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
Claire Hazelgrove (MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke) has been appointed vice-patron of Aerospace Bristol, joining Sir George White in supporting the museum’s work to preserve the region’s aerospace heritage and inspire future engineers. The appointment comes as the museum expands its role in STEM education and skills development. More than 13,000 learners take part in its education programme each year, with 347 curriculum-linked workshops and work experience placements delivered in the last year alone.
Openings & closures
The Light, the former Durham Light Infantry Museum and Art Gallery will reopen as a contemporary art venue, The Light, on 22 August 2026.
The Light: Former DLI Museum and art venue sets reopening date
Trent Park House of Secrets in Enfield has announced that it will open on 21 July 2026.
Exhibitions
Home: Gypsy and Traveller Lives in Dorset
Museum of East Dorset | Wimborne
Opening: 18 July 2025 – Closing: 23 January 2027
This exhibition explores the histories of Gypsy and Traveller communities across Dorset over the past century, examining how ideas of home have been shaped by movement, kinship and ties to particular landscapes. Developed in partnership with Dorset History Centre and the charity Kushti Bok, it draws on archival material, oral histories, and objects loaned by community members. Highlights include wooden scale models of traditional vardos, soil samples from historic stopping places, and historic photographs from Dorset History Centre.
Frida: The Making of an Icon
Tate Modern | London
Opening: 25 June 2026 – Closing: 3 January 2027
Developed in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, this exhibition explores how Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) rose from a relatively unknown painter to a worldwide cultural phenomenon. Over 30 works by Kahlo, including rarely seen self-portraits, are presented alongside photographs and personal artefacts, as well as works by modern and contemporary artists she influenced. The exhibition traces Kahlo’s impact across art history, from surrealism and the Chicana/o movement to feminist art and her eventual transformation into a global commercial brand.
Lacock by Martin Parr
Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey | Lacock
Opening: 27 June 2026 – Closing: 27 June 2027
The Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey presents the final major commission by British photographer Martin Parr (1952–2025), created in 2025 as part of a return to the Wiltshire village he first photographed in the 1980s. The exhibition documents life in Lacock across events including VE Day celebrations, a flower show, and the annual scarecrow trail. An accompanying book and short film are also available as part of the presentation.
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026
National Portrait Gallery | London
Opening: 25 June 2026 – Closing: 7 October 2026
The Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer Portrait Award 2026 presents 51 portraits selected for display from an international competition open to artists over the age of 18. First prize of £35,000 was awarded to Marc Dalessio for ‘Jean-Denis’, with additional prizes going to Chloe Cox, Michael Slusakowicz, and Joel Nichols, who received the Young Artist Award. The exhibition is free to visit and is supported by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
