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
Lieutenant-General Andrew Figgures, a former deputy chief of the defence staff and chief executive of the British Transport Police Authority, has had his term as trustee of the Imperial War Museum extended by nine months, until 31 October 2026.
Michael Salter-Church, a trustee and council member of the National Trust, has been reappointed as chair of the Horniman Museum and Gardens for a second four-year term, running until August 2030.
Shahpur Kabraji, a partner at the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, has been reappointed as legal trustee of the Natural History Museum for a second five-year term, running until June 2031.
Openings & closures
National Museums Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum are due to reopen in 2029, after the conclusion of a redevelopment this week backed by £19m from DCMS’ Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund.
Liverpool waterfront museums receive £19m government funding
Exhibitions
Arthur Wharton: He Changed The World From Here
Hopetown Darlington | Darlington
Opening: 11 June 2026 – Closing: 31 August 2026
The exhibition celebrates the life and legacy of Arthur Wharton, recognised as the world’s first professional Black footballer and the world’s first recorded fastest man. Hosted in the Carriage Works at Hopetown Darlington, it explores Wharton’s sporting career alongside the role of Britain’s railway network in the development of organised sport. The exhibition features photography, storytelling and interactive elements, including a timed racetrack and interactive ball wall, and is free to attend.
View museum announcement →
Arthur Wharton: He Changed The World From Here
Hopetown Darlington | Darlington
Opening: 11 June 2026 – Closing: 31 August 2026
The exhibition celebrates the life and legacy of Arthur Wharton, recognised as the world’s first professional Black footballer and the world’s first recorded fastest man. Hosted in the Carriage Works at Hopetown Darlington, it explores Wharton’s sporting career alongside the role of Britain’s railway network in the development of organised sport. The exhibition features photography, storytelling and interactive elements, including a timed racetrack and interactive ball wall, and is free to attend.
View museum announcement →
34: The Critical Raw Materials Shaping Our Future
Oxford University Museum of Natural History | Oxford
Opening: 17 June 2026 – Closing: 13 April 2027
The exhibition presents the 34 raw materials officially designated as critical to the UK’s economy and national security, exploring their geopolitics, supply chains and human impact through historical and modern artefacts, geological specimens and interactive installations. Case studies span from a 40,000-year-old iron-rich ochre from Ngwenya Mine in southern Africa to present-day lithium extraction in Chile’s Atacama Desert. A specially-commissioned artwork by Katie Surridge and a programme of public events and workshops accompanies the free exhibition.
View museum announcement →
Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery
British Library | London
Opening: 30 October 2026 – Closing: 20 June 2027
Marking 50 years since Agatha Christie’s death, this exhibition explores the life and work of the bestselling novelist of all time through over 100 items drawn from the British Library’s collection, the Christie Archive Trust and other lenders. Five immersive sections examine Christie’s upbringing, wartime service, travels, archaeological expeditions and theatrical adaptations, featuring personal objects including her 1937 Remington typewriter, pharmaceutical study notes from 1917 and professional correspondence, many never previously displayed. The exhibition has been developed in collaboration with Agatha Christie Limited and the Christie Archive Trust, with an accompanying events season at public libraries across the UK.
View museum announcement →
Funding
The V&A’s South Asia gallery to re-open in 2028, it has announced this week as it received £4m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the transformation.
V&A South Asia gallery to reopen in 2028 after £4m transformation
The Sainsbury Centre has received a gift of £91.2m from Lord David Sainsbury, marking one of the largest ever donations made to a UK museum.
£91m: Sainsbury Centre receives one of largest UK museum donations
