British Council New Zealand and the Pacific are proud to support Miranda Lowe CBE’s visit to Aotearoa New Zealand this March.

Miranda Lowe is the Principal Curator of Crustacea at the Natural History Museum in London, where she is responsible for everything from crabs and lobsters to coral and jellyfish.

Miranda has published groundbreaking work on how to navigate the colonial histories of collections in museums around the world.  Miranda has also highlighted the work of people of colour who’ve made previously unrecognised contributions to our knowledge, and to collections in museums.

As part of her work to improve the inclusivity of science and research, Miranda presents regularly to large audiences. She has helped to encourage a more diverse group of young people to take up STEM careers, and to advocate for museums and for the natural world.

Lowe will participate in the Commonwealth Association of Museums 2024 Triennial Conference at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum and Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato from 3- 8 March. The theme of this year’s conference is The View from Here: Sustainability, Community and Knowledge.

Lowe will also speak at the Royal Society Te Apārangi in Wellington on the 11 March on Exhibiting Oceans: Changes in Museum Collections. 

Watch a video of Miranda's talk at the Royal Society Te Apārangi below:

About Miranda Lowe

Miranda Lowe CBE has been principal curator of crustacea and cnidaria collections at the Natural History Museum, London for over 30years. With a multitude of scientific papers, some of her published work discusses connected colonial histories of museum collections and how to best deal with these difficult narratives. She’s part of the UK Museums Association Decolonisation Guidance Working Group. Her work also links science/art/nature to aid the public understanding of the natural world and was awarded a place on Radio Four BBC Women’s Hour Power List 2020: Our Planet as a woman whose work is making a significant positive contribution to the environment and the sustainability of our planet. She received the Society for the History of Natural History President’s Award 2021. In 2022 she was announced as British Science Association Scientific President representing Biological Sciences. Miranda is Chair of UK arts charity Culture&, trustee at York Museums Trust and Oxford University of Natural History Visitors Board. She is co-founder of Museum Detox, a network for people of colour who work in galleries, libraries, archives, museums and the heritage sector. Read more here.

Share this