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
The charity which runs Crich Tramway Village, home of The National Tramway Museum has appointed Jason Hardy as president. The Tramway Museum Society (TMS) president takes over from Sue Whiteley, carrying out duties which include officiating at special events, attending meetings, and guiding the society’s direction.
Openings and closures
Liverpool City Council has approved plans for a new £15m building dedicated to Liverpool’s comedy heritage. The four-storey Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre would become a permanent home to The Sir Ken Dodd archive and Happiness exhibition currently showing at National Museum Liverpool, and is expected to open in 2027.
Somerset House will commence a phased reopening this weekend following a fire which broke out on Saturday. The London arts venue, which is also home to The Courtauld Gallery, saw a fire break out at the weekend in the venue’s west wing. It took a reported 100 fire crews to successfully respond to the blaze, which was contained to one part of the building.
Exhibitions
A new exhibition titled ‘Toxic Relationships: The Dose Makes the Poison’ explores how dosage determines whether substances are beneficial or harmful. Curated by University of Aberdeen students, it features items such as Vietnamese snake wine, an opium pipe, and a radium compress. The exhibition opens on August 16, 2024, and will run until February 2025, with displays both online and at the Sir Duncan Rice Library.
London Museum Docklands will unveil two new artworks by British-Nigerian mixed-media artist Caroline Chinakwe. Created from her studio in Camden, the two pieces explore what it means to be Black in Britain today. Now on permanent display, they mark the first major update to the museum’s London, Sugar & Slavery Gallery since it opened in 2007.
An exhibition coming to Dorset Museum & Art Gallery early next year marks the beginning of its your across the UK. ‘Gladiators of Britain’ is a British Museum Partnership Exhibition with Colchester + Ipswich Museums, which will explore the history of gladiatorial contests in Roman Britain. On display will be objects including a ceramic cremation vessel, bronze gladiator’s helmet, and terracotta figures of two gladiators from the 1st–2nd century AD. Opens January 2025.
Hastings Contemporary is to open ‘Immortal Apples, Eternal Eggs,’ a major exhibition exploring still life through over 50 artworks by more than 50 artists from the past century. The show features works from The Ingram Collection and the David and Indrė Roberts Collection, including pieces by artists such as Phyllida Barlow, Louise Bourgeois, and Henry Moore. Runs 21 September 2024 – 16 March 2025.
Bradford Police Museum has secured a grant to launch a new exhibition called “Diversity & Policing: A Shared History” in partnership with Bradford’s Race Equality Network. The exhibition will showcase pioneering work in tackling hate crime, forced marriage, and honour crimes, as well as Bradford Police’s history of international police reform. The exhibition is set to launch later this year and will be displayed at the museum in City Hall and various venues across the district.
Leeds Industrial Museum is hosting an exhibition celebrating the 300th anniversary of John Smeaton, the Father of Civil Engineering, showcasing unique objects from his career. ‘Engineery’ is in partnership with Leeds 2023, and features a display by the Young Smeatonians group. The exhibition runs from 27 October 2023 to 28 September 2025, and is included with museum admission.
Dressing Lady Macbeth: An Exhibition at Smallhythe Place in Kent presents two costumes worn by Ellen Terry in the 1888 production of Macbeth at London’s Lyceum Theatre. The display includes the Beetle wing dress and the Banqueting dress, both recently conserved. The exhibition, featuring additional accessories like a crown and photographs, runs from 21 August until 3 November.
