Museum Moves is supported by D J Willrich Ltd
D J Willrich Ltd (DJW) have nearly 40 years’ experience in helping Museums, Theme Parks, FEC’s and Visitor Centres tell their story using appropriate Technology. Based in the New Forest, on the South coast of England, and having started from the Audio-Visual Department at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, we have now developed our portfolio and are internationally recognised.
Appointments
The Box in Plymouth has appointed Rebecca Bridgman as its new Head of Collections and Programme. Bridgman will begin the role in mid-November after more than a decade with Birmingham Museums Trust, most recently as the Curatorial and Exhibitions Manager
Openings
Staff at The Museum of Homelessness are now moving into its first bricks-and-mortar location at Manor House Lodge in Finsbury Park, London. Community programmes have already begun, with doors expected to open to the public next spring.
The Vagina Museum is to reopen next month, having secured a new East London location. The museum will reopen to the public on Saturday 4th November 2023 in its new premises in Bethnal Green with a temporary exhibition, Endometriosis: Into the Unknown.
Vagina Museum to reopen “bigger and better” Bethnal Green site next month
The Faith Museum in Bishop Auckland, which explores religion and faith in Britain, has now opened to visitors. Housed in a custom-built extension, it has been constructed using local sandstone, and sits in the 14th-century wing of Auckland Castle.
Exhibitions
National Museums Liverpool has announced a series of exhibitions across their venues that will “challenge audiences to think about how they view the natural world”. It will be headlined by ‘Bees: A Story of Survival’ (pictured above) an immersive exhibition which will use sound and light environments to provide visitors with “a real-time connection to the bees within their natural habitat”. The exhibition opens at World Museum on 3 May 2024.
‘Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners shaped global style’ opens tomorrow, 13 October 2023 at Museum of London Docklands. Objects on display include a red coat worn by Princess Diana and a tweed coat worn by EastEnders’ Dot Cotton, alongside clothing from M&S, Moss Bros and Wallis. The exhibition will showcase the role of Jewish designers, makers and retailers in making London a fashion hub through the decades. Runs until 14 April 2024.
The Sainsbury Centre in Norwich has announced ‘Sediment Spirit: Towards the Activation of Art in the Anthropocene’ a new exhibition which brings together local and international artworks from the 1960’s to the present day which are responding to the climate crisis. It is curated by John Kenneth Paranada, Curator of Art and Climate Change, and presents interactive artworks which invite audiences to “view the Earth as a living and responsive being that we play an active part in sustaining.” Runs 15 October 2023 – 30 March 2024.
Firstsite’s newly announced exhibition will explore the career of artist Lucy Harwood. ‘Lucy Harwood: Bold Impressions’ is part of its ongoing series of exhibitions focusing on painters of The East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing at Benton End. It is the first major Harwood exhibition since 1975 – the largest ever survey of her work – and includes more than 100 of Harwood’s artworks. Runs 2 December 2023 – 14 April 2024.
Objects and photographs from travels to Persia, now modern-day Iran, by writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson are the focus of a new exhibition opening at their former home, Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent. ‘A Persian Paradise’ will tell the story of how the region inspired Harold and Vita through keepsakes and gifts, some on public display for the first time. Runs 14 October 2023 – 24 March 2024.
Funding
A £5.6 million project to develop a virtual reality museum platform has been unveiled today. The Museums in the Metaverse project is hoped to allow both professionals and amateurs to become “virtual curators”, building virtual and mixed-reality environments which can include 3D-scanned objects from collections.
Image: BEES A Story of Survival (© Photo:Pete Carr – Render:Battlecat Wolfgang Buttress Studios)
