Growing Networks

Growing Networks is a series of international, travelling workshops, led by the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, that brings together early to mid-career curators of works of art on paper from museums, herbaria, natural history libraries and botanic gardens. It is creating an exciting interdisciplinary forum linking botanists and plant scientists with art curators, paper conservators and heritage scientists who have expertise in art history, botanical illustration, history and philosophy of science, technical analysis and collections care.

Participating institutions include: Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France, Paris; Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris; Cambridge University Herbarium; Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Hunterian, University of Glasgow; Linnean Society, London; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris; National Museum Cardiff; National Museums Liverpool; Natural History Museum, London; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden; Northumbria University, Newcastle; Oxford University Herbaria; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter; Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; Royal Botanic Garden Kew, London; Royal Holloway, University of London; Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library, London; Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels; Teylers Museum, Haarlem; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Whipple Museum of the History of Science, Cambridge.

During 2023, Network members are convening for workshops and collection visits in Cambridge and London, Edinburgh, and Paris. In addition to supporting the professional development of early to mid-career curators of botanical works of art on paper and exploring opportunities for research collaborations, the aim is to create a sustainable knowledge community that catalyses transdisciplinary approaches to plant humanities research.

Growing Networks is made possible with support from the Getty Foundation through its Paper Project initiative.