Starting From Scratch (with Amy Akino-Wittering at Young V&A)

Young V&A is a museum for children and young people. It's located on the site of the former Museum of Childhood but re-launched under a new brand and with a complete re-imagining in July 2023. Amy Akino-Wittering (Head of Operations and Commercial at Young V&A) runs the day-to-day operation of the museum and played a key leadership role in its planning, design and launch. In this episode she shares with host Tom Dawson her learnings of "starting from scratch" with a new museum concept, plus gives insights from her career in the arts and culture sector. There are really useful lessons here in prioritisation and vision - when you start with nothing but a blank page, what are the pillars that you build around? Amy also gives great direction in the crucial area of team management - how do you create the best platform for your staff to shine and, in turn, provide a great experience for visitors? Children and young people are a notoriously hard audience to really serve well - it's easy to miss the mark. Amy gives great advice about observing and adapting. Plus, Amy's passion for constant improvement (through gathering feedback from the team members on the floor) really shines through. Find out more about Young V&A here: https://www.vam.ac.uk/young The podcast for the Cultural Sector. The Arts & Culture podcast delivers best-in-class thought leadership, with industry heavy hitters and crucial sector-defining topics, going behind the scenes at the UK's museums, galleries and heritage sites. Host Tom Dawson is COO for the Association for Cultural Enterprises. https://culturalenterprises.org.uk/