have
studied nearby I thought what a great
way to learn more and get a real physical
sense and feel of that history and drama!
What did you study?
I did a degree in Dance and then a
Masters in Theatrical Studies. Although
it doesn’t instantly sound like they
match with museum work, I’ve found
that they do help. I like to try to combine
performance with an object. The dance
has also helped me to be
disciplined in the research
role.
What do you enjoy most
about your role?
I really enjoy using my brain
in a way you don’t when
you’re dancing, you have to
be really careful not to make
mistakes and have a real
attention for detail.
What would you like to
be doing in five years
time?
I want to stay in London. Everything
about London draws me to it. The
history, the drama, the culture, the arts,
the buildings and the restaurants. One
day I would love to curate an exhibition,
including dance, performance, objects
and art! I think I would enjoy the
challenge and process of doing such a
thing. In the end I would like to work in
cultural heritage, and my volunteering
here is helping me to gain some much
needed experience.
Amaya was talking to Rachel Mentiply
late last year. The project Amaya was
volunteering for at that time has now
been successfully completed.
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