Museums and heritage

A 'partnership gallery' at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery will open in 2024, the British Museum has announced.

The museum's Bronze Age displays will be "redeveloped" to make better use of gallery space and create narratives about historical local life.

Three 12,800-year-old woolly mammoth skeletons - the most complete sets in northwest Europe - will be the draw card of the gallery.

The British Museum says the partnership will allow more of Shrewsbury's nationally significant geology and archaeology collections to be shared with the public

Barbican seeks design team for building revamp

08 Sep 2021

The Barbican Centre and City of London are searching for a design team to refurbish the city centre arts venue.

A competition offering between £50m and £150m to revamp the Grade-II listed building “to meet the needs of 21st century artists, audiences and communities” has been launched.

Proposals must cover all aspects of the building, include plans to upgrade venues, repurpose unused spaces, and improve the building’s environmental performance with an eye to carbon neutrality by 2027.

Teams featuring architects, engineers and sustainability and heritage consultants encouraged to apply before the October 21 deadline.

Five finalists will be shortlisted, with a design team expected to be appointed in February.

Curators of the future

07 Sep 2021

Being disabled in the visual arts sector has presented galleries with serious challenges. But Mike Layward is optimistic about programmes which promote much needed change.

Engagement

Visual arts

Disability

Diversity

Belgium prescribes culture for Covid stress

06 Sep 2021

Patients diagnosed with Covid-related stress in Brussels are being prescribed free visits to museums and galleries.

Doctors at Brugmman Hospital are offering visits to five publicly owned sites across the Belgian capital, including its centre for contemporary art, a fashion museum and a museum of the city's sewage system.

“It has been shown that art can be beneficial for health, both mental and physical,” Brussels' City Councillor for Tourism Delphine Houba said.

The idea forms part of a three-month pilot scheme designed to bolster mental health during the pandemic.

Inspiration has come from a similar programme in Quebec, Canada, where doctors prescribe up to 50 museum visits a year per patient.

'Political sentiment' to trouble removal of hospital founder's statue

02 Sep 2021

Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation says it will remove a statue of the London hospital's founder, Thomas Guy, to "a less prominent area" over his links to slavery.

It will need planning permission to do so - something its lawyers say is "very unlikely in the short to medium term due to planning legislation and political sentiment".

The plan for the listed statue conflicts with the Government's 'retain and explain' policy on contested heritage, and a final decision may lie in the hands of the Planning Minister, Robert Jenrick.

"Clearly, the minister is likely to give great weight to his policy which is not supportive of removing or otherwise altering the statue," the hospital's lawyers concluded, warning the removal plan may not succeed.

A consultation recommended the trust retain statues of Thomas Guy and historical benefactor Robert Clayton but provide information on how the men made their wealth. Clayton's statue will remain in place, as it's considered to be less prominent than Guy's.

Museums tackling loneliness

01 Sep 2021

In rural areas such as Cornwall, the pandemic has exacerbated loneliness, with vulnerable people losing their sense of community. Emmie Kell thinks museums can be part of the solution.

Bank of England removes art with slavery links

31 Aug 2021

The Bank of England has removed 10 oil paintings and busts of governors and directors with known connections to the transatlantic slave trade.

On display within the bank’s headquarters and museum, the works from the 18th and 19th Century included its founding director Gilbert Heathcote.

The bank announced a review of its art collection last June following last year’s Black Lives Matter protests.

It has also hired a researcher on slavery for its museum, to “explore the bank's historic links with the transatlantic slave trade in detail.”

A Bank of England spokesperson said the work will shape future museum displays interpreting these connections.

‘Promising leads’ on new home for Vagina Museum

25 Aug 2021

London's Vagina Museum is searching for a new home after its landlord, Camden Market, decided not to renew its lease.

Development and Marketing Manager Zoe Williams said it is exploring some “promising leads”.

“The public call really helped bring to light some options that we hadn’t otherwise considered. It was great to see such an outpouring of love and support.”

The museum's current lease will end in September, with the site set to become a clothing store.

Camden Market offered to rehome the collection on its fourth floor, but this was deemed unsuitable by the museum.

It is searching for new premises of at least 2,000sqft to expand its collection.

Call to patronise local museums as visitors favour big name sites

19 Aug 2021

Museums have not yet returned to full strength despite restrictions lifting. The challenges for smaller and larger sites this summer differ.

Science Museum used 'misleading' tool to justify big oil sponsorship

05 Aug 2021

Environmental sustainability

The museum promoted itself as the first in the cultural sector to assess potential partners using a climate action benchmark that would have green lit deals with most oil and gas companies.

Sponsorship

Glasgow cultural operator to cut 500 jobs

14 Jul 2021

Glasgow Life says it's unrealistic to expect it can reopen 80 of its venues, including several libraries and the UK's only museum of religious art.

Forging a new partnership

Garden Museum welcomes visitors back in August 2020

13 Jul 2021

The museum and heritage sector has always been collaborative. But, says Carolyn Young, the need for supporting each other to build resilience is now greater than ever.

Masks to stay in arts venues as Stage 4 opening confirmed

13 Jul 2021

The Government "expect and recommend" masks in enclosed public spaces - and cultural venues are taking the lead.

Young people taking the lead

Attenborough Arts Centre's resident youth group, Next Gen

06 Jul 2021

A new programme aimed at engaging 18-to-25 year olds with museums and galleries hands over control of the creative direction to the young people themselves. Sophie Alonso explains.

Audience development

Engagement

Children and young people

Diversity

My Gurus: Challenging expectations

29 Jun 2021

Arts People

Anne de Charmant reveals the people who have inspired her work, particularly in rethinking audiences’ relationships with contemporary art and the environment.

Visual arts

International

Emergency funding saved 2,400 heritage jobs

07 Jun 2021

The National Lottery Heritage Fund says its speedy funding response to Covid-19 saved jobs and facilitated social distancing. But funding priorities may change as demand outstrips supply.

Responding to a crisis with a rallying cry

19 May 2021

Together for Museums harnessed the collective efforts of members, artists, donors and the public to come to the aid of the sector, writes Elinor Trigg.

Cinema Museum faces closure amid developer's silence

12 May 2021

The organisation has received repeated assurances but no answers about what happens when the lease on its home of 22 years expires next month.

Finance

Local authorities

Attractions' visitor numbers fall by 70% in 'devastatingly hard year'

08 Apr 2021