Alistair Hardaker | Image: Entrance Pavilion North view (Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios)
International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum redevelopment backed by DCMS Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, with museums due to reopen in 2029.
Liverpool’s International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum have received £19 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund for their redevelopment.
The funding supports the transformation of both museums as part of National Museums Liverpool’s Waterfront Transformation Project, reimagining the area between Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island.
Laura Pye, director of National Museums Liverpool said: “The transformation of International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum is a landmark project for Liverpool’s historic waterfront, promising to bring a significant boost to the region’s visitor economy.”
The Maritime Museum opened to the public in 1986 as part of the revitalisation of the Albert Dock. The International Slavery Museum opened in 2007, evolving from a basement gallery to a museum.
The redevelopment is led by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and responds to the existing Grade I-listed buildings: Hartley Pavilion and Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building, formerly the Dock Traffic Office.
A new entrance for the International Slavery Museum is planned. A new link bridge will connect Hartley Pavilion and the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building, with views across the docks.
The Maritime Museum will see regeneration enabling it to show a more comprehensive vision of Liverpool’s maritime story. A new entrance is planned, with new galleries exploring conflict, global connections and migration. The Titanic and Liverpool gallery will also be revitalised.
The International Slavery Museum will become home to the National Centre for Teaching Black History. The redeveloped second floor of the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building will be dedicated to the centre’s learning outputs.
Museums minister Baroness Twycross added: “Liverpool’s historic waterfront is such an iconic part of our national heritage, and I look forward to this investment bolstering these museums’ position at the forefront of historic engagement and education.”
Ralph Appelbaum Associates is leading on exhibition design for both museums. The project will include new galleries and shared spaces for community uses, research, learning and events.
Both museums are now closed for redevelopment and are due to reopen in 2029.
The project has also received £6.9 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, £200,000 from the Wolfson Foundation, and funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, philanthropic trusts and foundations, and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
