The Amelia Island Museum of History welcomes a new curator on July 15. Replacing Jarrett Hill, who is moving to Richmond, Va., is Isabelle Bournigault.
Originally from the Bordeaux region of France, Bournigault has been an active volunteer in the Fernandina community with the history museum as well as the Amelia Community Theatre. After participating as a newcomer in a museum ghost tour, she volunteered for docent training and has since led every type of walking tour available. When a part became available for a French maid in a production at ACT, she was the obvious choice. She continues to perform occasionally but does even more backstage. Her skills as a seamstress are especially useful in adapting and creating costumes.
“I think the performing helped me gain confidence with public speaking,” said Bournigault.
She first came to the United States as an au pair to a family in Virginia. “I just fell in love with the culture and the people,” she recalls.
She decided to return to live in the United States and became a teacher here. She brings years of teaching experience to her new role. One of her desires is to develop more programs at the museum geared to younger audiences and their parents.
Outgoing curator Hill described the role of museum curator. “Because we have such a small staff (four full-time and two part-time employees), the curator position here is pretty flexible. Traditionally, the curator creates the exhibits for the museum. Sometimes the curator is out in the community communicating with collectors. In any case, the curator is the ‘content’ expert at the museum. How we tell our stories tells us a lot about who we are,” Hill reflected. “Sometimes we learn over time to tell our stories in new ways.”
The museum may have limited staff, but they have a wealth of community volunteers. Education director Thea Seagraves reported a current tally of 392 volunteers. She explains some do not live locally year round and most have only a few hours here and there to give, “But I am flexible.”
Isabelle offers this tip for pronouncing her last name, Bournigault, “The last four letters are pronounced like an “o.”
pbushnell@fbnewsleader.com