Meet Stephen Ruscoe, Exhibition Manager at Canterbury Museum

As a teenager, Stephen Ruscoe didn’t imagine his love of creating projects at high school would lead to an exciting and unique career.

“It seemed that every subject at school required us to hand in a creative, colourful and factually correct project. I remember thinking at the time that my perfect job would be to continue doing these projects,” he says.

Now an Exhibition Manager at Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, Stephen gets to contribute to major projects every day as a career.

“My role is the perfect fit for my museum experience and my love of creating museum displays. We deliver 26 special exhibitions a year, so at any one time we are planning, working on, or exhibiting a large number of shows.”

“My role allows me to meet and work with many and varied groups from in and around Canterbury. Helping these groups stage exhibitions is very satisfying, but can also come with its own challenges which is part of the fun; I relish problem solving. I also have an excellent team of five staff who continue to impress me with the quality of their craftsmanship and professional attitude,” he says.

Stephen began working in museums in 1996 as an Exhibition Preparator, helping set up the inaugural displays at Te Papa Tongarewa. After the opening of Te Papa, he travelled to the United Kingdom where he worked for 7 years at the British Museum in the department of Asia, before returning to New Zealand in 2006.

Stephen’s biggest project this year was staging the exhibition Fred and Myrtles Paua Shell House, which was unlike anything else he had done in his museum career.

“It involved me co-writing and producing a short film, overseeing the construction of the house in which we displayed over 3,500 artifacts from Fred and Myrtle’s Bluff house, and making an intentionally label-less display,” he says.

“That’s what makes Museums such great places to visit - they are a mixture of theatre and play, with the added value of learning.”

Looking ahead, Stephen says he plans to continue in the Museum industry long term.

“Having travelled the world and seen inside many museums, I can safely say that New Zealand museums are doing things right. Maintaining this world class standard is an exciting challenge - who knows where it will lead me?” 

Stephen is the first person in New Zealand to complete a National Certificate in Museum Practice (Level 4). 
Click here to find out more.

Canterbury Museum Exhibition Manager Stephen Ruscoe receiving New Zealand’s first National 
Certificate in Museum Practice (Level 4) from ATTTO Industry Training Advisor Katherine Burt. 
Photo taken in Fred & Myrtle’s Paua Shell House, Canterbury Museum.