The weekly feature rounds up the latest updates in museum appointments, openings, funding and new exhibitions from across the UK.
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Appointments
Dr John Chu has been appointed Keeper of Western Art at Ashmolean Museum, starting February 2026. Dr Chu joins from the National Trust, where he has served as Senior Curator for ten years, overseeing fine art collections nationwide. A specialist in 18th-century European art with a PhD from the Courtauld Institute, he previously held positions at Tate’s Research Department and the Courtauld.
We The Curious has appointed David Sproxton CBE, co-founder of Aardman Animations, as its first patron. Sproxton will serve as a public ambassador for the Bristol-based educational charity and science centre, and may provide guidance to the Board of Trustees.
We The Curious appoints Aardman Animations co-founder as first patron
Openings & closures
The Horniman Museum and Gardens in south east London has revealed early details of its Nature + Love transformation project, with several new attractions set to open in the museum’s 16-acre gardens during early summer 2026.
Horniman reveals new attractions in £10m Nature + Love transformation
The V&A’s new East Museum will open on 18 April 2026, it has revealed, alongside details of the museum’s opening exhibition and programming. The five-storey building at East Bank in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, designed by architects O’Donnell + Tuomey, is the sister site to V&A East Storehouse, which opened in May 2025.
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration will open to the public in May 2026 in Clerkenwell, London, becoming the UK’s only permanent place for illustration. The world’s largest dedicated space for the artform will present regularly changing exhibitions across three galleries.
Exhibitions
Love & Landscape: Stanley Spencer in Suffolk
Gainsborough’s House | Sudbury
Opening: 15 November 2025 – Closing: 22 March 2026
This exhibition features over 20 works from the Stanley Spencer Gallery alongside major loans from Tate, Aberdeen Art Gallery, Leeds Museums and Galleries, and private collections. The show explores Spencer’s four-decade association with Suffolk, including his visits to Wangford and Southwold, and features paintings such as ‘Trees and Chicken Coops’ (1925-26), ‘The Red House, Wangford’ (1926), and ‘Southwold’ (1937). The exhibition includes personal items never previously displayed, including Hilda Carline’s wedding suit, and is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style
The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace | London
Opening: 10 April 2026 – Closing: 18 October 2026
The largest display of Queen Elizabeth II’s fashion ever mounted, featuring approximately 200 items charting the late Queen’s clothing worn across all ten decades of her life. Around half of the items will be on display for the first time, spanning couture eveningwear to off-duty clothing from one of the most important British fashion collections of the 20th century. Contemporary pieces by Erdem Moralioglu, Richard Quinn and Christopher Kane will be shown alongside related items from the Queen’s fashion archive.
Don’t Let’s Ask For the Moon: Nocturnes and Atkinson Grimshaw
Leeds Art Gallery | Leeds
Opening: 14 November 2025 – Closing: 19 April 2026
The exhibition features 17 paintings, watercolours and drawings from the Leeds Art Gallery collection by John Atkinson Grimshaw, including his ‘moonlights’ depicting Boar Lane and Park Row, alongside works such as ‘Nightfall down the Thames’ (1880) and ‘Reflections on the Aire: On Strike’ (1879). Grimshaw’s nocturnes are displayed alongside works by four contemporary painters – Elizabeth Magill, Selma Makela, Judith Tucker and Joanna Whittle – as well as neon and photographic works by Roger Palmer. The show includes ‘Knostrop Cut, Leeds, Sunday Night’ from 1893, the final year of the Leeds-born artist’s life.
Ancient Sudan; enduring heritage
Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum | Stirling
Opening: Now – Closing: 22 February 2026
This touring exhibition explores the Kushite Kingdom, a civilisation that flourished in Sudan nearly 3,000 years ago. The Kingdom of Kush (8th century BC – 4th century AD) was positioned at a crossroads between Central Africa and the Mediterranean, ruling from the Blue Nile to the Levant at its height. The exhibition examines the culture’s skilled craftsmanship, distinct religious beliefs, and the important role of women, whilst exploring modern Sudan’s rich culture. Highlights include ceramics, a carved stone offering table and a bronze depiction of a goddess.
