The weekly feature rounds up the latest updates in museum appointments, openings, funding and new exhibitions from across the UK.
Museum Moves is supported by DJW Projects Limited: DJW Projects Limited. DJW Projects Limited is recognised as one of the UK’s leading forces in the audio-visual industry, providing creative lighting, Audio Visual and multimedia solutions globally to achieve the ultimate technological experience, using sound, lighting, vision and interaction.
Appointments
Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust has announced the appointment of Vice Admiral Sir Martin Connell KCB CBE as its next chair. Sir Martin will take up the position in November 2026, succeeding Admiral Sir Trevor Soar KCB OBE DL after ten years in post.
Former HMS Chatham commander appointed chair of Historic Dockyard
Openings & closures
V&A East Museum opens on Saturday 18 April in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.The five-storey building designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey is the sister site to V&A East Storehouse, which opened in May 2025.
Exhibitions
Mystery Academy: School for Young Detectives
The Story Museum | Oxford
Opening: 18 July 2026
The Story Museum opens ‘Mystery Academy: School for Young Detectives’ on 18 July 2025, a new interactive exhibition exploring the history and characters of the detective genre. Visitors are invited to step inside a fictional detective boarding school, featuring a forensics lab, library, and hidden door, with object loans including early fingerprint kits and a concealed camera. The exhibition was designed by the Story Curators, a group of young people aged 12–16, with an original story by author Sharna Jackson and creative consultation from Robin Stevens.
Genghis Khan: How the Mongols Changed the World
Royal Armouries Museum | Leeds
Opening: 26 June 2026 – Closing: 1 November 2026
The exhibition brings together 248 rare artefacts from Mongolia’s national collections, many never previously seen in the UK, dating from the 1st to the 14th centuries. Objects include ancient saddles, ceramics, inscribed coins and the largest spearhead found in Mongolia. The exhibition was produced by Nomad Exhibitions in association with Nantes History Museum and in partnership with the Chinggis Khaan National Museum.
Beyond Impressionism: Printmaking from Manet to Picasso
The Holburne | Bath
Opening: 23 May 2026 – Closing: 13 September 2026
The Holburne presents ‘Beyond Impressionism: Printmaking from Manet to Picasso’, an exhibition tracing the resurgence of printmaking from the 1850s through to the 1930s. The exhibition brings together prints by key figures including Édouard Manet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, and Pablo Picasso, examining their contributions to the medium alongside the influence of Japanese printmakers. Works on display include Manet’s portrait of Berthe Morisot (1872), Toulouse-Lautrec’s poster ‘Moulin Rouge – La Goulue’ (1891), and Utagawa Hiroshige’s ‘Sudden Shower over Shin-ōhashi Bridge and Atake’ (1857).
Listening All Night To The Rain
Walker Art Gallery | Liverpool
Opening: 16 May 2026 – Closing: 31 August 2026
Sir John Akomfrah’s large-scale multi-channel film and sound installation ‘Listening All Night To The Rain’ comes to Walker Art Gallery as part of a UK tour supported by Art Fund. Originally commissioned by the British Council for the British Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024, the exhibition presents three of the work’s eight ‘Cantos’, including a projection on the gallery’s neoclassical exterior. The work addresses themes of memory, migration, racial injustice and climate change, drawing on archival footage, newly filmed material and stories from the Windrush generation.
Setting the Stage: 70 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
National Science and Media Museum | Bradford
Opening: 15 May 2026
The exhibition marks the 70th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, exploring the technological history and innovation behind the world’s largest live music event. It is accompanied by a programme of events including curator-led tours, family parties and live panel discussions. The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford reopened in January 2025 following a £6m redevelopment.
Funding
Twenty-eight museums will receive £25.5m from the Museum Estate and Development Fund to undertake infrastructure works and improve visitor facilities, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced.
