United Kingdom - London
Victoria and Albert Museum - Director of Learning, National Programmes and Young V&A
Dr Helen Charman FRSA, MA, Dip is Director of Learning, National Programmes and Young V&A at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London where she has worked since 2018. A creative and cultural learning professional for 30 years, Helen’s professional portfolio encompasses schools, universities, galleries, museums, festival organizations, local authorities and charities.
She was a founder member of the education team at Tate Modern in 1999 and on the directorate that mobilized the new Design Museum, London where she worked from 2007 - 2018. She gained her Doctorate in Education and MA History of Art from the University College London: the Institute of Education and Birkbeck College. Her remit at the V&A Museum includes leadership of the former V&A Museum of Childhood into Young V&A in London’s Bethnal Green, the nation’s premier national museum and creative powerhouse designed with and for the young from birth to early teens. The broader scope of her role at the V&A includes overall responsibility for Learning, Interpretation, V&A Academy and National Programmes.
Helen sits on the advisory board for The Durham Commission and Cultural Learning Alliance, as well as serving as a Trustee of Chelsea Physic Garden since 2021. She is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group: Children’s Health & Wellbeing. Her international remit includes contributing to the UNESCO Framework on Culture and Arts Education and membership on the Association of Children’s Museum’s Advisory Council and Education Integration Global Forum Scientific Committee.