Tony Eccles has worked in the heritage sector for twenty three years. After graduating from the Institute of Archaeology UCL in 1994, Tony worked on various British archaeological excavations. Wanting to explore his interests in museum ethnography, he was employed by the ethnology section at the World Museum Liverpool (formerly National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside). It was at Liverpool where he developed his passion for Pre-Columbian cultures. This move ultimately led to his becoming the Curator of Ethnography at Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in 2005, where he worked on his second major museum redevelopment.
Since then, Tony has been involved in the creation of temporary exhibitions, community engagement projects, acts of repatriation and working with human remains. He has been recently transforming the public World Cultures gallery, ensuring that historic ethnographic collections are made relevant to contemporary society. His interests include addressing colonialism through displays, and is conducting research into East African beadwork. Tony has taught cultural heritage at Exeter, Liverpool and Plymouth universities and the Open University – he values lifelong learning and enjoys working with mature students, believing that anyone can benefit from active learning at almost any stage in their life.
In his spare time, he is an amateur writer who writes fictional tales for publication, inspired by the pulp fiction genre of the Weird Tale, museum collections and folklore.
Courses delivered by Tony: