Helen Beaumont

Helen Beaumont is Education and Outreach Officer at the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History, where she leads inclusive, community-driven programming that connects audiences with Ireland’s cultural heritage. Her work champions accessibility, co-creation, and meaningful engagement, ensuring museums remain relevant and welcoming spaces for all.

Helen has delivered innovative projects that amplify underrepresented voices.

In 2025, Helen spearheaded LGBTQIA+ guided tours at Collins Barracks, embedding the principle “nothing about us without us” through deep consultation with community groups. These tours, complemented by ISL interpretation and online resources, reflect her commitment to accessibility and representation. Helen also contributes to major cultural festivals and collaborates with national networks to foster creativity and inclusion.

Helen regularly shares her expertise at sector conferences, advocating for participatory practice and inclusive learning. Her approach integrates accessibility—addressing physical, socio-economic, and cultural barriers—into every stage of programming.

For MuseumNext, Helen offers practical insights into co-curation and community engagement. Her projects provide actionable models for museums seeking to embed inclusivity and creativity into their work. Whether discussing LGBTQIA+ interpretation or intergenerational storytelling, Helen demonstrates how museums can transform audience relationships and foster belonging.

Helen Beaumont exemplifies collaborative, future-focused museum practice. Her experience at the National Museum of Ireland shows how strategic partnerships and community-led approaches create vibrant, accessible cultural spaces—making her an ideal contributor to MuseumNext’s conversation on inclusive storytelling and audience innovation.

Helen Beaumont is speaking at the Museum Digital Summit 2026 :

Changing Ireland, Changing Stories: Co-Creation and Digital Storytelling for Inclusive Museums

How can museums use digital storytelling to amplify diverse voices and create deeper connections with collections? In this session, discover how the National Museum of Ireland transformed its new Changing Ireland galleries into a platform for creativity and inclusion. Through a partnership with Fighting Words, refugees, local communities, and Ukrainian women wrote poems, memoirs, and imagined worlds inspired by artefacts. Their words became a powerful video and audio installation, giving visitors an immersive, emotional experience. Learn how co-creation and digital interpretation can spark empathy, challenge narratives, and make museums more relevant in a changing world.