Image taken by Dr Stephanie Bowry
Dr Stephanie Bowry is an art historian who finished her PhD in 2015 at the University of Leicester. She enchanted her students by introducing the wonders of curiosity cabinets and later with a magical virtual tour in the historical gardens of the Ham House and Garden in West London. As you read on, we will learn why Stephanie has been characterised as both relatable and caring. An honest and beautiful interview that makes us dream of Italian gardens and empathise with life's struggles.
What is your favourite thing about teaching and researching in the Museum Studies department?
I always learn a lot from students and colleagues who bring such diverse knowledge and experience to the course from all over the world. I am constantly learning, which I love, and students often bring thoughtful, surprising and unexpected ideas to class. They make connections or ask questions that I wouldn’t necessarily think of myself. Working with students really does help challenge my own thought processes and biases and helps make me a better historian and educator.
Did you always want to work in the museum and gallery world?
Actually, no! Although I was fascinated by history and art from a young age, I didn’t initially consider a career in either. My Dad worked for the NHS, and for a long time, I was drawn to caring professions, mostly in medicine but also in wider society. When I was 18 I really, really wanted to be a funeral director. Looking after people at perhaps the most difficult time in their lives seemed like a very profound and meaningful career choice, but at that time, I was unwell with depression. In the end, I decided it would, unfortunately, be too upsetting and ‘triggering’ for me, but I still have enormous respect for that profession. And I still enjoy visiting medical museums!
Looking back, it almost seems inevitable that I would end up working in a museum or in academia (I once ran away from a primary school trip to the seaside aged 8 to look at a graveyard because the monuments contained ‘important historical information’). But as a young adult, it wasn’t clear to me what career direction to pursue for a long time.
What is your favourite museum or art gallery, and why?
I think my favourite place is a garden in Bomarzo, Italy, known locally as the Parco Dei Mostri (‘The Park of Monsters’), but in its own time, it was called the Sacro Bosco (‘Sacred Wood’). It’s an incredible survival from the sixteenth century, commissioned by Pier Francesco Orsini (1523 – 1583), an Italian military commander who was grieving the death of his wife, Giulia Farnese Orsini (d. c. 1560). Unlike most sixteenth-century gardens, it is not full of severely pruned plants laid out geometrically; instead, highly stylised stone sculptures of gods, animals and monsters, including dragons, harpies and ogres, are loosely arranged in a shady wood. There are many different paths to explore, and some of the sculptures themselves can be investigated (such as the topsy turvy house or casa pendente). Carved inscriptions in Latin and Italian tell you about the various exhibits: it really is an outdoor art museum.
Most poignantly, there is an area of the garden which is designed to look like the ancient Greek underworld with statues of Persephone, the goddess of the underworld and Cerberus, its three-headed guardian dog. You literally have to descend into that space, but when you climb up again, you are standing in a sunlit meadow with a temple to Giulia. My partner and I visited some years ago, and it seemed to us to tell a very personal story of facing your fears and overcoming grief and sorrow. I think it is an extraordinary encapsulation of every person’s unique journey through life.
During your time at Leicester, what has been your proudest achievement or project?
I think it has to be achieving my PhD in 2015. I had never considered doctoral study until I came to Leicester in 2008 to study for my MA in Museum Studies and was working on my research project. However, the staff and especially my tutor (Ross!) were really encouraging and helped me find the confidence to apply.
A PhD is a bit of a marathon, and progress can be glacially slow at times. You have to be quite stubborn. It took me four years to complete my thesis but having a clear goal to achieve helped motivate me, as did my interest in the subject of the ‘curiosity cabinet’ (collections of extraordinary objects amassed in Europe between the sixteenth – eighteenth centuries) and its reinterpretation in contemporary art.
Studying for my PhD took me out of my comfort zone and helped me realise that I was capable of more than I thought. I made loads of friends on both the MA and PhD programmes who cheered me on and encouraged me to take up other roles such as student rep and conference organiser, roles I wouldn’t normally have gone for. Towards the end of my PhD, I was contacted by the V&A and the Garden Museum about my research. That was a lovely moment as I realised my research (albeit theoretical in nature) did have real interest and practical applications for museums and galleries redisplaying early modern collections. Leicester has been really supportive of my career ever since!
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