In 2021, Kew Palace’s ‘George III: The Mind Behind the Myth’ exhibition focussed on history’s most famous psychiatric patient. Community groups and volunteers contributed to the show, creating a powerful exploration of mental ill health at a time when the UK is undergoing a mental health crisis. Visitor Hosts were trained through a partnership with CALM and a new model for supporting staff with challenging content was developed and piloted. This work resulted in powerful visitor experiences and a more open conversation with visitors, and the model can be easily adapted to other areas of museum work.

Rachel Mackay is currently the Interim Head of Hampton Court Palace, having previously managed Kew Palace and the Historic Royal Palaces estate at Kew and the visitor operation at the Natural History Museum. Rachel also created and runs The Recovery Room, a website designed to support museum professionals in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic and share resources and research.

Tickets are £2.75 and are available for members only.

It is free to join the South West Fed, click here to join and receive your membership number, which you will need in order to book.