Janet Vitmayer

Dame Janet Mary Vitmayer DBE (born 2 September 1952) is a British museum director.

Dame

Janet Vitmayer

DBE
Born
Janet Mary Vitmayer

(1952-09-02) 2 September 1952
NationalityBritish
Alma materKeele University
OccupationMuseum director
Children2

Early life

Vitmayer was born on 2 September 1952 to parents from Czechoslovakia, Erno (a.k.a. Arnost) and Maria (née Pichler) Vitmayer. She studied History and American Studies at Keele University.[1]

Career

In 1976, Vitmayer started work at the Imperial War Museum as a research assistant.[2] In 1983, she became director of the Livesey Museum for Children, a role she held until 1993.[1] During this period, she completed a Master's degree in Museum and gallery Management at City University. She became head of public services at Horniman Museum in 1993, holding this role until 1998, when she became chief executive for the same museum.[1] She held the role of chief executive until March 2018.[3][4] During her tenure, she led several fundraising campaigns and annual visitor numbers increased from 200,000 to more than 900,000.[5][6][7][8][9]

She worked at Pitt Rivers Museum from 2000 to 2015. At this time she was chair of a Wellcome Trust awards committee in 2008–2009 and from 2011 to 2013. She was a trustee of the London Transport Museum from 2001 to 2013, a trustee of the Collections Trust from 2008 to 2015 and has been a trustee of the Hunterian Collection since 2013 and of the Florence Nightingale Museum since 2016.[1] The Guardian noted that Vitmayer was one of few female museum directors at the time.[10]

Honours

Janet Vitmayer was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2011 for services to museums, before being elevated to Dame Commander of the same Order in 2018 for services to museums and diversity.[1][11][12]

References
  1. "Vitmayer, Janet, Chief Executive, Horniman Museum and Gardens, since 1998". Retrieved 13 March 2019. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. Museum Bulletin. Museum and Picture Gallery, Baroda. 1981.
  3. "Who's moving: Cancer Research UK, The Prince's Trust, Horniman Museum and more". www.civilsociety.co.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  4. "Movers: Richard Piper becomes chief executive at Alcohol Research UK". Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  5. "Who's moving: Cancer Research UK, The Prince's Trust, Horniman Museum and more". civilsociety.co.uk. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  6. "In pictures: around the world in five objects at London's Horniman Museum". www.theartnewspaper.com. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  7. "Horniman Museum boss to step down after 20 years". News Shopper. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  8. Gardens, The Horniman Museum and. "Janet Vitmayer to step down as Horniman Chief Executive". Horniman Museum and Gardens.
  9. ""Everyone needs a crab outside their office…" – Interview with Janet Vitmayer, Chief Executive of the Horniman Museum and Gardens". 16 January 2018.
  10. Thorpe, Vanessa (22 March 2015). "Call for museums and galleries to appoint more women to top jobs". the Guardian. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  11. "Poppy-seller for 97 years appointed MBE in Queen's Birthday Honours list". Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  12. "Southwark school worker and hospital staff make Queen's birthday honours list - Southwark News". Southwark News. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
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