Abigail Allan

Collaborating with the UK's National Trust, my doctoral thesis will research the National Trust's collections of Greek vases, firstly by locating them in properties across the UK, then researching their lifetimes using the theory of object biographies. This will then enable me to curate the vases in at least three properties, both as temporary exhibitions and as permanent displays: Nostell Priory, Sudbury Hall (the children's country house), and Charlecote Park. This expands on the work of my MPhil thesis, which researched Nostell Priory’s Greek vases. I strive to combine my academic and curatorial practice by researching curatorial theories and visiting museums, galleries, and exhibitions around the world to analyse curatorial decisions to support the design of my own vase displays.

Outside of academia, I work more broadly in museums and heritage. I am an Assistant Curator at Lady Margaret Hall, an Oxford college with a large collection of primarily twentieth century British paintings, drawings, and prints. I am also a Curatorial Consultant for Fairfield House, Bath, the former home of the last Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Selassie, whilst a refugee during WWII. Additionally, I am a member of the Oxford University Heritage Network and am interested in the impact of climate change on UK heritage assets, having researched and written National Historic Ships UK’s Climate Change Report (2021), described by The Heritage Alliance as a 'landmark report'.