Jordan Keighley: Youth Engagement Curator

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Jordan Keighley

I am the Youth Engagement Curator at Leeds City Museum

What is your job?

My job is to engage young adults between the ages of 14 and 24 in anything to do with heritage and arts

I run volunteering groups, work experience placements, and educational and employment opportunities

What do you do in your job?

My job mainly revolves around building relationships with community contacts

I am responsive to their needs and interests and turn their passions, lived experiences and ideas into outputs within the museum

So that could be films, podcasts, exhibitions, displays or magazines

How did you get your job and what is your background?

I began as a volunteer when I was 15 at Leeds City Museum. I enjoyed it so much that I just never left

I joined a group of young curators called the Preservative Party, and now I run that group

After volunteering and shadowing curators and front of house staff, I went to university and studied History

Then I did a master’s in Museum Studies

Then, several years later as a freelancer, I got this job at Leeds City Museum

What do you like about your job?

Every day I am working with different people, and that makes every day different

I consider myself a curator of people and try to turn their ideas, passions and lived experiences into something meaningful, which I find very rewarding

What is some advice on how to get a job like yours, and to work in a museum setting?

Start by volunteering. You will have a lot of flexibility and freedom to experiment with different things

You could volunteer in different roles and work out what it is you want to do

What are the benefits from working in a museum setting?

The variety of tasks and things you will be asked to do

You are constantly acquiring, learning and developing new skills

What is your favourite site you work at?

It would have to be Leeds City Museum

It is a great site based in the city centre, and it has such a diverse collection on display

I feel it is at the heart of the communities we are hoping to represent