John Coburn

John Coburn is a producer and consultant working with arts and heritage partners on creative programmes. His work explores new ways museums can be meaningful to people who do and don’t care about them.

He is currently developing a multi-year programme from an ancient Northumberland woodland, bringing together under-served rural communities with artists, museums and ecologists. Right now he’s learning about soil, which he knows nothing about. John was previously Creative Director at Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books, and before that led the Digital programmes team at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums.

MuseumNext Digital Learning Summit
Monday, 18 October 2021

Digital is not the gateway drug you’re looking for

In this talk John and Rachel will make an argument for digital technology as a tool and discuss various projects which have built on its unique potential to connect people and support them to have conversations which wouldn’t otherwise take place. They will argue that by following what digital technology can allow, we escape the museological hangover of obsessing over stuff: we can centre people and their needs – and end up with an idea of museums that is more relevant, dynamic and able to evolve.

Find the full schedule here