Library and cultural institutions profiles

University Librarian and Director of the John Rylands Research Institute and Library

Christopher Pressler was appointed University Librarian and Director of the John Rylands Research Institute and Library in February 2019.

Before joining us at Manchester, Christopher was University Librarian and Director of the Irish Modern Archives Research Centre at Dublin City University (DCU). He has also been Director of Libraries at the University of London, University Librarian and Director of e-Learning at the University of Nottingham, and Dean of Libraries at Dartington College of Arts. He has contributed to many boards and collaborative programmes in the UK, Ireland and in Europe for more than 15 years and has particular interests in open scholarship, digital technologies and special collections.

In recent years, Christopher has authored the UK’s National Digitisation Review for Research Libraries UK (RLUK) and, for Ireland’s Consortium of National and University Libraries, the first strategy for all of Ireland’s research libraries.

At London he co-edited two monographs on rare books and special collections and for six years was the Chair of Digital Research in the Humanities and Arts. At Nottingham he established the UK’s Centre for Research Communications and recently launched DCU Press, Ireland’s first open-access university press.

He launched DCU’s new Special Collections Exhibition Gallery and worked with The British Library, The National Archives and RLUK as the Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) Board representative on a new national approach to digital scholarship in special collections and archives.

Christopher is also the co-founder and co-chair of DART-Europe, the portal to over 600 European universities’ doctoral e-theses from 28 countries.

Director of the Manchester Museum, Esme Ward

Esme Ward took up the role of Director of Manchester in April 2018. The first female director in the 125-year history of the Museum, Esme has two prior decades’ experience at the University’s cultural institutions. 

Esme joined the Whitworth as its Education Officer in 1998 before becoming Head of Learning and Engagement across the Whitworth and Manchester Museum in 2010, where she led the growth of audiences and programmes, to include award-winning early years, health and culture and age friendly work. In recent years she worked alongside with the leadership team at the Whitworth to help it win Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2015.

She started her career at Dulwich Picture Gallery and the V&A before moving north and working as a freelance educator with the National Trust and regional museum services. Throughout her career, Esme has been driven by a social purpose and longstanding commitment to make museums even more inclusive and relevant to a wider audience.

Esme completed a year-long Clore Cultural Leadership Fellowship in 2016–7, which included a placement with the Heritage Lottery Fund, exploring social and civic purpose, leadership and the future of museums. She is the Strategic Lead (Culture) for Age Friendly Manchester and the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub. 

She sits on several national boards and networks, including the Age Friendly Museums Network, and was one of the expert authors on the Prime Minister’s Champion Group on the Arts Guide to Dementia Friendly Culture. In 2019–20 Esme is co-curator of the arts, health and social change programme at the World Healthcare Congress Europe in Manchester.

Director of Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement, Professor Tim O'Brien

Professor Tim O’Brien was appointed Director of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement (JBCE) in 2025, succeeding JBCE’s founding director, Professor Teresa Anderson.

Throughout his career, Tim has combined his research in Astronomy and Astrophysics with extensive teaching commitments and a wide range of public engagement activities, including regular media appearances and his work at both JBCE and JBCA. This includes co-founding the award-winning bluedot festival; celebrating Jodrell’s heritage with a major new gallery, part of the First Light project; and co-authoring the nomination documents that led to Jodrell Bank being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.

In addition to operating as Associate Director of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Tim works as a Professor of Astrophysics here at The University of Manchester, where he teaches undergraduate physics and astrophysics. His research concentrates on the study of exploding stars – mainly nova outbursts caused by thermonuclear explosions on the surface of white dwarfs in binary star systems.

Director of The Whitworth and Honorary Professor of Transcultural Curating at the University, Dr Sook-Kyung Lee

Dr Sook-Kyung Lee was appointed Director of The Whitworth in August 2023.

Sook-Kyung was Artistic Director of the 14th Gwangju Biennale in 2023, titled soft and weak like water, which explored themes of resistance, indigeneity, decoloniality and ecology.

She was Senior Curator, International Art at Tate Modern, working in exhibitions, collection displays and acquisitions. She also headed a major multi-year research initiative ‘Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational’ at Tate Modern, overseeing its strategic vision and associated programming.

Lee served as the Commissioner and Curator of the Korea Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale and is the curator of the Japan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale represented by the artist Yuko Mohri in 2024.