Neil Couzens has been appointed as Director of the  Wandsworth Museum in south-west London.   Appointed by the Board of Trustees and will assume responsibility for running the Museum from 1 August. He joins from the National Army Museum in Chelsea, London, where he was Commercial Development Manager, managing the museum’s commercial activities.

Prior to this post, Mr Couzens was project manager at Chelsea Physic Garden where he achieved substantial increases in visitor numbers, in venue hire income, in Friends membership numbers, and in growth in the Garden’s overall income as a result. He has also worked at the London Review of Books as Head of Marketing and at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Islington as Senior Marketing Manager.

 

Mr Couzens will develop a programme of activities designed to build on the Museum’s early success as a showcase for exhibiting many artefacts from London life going back hundreds of years. The Museum will be announcing plans for its autumn series of exhibitions and other events in the near future.

 

He succeeds Ken Barbour, who has established the Museum as an integral part of London’s cultural heritage.

 

Commenting on his appointment and plans for the Museum, Neil Couzens said:

"I am delighted to be joining the Wandsworth Museum at a time when people are becoming increasingly interested in local history and in knowing more about the lives of their ancestors. The Wandsworth Museum has the potential to be a major part of London’s cultural life. I plan to announce a series of cultural and artistic events here shortly that will, I hope, appeal both to the Museum’s traditional supporters and to newcomers.”

 

Dorothy Hintze, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said:

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees I would like to welcome Neil Couzens as Director of the Museum. We believe his energy, enthusiasm and ambition will drive development of the Museum in a direction that should see its appeal widen even further.   We would also like to thank Ken Barbour very much indeed for his valuable contribution to establishing the Museum, and we wish him well in the future.”

 


 

  July 29, 2011