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2020 museum openings: a sneak peek at what to expect this year

Article: David Styles | Image: A rendering of the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures from above © A.M.P.A.S./Renzo Piano Architects

The dawn of a new decade quite rightly has the sector looking forward with renewed optimism. With this is mind, we cast an eye over some of the many museum openings set for 2020.

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

Lights, camera, action! Hosting 50,000 square feet of exhibition galleries, two theatres, an interactive education studio and a rooftop terrace with views of the Hollywood Hills, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures looks set to be just as unassuming and low key as its annual awards ceremony.

A view of Los Angeles' new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures from the sidewalk © A.M.P.A.S./Renzo Piano Architects

Sigmund Freud Museum

Really excited about this opening? Blame your mother. The Museum located at Vienna’s Berggasse 19, Freud’s former premises, has undergone substantial expansion work over the past year and will open to visitors once again in May.

A rendering of the waiting room at the world famous psychoanalyst's Berggasse 19 office © qucumber.at

Museum of the Home

Following a renovation which has doubled the space accessible to visitors and cost more than £18 million, the Museum of the Home, formerly the Geffrye Museum of the Home, will reopen to the public this summer.

Museum of the Home development: illustration of the new entrance opposite Hoxton Overground Station. Visual by Secchi Smith, design by Wright & Wright Architects © Wright & Wright Architects LLP

Munch Museum

A museum opening to scream about. When launched this spring, Oslo’s Munch Museum will be one of the world’s largest cultural attractions dedicated to a single artist. 11 exhibition halls split across the 13-storey building will give visitors an unapparelled insight into one of Norway’s most famous offspring.

The Munch Museum strikes an imposing figure on Oslo's skyline © Adrià-Goula

Museum of Making

Derby’s Museum of Making, a former silk mill in Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site, will open its doors to the public later this year. The project is the first in the sector ever to utilise the government-backed Integrated Project Insurance procurement model.

A Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine being winched into position at the Museum of Making © Speller Metcalfe

England’s Creative Coast

Not strictly a museum opening, but nevertheless something to watch out for this year. Specially commissioned artworks will sprout up near the coastlines of Essex, Kent and East Sussex in 2020. Five galleries in south east England are collaborating with the England’s Creative Coast initiative to drive more cultural visitors to the region.

ANOTHER TIME XXI, in situ outside Turner Contemporary since 2013 © Antony Gormley/Thierry Bal

New Museum for WA

Opening in November 2020, the New Museum for WA aims to tell the stories of Western Australia’s people and places, along with serving as a gateway to help visitors explore the entire region.

University of Melbourne Science Gallery

Also scheduled for late 2020 down under, the University of Melbourne will launch the first and only Australian branch of the international Science Gallery network. The Gallery will open in conjunction with Melbourne Connect, the University’s new innovation precinct.

Peter & Ruth McMullin Galleries, Science Gallery Melbourne opening 2020

The Story Museum

New and improved, Oxford’s The Story Museum will reopen in April to once again celebrate the art of storytelling for visitors aged from 1 to 101.

Small Worlds at The Story Museum © The Story Museum

Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art

Built 85 years ago, Kyoto City Museum of Art is one of Japan’s oldest public art museum buildings. Following three years of refurbishment, the site will reopen in March as Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art.

Exterior of the new Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art © Takeru Koroda/PRNewsfoto/Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art

Seattle Asian Art Museum

Following a 24-month-long renovation and expansion project to improve infrastructure, accessibility and programme space, Seattle Asian Art will reopen to the public in early February.

The expansion on the east side of the Asian Art Museum © Tim Griffith

Bourse de Commerce – Collection Pinault

A new home for works in the Pinault Collection, the Bourse de Commerce is a Parisian site which looks destined to become one of the city’s must-visit cultural hubs.

Denver Art Museum

2020 will see several new spaces at the Denver Art Museum open to the public. Three floors of art galleries, learning and gathering spaces, a restaurant and cafe will launch in June, with entire Martin Building development slated to debut by the Museum’s 50th anniversary at the end of 2021.

The new Martin Building, set to be fully open to the public by 2021 © Denver Art Museum

Migration Museum

February will see London’s Migration Museum relocate from its previous home in Lambeth to a new space in the heart of Lewisham Shopping Centre.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at the Migration Museum prior to its relocation © Migration Museum

The Humboldt Forum

Set to open in phases from September onwards, Berlin’s Humboldt Forum is striving to be a unique cultural venue in one of the German capital’s most popular tourist districts.

The Humboldt Forum © SHF | Architect: Franco Stella with FS HUF PG

Dorset County Museum

Having been closed since October 2018, the redeveloped Dorset County Museum is set to open its doors in 2020, complete with new galleries, a learning centre, collections storage, and a library.

Plans for the redeveloped Dorset County Museum © Dorset County Museum

Keep ‘em peeled

Other openings to watch out for this year include:

Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The Box, Plymouth
Carnavalet Paris
Cromwell Museum, Huntingdon
Thackray Medical Museum, Leeds
Albertina Modern, Vienna
Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Museum of Art, Tokyo
Weston Park Museum, Sheffield
The Momentary, Bentonville