Allison Walker: Projects

Allison has 20+ years experience developing content underpinned by key messages for educational institutions in the cultural/heritage sector. Working from the big messages through to the minute details and tying them to visitor assessment and brand-oriented strategies and outcomes is one of her key strengths. She believes in the power of user-centred design and that developing robust, inclusive interpretation enhances experiences for everyone.

Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Designed by Simon Leach Design

Touching the movement of the spheres

Tactile armillary sphere makes some of the science visible to those with visual impairment

Tactile panel, Painted Hall

Sensory backpacks, Painted Hall

photo credit: Old Royal Naval College

Recent work includes developing interpretation for the Painted Hall, at the Old Royal Naval College (opened in 2019), text writing for the National Library of Ireland’s exhibition about Seamus Heaney (opened in 2018) and Southwell Minster (opened October 2014), where she developed the interpretation and technology strategies, conducted research and did writing for the exhibition, audioscape and educational materials.

She works extensively with curators, educators and researchers, revealing the nature of their work through exhibitions and multimedia.

Listen Now Again, Seamus Heaney exhibition for the National Library of Ireland

Designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates

Enhancing the sense of place through words and video: Listen Now Again, Seamus Heaney exhibition, National Library Exhibition

Immersive video to provide a sense of place

Listen Now Again, National Library of Ireland

Making your mark on a chalk wall

Photo credit: Michael Grubb Studios.

Her work takes her around the globe: freelancing for exhibition design firms, she has worked on brand experiences as well as key cultural projects in the UK, Berlin and Denmark. She has also worked on Middle Eastern projects for design firms Atelier Brueckner and Cultural Innovations.

Integrating objects with digital experiences at The Macallan Visitor Experience

Designed by Atelier Brueckner

The Macallan Visitor Experience

Interactive table exploring the distilling process

The Macallan Visitor Experience

Interpretation based on brand values

The Macallan Visitor Experience

Integrating objects and video into an immersive experience

The Macallan Visitor Experience

Flavour notes displayed on an interactive table

She has developed and written materials for interpretive learning trails for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for its public opening and also has written text and created content for mobile phone apps such as the London 2012 Gardens for the Olympics.

Olympic Gardens, 2012

2012 Gardens app

Exploring the history of British trade and exploration through plants

She also served as a dissemination officer for a large EU-funded network focussed on technology-enhanced learning, where she communicated the research of some 90 research labs across Europe for a broad range of audiences. In addition, Allison has extensive experience working in institutional strategic planning and communications, for such museums as the Danish Museum of Natural History, the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Franklin Institute Science Museum.

She was recently a Visiting Lecturer in the Royal College of Art in the college's new Information Experience Design programme. She holds a BA in English Literature from Bryn Mawr College.

Projects include:

Planning and strategy

National Portrait Gallery (Round 2 Interpretation Plan with Catherine Morton)
MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA (Atelier Brueckner project)
Danish Natural History Museum master plan, Copenhagen (RAA project)

Text writing and developing tone of voice

Art & the Healing Power of Plants, Chelsea Physic Garden (2019)
Listen Now Again, Seamus Heaney exhibition at the National Library of Ireland (RAA project)
Toynbee Hall (Simon Leach Design project)
Arctic Ambitions the Legacy of Captain Cook, Anchorage Museum

Developing strategies for inclusion and consultation

National Portrait Gallery (Round 2 Interpretation Plan with Catherine Morton)
Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College (Simon Leach Design project)
Museum of Oxford (Simon Leach Design project)

Interpretation and content development

Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College (Simon Leach Design project)
Shifting Landscapes, Johnson GeoCentre, Newfoundland
Library Gallery, London School of Economics (RAA project)
The Archbishop’s Palace at Southwell Minster, funded by the Heritage Lottery fund (Simon Leach Design project)
Little Boxes of Memory, Entelechy Arts and the Museum of London, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund
London 2012 Gardens web site and iPhone app for the 2012 Olympics (RAA project)
My Londinium, Museum of London
Atturaif Visitors Centre, Saudi Arabia
Bahrain National Monument, Bahrain (RAA project)
Humboldt Forum, Berlin (RAA project)
Kaleidoscope: Technology Enhanced Learning, funded by the EU’s Framework 7
Rose Center at the American Museum of Natural History, New York

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