Appointments
The board of the British Library has begun the recruitment of a successor to its Chief Executive Sir Roly Keating. Keating is set to step down in April 2025, after more than 12 years, which he said was a milestone he had aimed for when taking up the role in 2012. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said Kearing has “shown fantastic leadership”, and “guided [the British Library] through the pandemic and more recently overseen its continuing recovery from a major cyber attack, as well as celebrating its 50th anniversary last year.”
Openings/closures
Bradford’s Peace Museum will reopen at its new location in Saltaire’s Salts Mill in August, it has been announced. The museum’s director told BBC News that an official launch date is imminent within the Grade II listed mill building in the city.
The People’s Palace will close its doors this Sunday, 14 April 2024, ahead of a major refurbishment. A completely reimagined and restored museum and glasshouse is expected to reopen in 2027.Funding secured from The National Lottery Heritage Fund means the next stage of this transformational project can begin in earnest as soon as the building closes.
A pub, moved brick-by-brick to St Fagans National Museum of History, will begin serving customers again next month. Following a campaign to save it from demolition, the owners of The Vulcan Hotel formally offered the building to Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales in 2012.
Historic pub set to open at St Fagans National Museum of History
Exhibitions
This summer, the exhibition of visual activist Zanele Muholi will return to Tate Modern. The first major UK survey of the artist’s work was originally opened at Tate Modern in 2020 but was cut short by the national lockdown. Visitors will now have the opportunity to see a revised and expanded version of the exhibition. Over 300 photographs will be brought together to present the breadth of Muholi’s career to date, from their very first body of work to their latest and on-going series. Runs 6 June 2024 – 26 January 2025.
‘Are We Nearly There Yet?’ is a new exhibition detailing the history of transport at Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery (RAMM). On display will be a sled from Captain Scott’s ill-fated 1911-12 expedition to the Antarctic, parachute material made by local firm Heathcoat Fabrics, which played a crucial role in NASA’s 2020 mission to Mars, as well as travelling outfits, artworks, vehicles and transport ephemera. Runs 5 June until 29 September 2024.
This May, the Ashmolean Museum will display the National Gallery’s Wilton Diptych. The new display at the museum will be part of National Treasures, the National Gallery’s 200th anniversary loan programme. ‘National Treasures: The Wilton Diptych in Oxford’ will be shown in the Ashmolean’s England 400–1600 Gallery, setting the painting among the Museum’s English collections. Thought to be one of the greatest treasures to have survived from the Middle Ages, it will be the first time the diptych has been lent by the National Gallery since its acquisition in 1929. Runs 10 May – 1 September 2024.
Dubbed “Britain’s Pompei”, A Bronze Age Settlement will open at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery later this month. Must Farm opens following a publication from the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, which tells the story of the pile-dwelling settlement in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. Funded by both Historic England and Peterborough Museum, the exhibition will display rarely preserved personal items including textiles, pots and jars complete with meals and utensils, and exotic glass beads – some of which were manufactured in the Middle East. Runs 27 April – 28 September 2024.
Joining the Sainsbury Centre’s six-month ‘What is Truth?’ programming will be an exhibition re-evaluating iconic images from the past century. ‘The Camera Never Lies: Challenging images through The Incite Project’ will “explore the impact and influence photography has had on shaping – and in some cases distorting the narrative of major global events.” Runs 18 May – 20 October 2024.
Funding
Research England, part of United Kingdom Research and Innovation, has supported nine of Cambridge University’s museums and collections with £3m a year of Higher Education Museums, Galleries and Collections (HEMG) funding, over the coming five years.
Historic pub set to open at St Fagans National Museum of History
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has announced £14.8m in new funding for projects exploring the UK’s industrial past.
National Lottery Heritage Fund backs industrial heritage projects with combined £14.8m
