Openings/closures
The latest phase of Black Country Living Museum’s multi-million pound capital development has opened to visitors. Its new Industrial Quarter features three historic business buildings, J. H. Lavender Aluminium Foundry, Joe H. Smith & Sons (Oldbury) Ltd and the Cricket Field Brickworks. The new areas is hoped to characterise the industrial history of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, including a cast of actors portraying real workers.
Exhibitions
The British Museum is collaborating with Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke on a new exhibition exploring how the Museum collection reflects the legacies of British imperial power. The co-curated exhibition will include objects from across the collection alongside specially commissioned new works by Locke.This will be the artist’s first artist-curated museum exhibition, and will focus on Britain’s historic interactions with Africa, India and the Caribbean, reframing the collection’s historical objects. Runs 17 October 2024 – 9 February 2025.
Opening tomorrow, Sir John Soane’s Museum unveils Fanciful Figures, exploring the history of ‘staffage’ in architectural drawings from Georgian times to today. Showcasing pieces from the museum’s collection, the exhibition illustrates how these figures animate designs and reflect societal ideals. Curated by Frances Sands, yjr exhibition follows the Architectural Drawing Prize. Runs 22 March 2024 – 9 June 2024
Nowhere to Go but Anywhere is a new solo exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Tribambuka at the Migration Museum. The exhibition, showcasing multimedia artworks exploring the concept of “home”, features immersive installations, experimental video projections, and a soundscape composed by J.C. Wright, incorporating multilingual voices from diverse London communities. Visitors can also view large-scale mixed media pieces and participate in interactive elements, sharing their own thoughts on home. Runs 22 March 2024 – 25 May 2024.
‘HEROES: The British Invasion of American Comics’ at The Cartoon Museum chronicles the historical exchange between British and American comic cultures. The exhibition delves into the influence of early American comics on British artists, leading to the creation of works like Watchmen and V For Vendetta. It will feature artwork by British creators and will explore pivotal moments such as the 1972 launch of Marvel UK. Runs 25 April – 19 October 2024.
The Bowes Museum will open a new exhibition in May called Stories in Stitch.The Barnard Castle Museum’s Fashion and Textile Gallery will play host to a new capsule collection of textile artworks, most of which have not be shown before, including items acquired by Joséphine and John Bowes as part of the Founding Collection of the Museum. The exhibition draws out the stories of makers (mainly girls and women), influences from art and social history and the development of embroidery materials, techniques and teaching from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Runs 18 May – 29 September 2024.
Banbury Museum & Gallery is to host ‘I wannabe In The 90’s’ from this weekend, an exhibition of nostalgic objects and media which defined the decade. Over 200 objects will be on display, including the toys and video games, music and films that defined the era’s popular culture. Runs 3 March – 7 July 2024.
In a new display opening in summer, Rothko’s Seagram Murals will come to Tate St Ives. Originally commissioned for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York’s Seagram building, the renowned paintings were then withdrawn from the commission, after the artist’s change of heart, and were instead donated to Tate in 1969. Five of the nine works will now be seen for the first time at Tate St Ives, in the Cornish town Rothko visited shortly after completing them. Runs 25 May 2024 – 5 January 2025.
Funding
Thirty-six small museums across the UK have been awarded funding by The Royal Society’s Places of Science scheme to engage communities with local science stories.
