Interview with Robert Bud conducted by Emily Rees

In this interview with Robert Bud MBE, we hear an overview of Robert’s career at the Science Museum, which spanned 40 years. This included roles as an assistant and deputy keeper, before rising to the role of keeper. Robert outlines his changing professional practice, and the various roles he took on, which spanned collecting, curatorial and research. Research initiatives included a research seminar, conferences and several books (most recently, on applied science). Significantly, Robert talks about his experience working on some of the early (now defunct) museum websites, including Making the Modern World and Ingenious.

There is discussion of the three exhibitions Robert curated on petroleum, plastics and chemical industry, with a focus on the relationship with the patron Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) for the latter. Robert reflects on the changing role of industry in Britain and how this reshaped its relationship with the Science Museum. Robert also explores some of the frustrations in his career, including projects that did not receive funding or were cancelled by senior management.

The influence of directors was another topic of conversation, in particular, the tenures of Margaret Weston – who Robert first served under – and Neil Cossons, who was director in the late 1980s and 1990s. A major change Robert recognises is the changing role of the curator in this period, and the rise of managerial practices, with less and less autonomy for the curatorial staff, and a rise of new professional arenas such as fundraising and marketing. However, the interview also explores how this era was marked by more “self-conscious” museological practices, which centred the visitor experience more than ever before.