Dr Helen Charman FRSA, MA, Dip is Director of Learning, National Programmes and Young V&A at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London where she has worked since 2018. A creative and cultural learning professional for 30 years, Helen’s professional portfolio encompasses educational and leadership roles across schools, universities, galleries, museums, festivals, local authorities and charities, both in the UK and overseas. At the V&A she led the transformation of the former V&A Museum of Childhood into Young V&A, ‘the world’s most joyful museum’ co-designed with and for children. Young V&A was recently awarded the accolade of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2024, the biggest museum prize internationally and a clarion call for the vital importance of creativity and play in young lives.

Helen’s previous roles include Head of Learning and Access at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Senior Curator: Education, Tate Modern; Education Officer, Cultural Co-operation and Arts Development Officer, London Borough of Harrow. She sits on UK advisory boards for The Arts Council England’s Durham Commission and the Cultural Learning Alliance, and is a Trustee of Chelsea Physic Garden. She is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group: Children’s Health & Wellbeing and through which she has contributed to policy recommendations relating to the role of play in childhood, alongside multiple contributions to publication and conferences on the topic of creative and cultural education. A recent international remit included contributing to the UNESCO Framework on Culture and Arts Education through the lens of co-design with and for young people. Helen holds MA degrees from Oxford University (English Literature) and University of London (History of Art) and a Doctorate in Museum Education (University of London).

She has a keen interest in development education alongside cultural learning and has volunteered on several overseas literacy projects; is a committed humanist who volunteers as a bereavement buddy at St Christopher’s Hospice; and an enthusiastic cyclist, especially of the camino routes across Spain.