Panel Discussion Details
Date: Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Time: 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM
Location: 34 Sackville Street, London W1S 3ED / Online via Zoom
Register to join online via Zoom
For non-members, please send an e-mail to rsvp@britishomani.org to confirm your attendance.
About the Panel Discussion
The British Omani Society is delighted to be hosting a panel discussion on Wednesday, July 16th 2025 in collaboration with the British Museum and Nabhan Al Barwani, Head of Collection at the Oman Across Ages Museum.
The BOS provided a grant for Nabhan to partake in the International Training Programme (ITP), a highly successful residential summer programme hosted jointly by the British Museum and UK partner museums. The ITP aims to foster specialist skills, a sense of shared cultural purpose and good museum practice among participants, who come from countries around the world. During their time spent at the British Museum and one of six UK partner museums, participants work with a wide spectrum of museum and heritage professionals, from curators to collection care staff. Through the exchange of knowledge, skills and experiences, the ITP creates a global network of colleagues, who will shape the museums of the future.
The panel will discuss Nabhan’s insights around the Oman Across Ages Museum and his experience on the ITP programme at the British Museum. The panel will include Claire Messenger, Manager of International Training Programme and Zeina Klink-Hoppe, Curator for the Modern Middle East.
You can find more information on the ITP on the British Museum website.
About the panelists
Claire Messenger, Manager, International Training Programme
Claire manages the British Museum’s International Training Programme (ITP) where she creates, shapes, develops and delivers an annual programme and a variety of further engagement projects that reflect current thinking in the culture and heritage sector. Through sharing knowledge, skills and experiences, Claire works to create and promote a sustainable global network of museum and heritage professionals.
Through an extensive network of partnerships with cultural bodies including historic buildings and estates; private and council museums; funds, societies, and trusts; university museums and departments; overseas institutions, governments and embassies, the ITP team deliver programmes and projects for the ITP global alumni that are relevant, flexible and at the forefront of current thinking.
The British Museum, through the ITP, aims to support fellows to develop their skills and shape their institutions through a network of colleagues crossing geographical and cultural boundaries.
Claire is secretary for ICOM UK, the national branch of ICOM in the United Kingdom and sits on the Supervisory Board of the British Egyptian Society.
Claire is a member of the Museums Association and sits on the British Museum’s International Activity Group. She is an alumnus of the Clore Leadership Programme.
Nabhan Al Barwani, Head of Collection, Oman Across Ages Museum
Nabhan is Head of the Collections Section at Oman Across Ages Museum, where he oversees acquisitions, collection care, and registration. He works closely with curators and conservators on the planning and development of both permanent and temporary displays, ensuring that the museum’s collections are preserved, accessible, and effectively showcased.
Currently, Nabhan is focused on building a sustainable and meaningful collection, supporting curatorial and conservation needs, and improving access for researchers. He also provides technical and administrative support to the collections team, helping to streamline workflows and enhance operational efficiency. In addition, he is actively developing relationships with museums, cultural institutions, scholars, and collectors both within Oman and internationally.
Oman Across Ages is a new museum, having opened in 2023. Nabhan’s role has been central to the museum’s foundational development, and he is particularly interested in learning from UK museums about best practices in conservation, collection management, and governance. Through this, he aims to refine procedures within his department and help shape the museum into a leading cultural institution.
Nabhan has been a member of the Omani Historical Society since 2023, and he is passionate about history and heritage.
Zeina Klink-Hoppe, Curator for the Modern Middle East
Zeina joined the British Museum in 2012 as the curator for the ethnographic collections from the Middle East and Central Asia. Recently her role has expanded to cover the modern and contemporary collections from the Middle East.
She has curated several exhibitions at the British Museum, including Between light and screen: Turkish shadow theatre; Life in a cup: Coffee culture in the Islamic world; Shattered glass of Beirut; Making their mark: Women silversmiths from Oman and most recently War rugs: Afghanistan's knotted history.
Zeina was also one of the curators who developed the Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World which opened to the public in late 2018.
Holding degrees from the American University of Beirut and the University of Oxford, Zeina’s areas of interest are the material culture and arts from the Middle East and Central Asia.