West End news: Class act of curators for the museum- St Vincent Primary school youngsters take charge of Wallace Collection
Published: 5 February 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM
It sounds like a recipe for a big insurance claim.
Take a collection of priceless artefacts from one of the capital’s most esteemed museums, send your monocle-wearing curator home for the day, and put in a bunch of 11-year-olds to do the top job.
The horror scenario of marker pen moustaches appearing on its Renaissance masterpieces has not put off the Wallace Collection. This week the museum in Marylebone opened a new exhibition curated by 12 youngsters from nearby St Vincent’s Primary School.
It is the first time children have been let loose in a national museum; taking charge of everything from choosing the objects, where to hang them and writing the labels, as well as helping with the press and marketing.
The exhibition is titled Shhh… it’s a secret and explores the mysteries behind the museum’s collection, such as Jean-Francois Leleu’s oak writing desk which is fitted with dummy book spines. It has been billed as a celebration of the small details which may have been previously overlooked.
One of the curators, Chelsea, 10, said: “It’s been a good journey. Near to the end it got very hard but everyone keeps you going. We even got a little bit of time off school.”
It also appears the battle of the sexes starts young. She added: “When we started choosing the pieces all the boys wanted to pick the armour while all the girls wanted animals.”