Dr Lindsay Sharp is a museologist and writer living near Berry in the coastal hinterland of New South Wales in Australia, working on two large novels.
Born in Britain and raised in Australia, Sharp earned his doctorate in the History of Ideas (science/natural philosophy) in 1976, receiving the Clifford Norton research fellowship in the History of Science from Queen's College, Oxford. He started his museological career at the Science Museum in London the same year he received his PhD, and for the next two decades, worked all over the world.
In Australia, Sharp led the team responsible for creating the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney and was its founding director[1] Sharp also served as Director, Entertainment and Leisure, for Merlin International Properties in Australia and the United Kingdom. He was CEO/Executive Consultant to the Earth Exchange – a regenerated tourist, environmental and educational facility in the Rocks, Sydney and Deputy Director/Senior Museum Consultant to the Milken Family Foundation, in Santa Monica, California, USA. He served as President and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, from 1997 to 2000.[2]
In 2000, Sharp was appointed as Director of the London, UK National Museum of Science and Industry – a family of museums that include the National Railway Museum, the Science Museum and the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. In June 2005 he was awarded the 2005 Public Promotion of Engineering Medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering [3]
In the following month, Sharp resigned from his Science Museum. The Evening Standard had covered the divisive issues at the museum in April 2005:
"... the traditionalists want to promote historic exhibits that the museum remains famous for: its collection of vast 19th-century factory and steam engines; its model ships and marine galvanometers; thousands of objects from Britain's Industrial Revolution, as well as Iron Age relics. Dr Sharp, on the other hand, has developed a high-tech, interactive environment, with new "walk-in" digital displays, touch-pods and a general "touchy-feely" approach aimed at schoolchildren, with innovative exhibitions including the science of sport and the workings of the human body."[4]
Reports on the resignation also appeared in The Sunday Times[5] and The Guardian.[6]
Sharp's concern to draw more of the Science Museum's collection to the attention of more of the public was sustained.[7]
| Cultural offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Neil Cossons |
Director of the Science Museum 2000–2005 |
Succeeded by Prof Martin Earwicker |