Workers in the museums sector and beyond have shared their thoughts following the passing of the well-known and respected sector consultant
Tributes are being paid by those in the museums sector following the passing of social media audience development consultant Mar Dixon.
Dixon was the creator of many sector-specific campaigns and projects designed to support the museums sector, including digital-first campaigns Museum Selfie Day, and 52Museums. She was also Project Coordinator for the first Museomix in the UK, and the founder of CultureThemes, a multinational group of museum professionals.
Dixon also set up Museumcamp, an ‘unconference’ for the sector, alongside Linda Spurdle, Head of Digital for Birmingham Museums Trust (BMT).
Spurdle announced on X that Dixon had passed away on Saturday following a short illness.
In tribute, Spurdle said Dixon “loved to be called a troublemaker, and it was always good trouble. Her reaction to a problem was always – what can we do about this? And she would come up with ideas, bring people together, and we’d do stuff – swept along by her energy, enthusiasm & crazy optimism”
I am struggling to come to terms with the loss of Mar Dixon. She died on Sat night March 16th at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital following a short illness. She was only 53. She had an amazing gift of making & forging friendships, and I know we are all hit hard by this terrible news. 💔 pic.twitter.com/LE01rbOQ1W
— Linda Spurdle (@LSpurdle) March 18, 2024
Director of Manchester Museum Esme Ward also shared thoughts, describing Dixon as “wonderful, a force for good, full of hope and humour. Super smart. Kind. The best of us.. very very sad to hear this news. She’ll be missed by so many museum folk. Deepest condolences to her family and friends.”
@MarDixon was wonderful, a force for good, full of hope and humour. Super smart. Kind. The best of us.. very very sad to hear this news. She’ll be missed by so many museum folk. Deepest condolences to her family and friends. https://t.co/0dWmdhoGSl
— Esme Ward (@ward_esme) March 17, 2024
Dave Patten, Head of New Media at the Science Museum Group, said Dixon “brought energy, enthusiasm and wit to the projects she worked on and was a joy to be with”.
So sad to hear that @MarDixon has passed away. She. Will be sadly missed by the museum community. Mar always bought energy, enthusiasm and wit to the projects she worked on and was a joy to be with. RIP @MarDixon
— dave patten (@davepatten) March 17, 2024
Liz Hide, Director of The Sedgwick Museum, said Dixon’s passing was a loss to the museums sector, and described her as “inspiring and energetic, and a social media innovator back when museums social media was fun and exciting.”
Just reposting this tweet – its as true now as it was 11 years ago. The news that #MuseumHero @mardixon has passed away is such a loss to all of us in #museums. She was inspiring and energetic, and a social media innovator back when museums social media was fun and exciting. 😢 https://t.co/L8h30aCcRp
— Liz Hide (@TheMuseumOfLiz) March 18, 2024
Museums + Heritage Director Anna Preedy shared a photo with Dixon, writing: ” She would light up any room, full of laughter and endlessly positive and supportive. ”
I am so sad to hear about @MarDixon’s untimely death. She would light up any room, full of laughter and endlessly positive and supportive. Here we are a few years ago, crying with laughter. RIP, Mar xx pic.twitter.com/qD8T4GDUER
— Anna Preedy 💙 🏳️🌈🇪🇺 threads.net/@anna_preedy (@AnnaPreedy) March 18, 2024
