Hello and welcome to my website.

I am a consultant and facilitator for the cultural sector, working with museums, galleries, country houses, places of worship, and universities to manage, support and develop creative approaches to interpretation, exhibitions and public programming, as well as undertaking my own research, teaching and writing.

Prior to this, I was Head of Learning at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich. I have worked at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, Manchester Art Gallery, Museums Sheffield and Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, as well as freelance for Renaissance East Midlands and the Research Centre for Museums and Galleries at the University of Leicester.

I am involved in museum research in India (in New Delhi, Jaipur and Ladakh) as part of a partnership project between the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester and the National Museum Institute in New Delhi, entitled Things Unbound.

Alex Woodall leading a workshop in the Ruskin Gallery, Museums Sheffield, 2015.

I have over 15 years of experience managing projects and programmes in museums and galleries. I specialise in running creative audience-led museum and gallery interpretation, managing learning and public programmes, curating exhibitions, devising interpretation and interactivity, commissioning artists, working collaboratively with partner organisations, developing participatory projects for young people, and establishing digital and social media projects.

My PhD is from the School of Museum Studies at the University of Leicester and is entitled Sensory Engagements with Objects in Art Galleries: Material Interpretation and Theological Metaphor. Supervised by Dr Sandra Dudley and Professor Richard Sandell, it looks at how using objects in creative ways in art galleries might challenge traditional forms of knowledge, allowing for imaginative and sensory responses to collections.

I am a mentor and professional reviewer for the Museums Association’s AMA. I was a Trustee for GEM from 2014-2016, having been Area Convenor for Yorkshire and Humberside for 4 years from 2010-2014. I am a member of engage, and am part of the Women Cultural Leaders Network in the East.

On my blog, I reflect on museum practice and research, as well as wider cultural commentary and creative, artistic, and musical reviews.

Please do contact me if you are interested in collaborating or finding out more.