Funding for the arts sector has faced significant cuts since 2010, but the situation has been aggravated following the pandemic. Museums and galleries have been forced to adapt to survive. 

"Covid was a watershed," says Catherine Putz (Modern & Medieval Languages 1982), a heritage sector veteran and now freelance public programmes producer. "Post-pandemic, museums have had to pivot to be able to demonstrate in much more tangible ways what benefits they offer local communities." 

For Catherine, these benefits start with the development of skills in young people. Whilst Director of Programmes at Derby Museums, she oversaw a community engagement project that taught looked-after teenagers how to use sewing machines to make their own clothes. 

"These were vulnerable children with difficult upbringings and very complex lives," she says. "I saw them bloom and blossom during that programme. They were absolutely brilliant.

"We also worked with young men who were excluded from school. We had workshops teaching them practical woodworking and metalworking skills. They realised they had skills they hadn't recognised before. They felt they had a purpose and a new passion. I felt animated by the whole experience." 

Derby's Museum of Making was renovated with Lottery funding during the pandemic and has secured corporate partnerships with companies like engine giant Rolls Royce and heating systems manufacturer Vaillant, a financial strategy Catherine says is becoming increasingly common amongst smaller regional museums. 

"They have become an amazing generator for the local economy," says Catherine. "These smaller museums have had to become really good at running a business and generating their own income." 

But, as public funding dwindles, such financial innovation has not been able to shield the industry as a whole. 

"Sadly, the larger museums, like the big nationals, have had to make significant redundancies," she says. "In a way, smaller community museums like Derby Museums have been able to be more agile as they don't have the cost of maintaining such a huge infrastructure." 

Still, Catherine remains optimistic regarding the heritage sector's ability to innovate and futureproof. 

"Museums are reinventing themselves in the tech space," she says, mentioning Liam Young's current exhibition at the Barbican: In Other Worlds. Young is open about his use of 'AI-enabled tools' in the exhibition's production process. "Liam gives me confidence that AI can be used in exciting ways to imagine possible futures."

Returning to the present, the salience of Catherine's work is stark. She is working with the photographer Mark Neville, who has been documenting the experience of war in Ukraine. 

She says: "The best artists find exactly the right language to communicate really complex things. I find it to be one of the most stimulating things in my life. 

"We're hoping that in February 2027, the fifth anniversary of the Ukraine War, we can take a project exhibiting Mark's research and photography to a venue in Berlin. I think these international bridges through culture are really important." 

This is perhaps unsurprising given Catherine's degree in French and German, which took her to Vienna in her third year of undergraduate study. 

She says: "I think that the way we were taught languages at Caius encouraged us to question received wisdom and to look at different perspectives — to take a really international view. I think a dynamic and self-critical awareness began for me at Caius. 

"It made me much more open minded. It made me much more confident about my abilities." 

Catherine volunteers for the UK charity Education and Employers, where she provides career advice to young people, particularly those interested in a career in the arts. 

Where possible, Catherine advises students find relevant work experience prior to graduation, and to join organisations such as the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commers (RSA) to build professional networks. 

"The work that's available isn't always immediately obvious. You have to be having conversations with people, presenting yourself, going to conferences, using the resources that are there."

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