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Close up photograph of part of the Norman Arch, which was the entrances to the North Hall

Lauren Barnes, BA (Hons), MPrac, PhD

Curator (Korean Collections), Oriental Museum

telephone: +44 (0) 191 334 5883

Email: lauren.barnes@durham.ac.uk

Overview 

Lauren Barnes is Curator of the Korean collections at the Oriental Museum. She has over ten years of experience working in museums and has specialised in the research and curation of Asian and Korean collections. She has recently been awarded her PhD, Scales of Collecting: Data Histories of Korean Collections in UK Museums, which analysed the patterns of collecting Korean objects across 36 UK museums from 1851 – 2020.

Biography

At the Oriental Museum, Lauren’s work is centred on the Korean collections. Her role of Curator of the Korean Collections is funded by the National Museum of Korea, and she aims to further the connections between Korean institutions and museums with Durham University. Her post is focused on researching and further developing the Oriental Museum’s Korean collections and she aims to raise awareness of the collection through temporary exhibitions, gallery updates, events and engagement programmes. Lauren teaches on undergraduate and postgraduate courses at Durham University and supports the education and outreach programme at the Oriental Museum.   

Lauren developed her interest in Asian collections whilst working at the Oriental Museum where she has previously worked in several roles, including Assistant Curator, Access Officer (South Asia), and programme lead for the Korean Festival, the latter funded by the Korean Foundation. During her Masters degree work placement, Lauren curated and researched the Oriental Museum’s first permanent Korean Gallery – The Rutt Gallery of Korea – which opened in 2013, and was subsequently part of the team that redisplayed the South Asian, Southeast Asian and Himalayan Collections in 2015. Her previous work at the Oriental Museum has focused on collections research, community engagement and event development.

After leaving the Oriental Museum, Lauren worked in Daejeon, South Korea where she was able to fully immerse herself in Korean culture and began learning Korean. On her return to the UK, she has worked in museums in the North of England, including curatorial roles at the Auckland Project, and at Northumbria University. These curatorial positions focused on Asian collections and non-Christian world religions and beliefs. Immediately prior to taking on her new role of Curator of the Korean Collections, Lauren worked at National Museums Scotland as Assistant Curator for Asia, and as Acting Curator for the Chinese, Himalayan and the Korean collections. During her time at National Museums Scotland, she was the curatorial lead on a National Museum of Korea funded project to conserve and display six Korean hanging scrolls and supported researchers and students to engage with the Asian collections alongside conducting her own object-based and provenance research.

Lauren has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Geography, and a Masters of Museum Practice, both from Newcastle University. Her PhD in Museum Studies with a focus on Korean collections provenance histories is from the University of Manchester. Lauren has been a serving committee member of the British Korean Society since 2021.

 

Research Interests

  • Histories of collecting in museums
  • East Asian ceramics, particularly Korean ceramics from the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties
  • Material culture of Korea in the 20th and 21st centuries
  • Digital humanities research, with a focus on data-led research methods in collections histories and museum collections research

Exhibitions:

  • Collaborated with the University of Seoul on the exhibition Korea of Cat-Eyed Priest, Richard Rutt 1954 – 1974 shown at the University of Seoul, South Korea, 2025 - 2026
  • Curated Korean Works and Years: South Korea through the lens of Bishop Richard Rutt shown at the European Association of Korean Studies (AKSE) Conference at the University of Edinburgh
  • Curated Knitted Together: The Korean Lives of Richard and Joan Rutt (2024 – 2025), The Oriental Museum, Durham University
  • Curated an exhibition of her own photographs The Hills Are High exploring daily life in South Korea (2018)
  • Researched Korean content for The Enlightened One: printed Buddhist Art, featuring works from across the Oriental Museum’s collections. (2015)
  • Co-curated No Stigma Attached with members from The Art Studio, Sunderland, a mental health and arts group. This exhibition included individual and group pieces that were inspired by the permanent collections of the Oriental Museum (2015)
  • Collaborated with East Durham Artist Network on the exhibition From the Mountains to the Sea which exhibited the artistic work that the group members had produced following visits to see the Oriental Museum’s South Asian collection (2014)
  • Curated Embracing the Divine a loan exhibition from the Oriental Museum’s South Asian collections celebrating Hindu faith at the Dorman Museum, Middlesborough (2014)
  • Collaborated with artist, Hyosun Kim to curate Reinterpreting the Korean Moon Jar an installation of her solo ceramic work in the Korean Gallery (2014)
  • Co-curated White on White in collaboration with Gallery LVS (Seoul) showcasing the work of contemporary Korean ceramic artists (2013)

