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
Dawn Airey CBE has been announced as the new chair of Arts Council England. Airey succeeds Sir Nicholas Serota, who steps down from the role after nearly 10 years next month.
New Arts Council England chair to ‘nurture and protect arts’ in era of AI
Leena Nair CBE is the newest member of the British Museum’s board of trustees. Nair will take up the role immediately and will attend her first meeting as Trustee in July.
Openings & closures
The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opens on Friday 5th June. Quentin Blake unveiled a new mural, inspired by the venue’s waterworks history, ahead of its public opening.
Quentin Blake creates mural for future venue’s waterworks history
People’s History Museum in Manchester is launching a new Storytelling Zone on 10 June, timed to coincide with the city’s Festival of Libraries. The free, drop-in family space, designed for under-10s, features interactive storytelling activities, a curated book collection and artwork by illustrator Sam Selley, funded through a Museum Renewal grant from Arts Council England and DCMS.
Exhibitions
Lost Music Venues
V&A South Kensington | London
Opening: 30 May 2026 – Closing: 30 October 2027
This free display at V&A South Kensington brings together over 100 objects documenting around 50 British music venues and clubs that operated from the 1980s to the 2010s. Items on display include a pager used to monitor noise levels at the Hacienda, the original 1985 exterior sign for the London Astoria loaned by Damon Albarn, handwritten Oasis lyrics, a Blur set list, and a bespoke Vivienne Westwood club outfit. The display was developed with the support of Music Venue Trust, with more than half of the objects acquired via a public call-out for material relating to lost venues.
Tick Tock Marvels: The Playful World of Automata
Tullie | Carlisle
Opening: 13 June 2026 – Closing: 11 October 2026
Image: Tick Tock Marvels: The Playful World of Automata
Nearly 40 automata from Cabaret Mechanical Theatre (CMT) are brought together at Tullie, spanning makers including Paul Spooner, Tim Hunkin and the late Keith Newstead. Highlights include Newstead’s recreation of Gormenghast Castle and ‘The Flying Reiver’, a bicycle-riding Border Reiver originally suspended in Tullie’s atrium. The exhibition also features a new community automaton created with local groups and businesses, drawing on inspiration from Roy Orbison, a gold tap and a bicycle.
Madelon Vriesendorp: Mind Games
Sir John Soane’s Museum | London
Opening: 15 July 2026 – Closing: 20 September 2026
Image: Madelon Vriesendorp: Mind Games
A retrospective of over 50 works by Dutch artist Madelon Vriesendorp, winner of the 2025 Soane Medal, spanning early etchings and drawings through to recent sculpture and works on paper. The exhibition includes a large-scale version of ‘Critical Pursuit Home Analysis Kit’, a part-boardgame, part-psychoanalytic work in which participants arrange miniature objects to reveal psychological insights. Also on display are the ‘Plastic Surgery’ sculpture series, made from recycled plastic bottles and packaging, alongside works that informed the visual identity of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in its early years.
View museum announcement →
Design and Disability
V&A Dundee | Dundee
Opening: 5 June 2026 – Closing: 4 October 2026
Design and Disability’ showcases around 170 objects across three sections — Visibility, Creativity and Living — spanning design, art, architecture, fashion and photography from the 1940s to the present day. The exhibition centres the contributions of Disabled, Deaf, and neurodivergent people to contemporary design and culture, including Scottish design stories such as the University of Dundee-led ‘Hands of X’ prosthetics project. Admission is free and the exhibition is supported by The Exhibitions Group and the V&A Foundation.
Treasure! Lost & Found
Dorset Museum & Art Gallery | Dorchester
Opening: 13 June 2026 – Closing: 13 September 2026
The exhibition presents archaeological finds from prehistoric, Roman, Viking and Anglo-Saxon periods, with major loans from The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery and Lancashire County Museum Service. Highlights include a prehistoric gold hoard from Crichel dating c.1400–1150 BCE, a gold and garnet sword pommel from the Staffordshire Hoard (570–630 CE), and Viking silver from the Silverdale Hoard (880–900 CE). Several objects will be displayed publicly for the first time, alongside immersive digital installations developed by students from Arts University Bournemouth.
Funding
Museums Galleries Scotland has announced the latest awards through its Museum Futures programme, with £1.3m distributed to museums across Scotland.
£1.3m awarded to Scottish museums through Museum Futures programme
