Some of our members may have noticed a recent change to the board of ICOM UK. It was announced at the AGM on 17 April, when Maria Blyzinsky handed over the Co-chair baton to Claire Messenger.
Stepping seamlessly into the Co-chair role, Claire brings over twenty years of expertise in international collaboration gained from managing the British Museum’s International Training Programme, a global network of culture and heritage professionals. Her knowledge and experience will ensure ICOM UK continues to strengthen and broaden its international connections. As ICOM UK’s Secretary and also chair of our new Governance and Risk Committee, Claire has been instrumental in shaping our policies and improving our resilience, both as a charity and a membership organisation.
Maria remains on the board as a trustee where she continues in the role of Blue Shield liaison and our champion of all things relating to Ukraine. During her 16-month tenure as Co-chair, Maria helped to cement ICOM UK’s reputation as an active, reliable and supportive National Committee. She oversaw the text and publication of Supporting Decolonisation in Museums: Focus on Ukraine in collaboration with our project partners, ICOM Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute, the Museums Association and the British Council. With fellow trustee Abeer Eladany, she helped coordinate feedback from our wider membership on ICOM’s Code of Ethics, ensuring that ICOM UK contributed towards the revised version. She represented ICOM UK at a number of talks and conferences, including the 2025 Blue Shield UK symposium to discuss the future of cultural property protection in the UK, and a 2026 roundtable discussion at the House of Commons on the healing power of art in times of war. She also initiated ICOM UK being included on the HMRC list of Approved Learned Societies and Professional Organisations eligible for tax relief, an important benefit for our freelance members.
Transitions like this remind us how ICOM UK is an evolving and dynamic organisation. Over the past few years, the membership of the Board and our Executive have changed significantly, with each person bringing their own skills, experiences and personal and professional passions to the team, enabling us to grow and thrive. Meanwhile our long-standing Co-chair, Christian Baars, and Kristina Broughton, Strategic Director, continue doing amazing work behind the scenes to make sure this latest evolution runs smoothly.
Reflecting on her term as Co-chair, Maria said: ‘It’s a privilege to serve on such an active National Committee with a highly regarded global reputation. I’m happy to be able to focus once again on the main reason why I joined this fantastic board – to support heritage protection in our increasingly unpredictable and unstable world.’
Anticipating her role as the new Co-chair, Claire said: ‘I’m delighted and honoured to be named Co-chair of ICOM UK. I look forward to working with my incredible fellow Trustees to ensure ICOM UK becomes even more dynamic, relevant and connected, while also embedding better practice across all the work we do for our members and with our project partners, in the UK, the overseas territories and globally’.
Claire Messenger and Maria Blyzinsky, Co-Chair and former Co-Chair, of ICOM UK