Permanent Gallery Development

  • Curator: The Rutt Gallery of Korea, the Oriental Museum (2013 and 2027)
  • Curated exhibition updates to the Korean cases of National Museum of Scotland’s East Asia Gallery (2024)
  • Project Curator then Senior Curator: The Faith Museum, The Auckland Project (2017 – 2019)
  • Curatorial Support and Community Engagement: The Roberts Gallery of South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, the Oriental Museum (2015)

Publications

Books

Barnes, L. (editor) with Barclay, R., Pratt, K., Rutt, P. & Rutt, S., (2024) Lapwing: The Life of Bishop Richard Rutt by the Right Reverend Richard Rutt. Friends of the Oriental Museum: Durham

Chapters in Books   

Barnes, L., Barclay, R., “Influential Collectors: the legacies of the Rutt Collection at the Oriental Museum” in Barnes, L (ed) with Barclay, R., Pratt, K., Rutt, P. & Rutt, S., (2024) Lapwing: The Life of Bishop Richard Rutt by the Right Reverend Richard Rutt. Friends of the Oriental Museum: Durham

Barclay, R., Barnes, L., Ramsay, G., Barclay, C. & Armstrong, H., “‘Found in Store’: Working with Source Communities and Difficult Objects at Durham University’s Oriental Museum” in Bryant Davies, R. & Johnson-Williams, E.G. (eds.), (2022) Intersectional Encounters in the 19thC Archive: New Essays on Power and Discourse; Bloomsbury Academic, London. 

Consultant for Korean sections of A History of the World in 1000 Objects (2014); Dorling Kindersley Ltd., London.

Journal articles:

Barnes et. Al (2011) ‘The transition to and through university for non-traditional local students: some observations for teachers’ in Teaching Geography Vol. 36(2) pp.70-71

Review Articles

Barnes, L. (2025) ‘Precious Beyond Measure: A History of Korean Ceramics, McKillop, B., Portal, J. (2024) Reaktion Books: London’ (Review) The Oriental Ceramics Society Newsletter, May 2025, p. 94

Blog posts and online content

A Closer look at a Korean scroll painting: National Museum of Scotland

Exploring painting styles of Korean hanging scrolls | National Museums Scotland

Korean Collections at University Museums: Expanding Perspectives National Museum of Korea Magazine 

Selected Conference and Workshop Presentations

From Daejeon to Durham: The Rutt Collection at the Oriental Museum 32nd AKSE Conference, University of Edinburgh, 19-22 June 2025

Korean Ceramics in UK Collections: Changing Tastes and Lasting Values Korean Ceramics: Collection Histories Short Course, SOAS, 12-15 February 2024

Interrogating Influence: Researching Korean Collections at National Museums Scotland SOAS-OKCHF Workshop on Korean collections in UK institutions, 18 November 2023

Projects

Part of the National Museum of Korea Overseas Museum Support Fund Project (2024 – 2026)

Grants

Co-wrote the application to the Korea Foundation 2015 Support for Overseas Museums to fund the 2-week Korea Festival held at the Oriental Museum, Durham University in May 2015, including organising the first Buddha’s Birthday celebrations at the Museum.

Part of the application team and project manager for the National Museum of Korea Support for Overseas Museums: Conservation strand at National Museums Scotland (2022 – 2024). This funding supported the conservation, research and display of Joseon Dynasty hanging scroll paintings. Conserving Korean hanging scrolls | National Museums Scotland

Part of the application team for the National Museum of Korea Support for Overseas Museums at the Oriental Museum (2026 – 2027).

Esteem Indicators

Committee Member – The British Korean Society (2021 – Present)

Awarded The National Museum of Korea: Museum Network Fellowship (2024)

Durham Global Awards: Global Award for Professional Services (Highly Commended) (2025)