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 Stradling Collection in Bristol has appointed Nicola Nuttall as its Director. The charity holds Ken Stradling’s private collection of more than 2,000 pieces of ceramics, glass, furniture and decorative arts. Nuttall, who has previously worked with the National Trust, and English Heritage, was most recently the Director of The Charles Causley Trust. She is currently a member of the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy’s NPO Oversight Board, a mentor to multiple university students and early-mid career professionals and is a former trustee of South-West Heritage Trust and the Bishop’s Palace in Wells.
Openings & closures
Modern Art Oxford has pushed back its reopening after an unforeseen delay in the building work. The contemporary art space was originally set to open next month, but will now open to the public in 2 November 2024. The reopening follows a £2 million redesign of its ground and lower-ground floor spaces, along with a new cafe.. The building reopens with the first institutional exhibition in the UK of work by Cuban artist Belkis Ayón.
Exhibitions
The V&A has announced upcoming exhibitions across its sites as ahead of its programme for 2025:
At V&A South Kensington, in April the V&A will stage the UK’s first major exhibition in almost 30 years dedicated to the creations of fashion designer Cartier, exploring “how the Maison became an unparalleled force in the jewellery and watch world”. At Young V&A, ‘Making Egypt’ will take visitors on a journey through the ancient past to modern day, exploring how stories and images of ancient Egypt continue to influence art, design and popular culture today.
At V&A Dundee ‘A Fragile Correspondence’ opens this November, taking visitors on a journey through three Scottish landscapes across the Highlands, Islands and Lowlands mapping a collection of ideas by architects, artists and writers.
York Art Gallery presents ‘The Art of Wallpaper: Morris & Co.’, showcasing over 130 works from the Sanderson and Morris & Co. archives, including rare Victorian designs, woodblocks, and Japanese wallpapers. The exhibition features framed original samples, upholstered furniture, and wallpapers by renowned designers such as William Morris, Owen Jones, and C.F.A. Voysey. The exhibition runs 27 September 2024 – 23 February 2025.
The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge presents ‘Women in Japanese Prints’, showcasing diverse representations of women in late 18th-century Japanese printmaking. The exhibition features works by artists like Katsushika Hokusai and Kitagawa Utamaro, displaying scenes of everyday life, working women, and socialising across six thematic sections. The exhibition runs from 20 August 2024 – 17 November 2024.
The Ashmolean NOW series exhibition ‘The Flood’ by Bettina von Zwehl features a multi-dimensional installation inspired by the museum’s early Wunderkammer collections. Objects on display include new photographic works, a wallpaper of zoological specimens, a model theatre, gilded mushrooms, and original artefacts such as an iron cradle and a coconut shell ‘owl’ cup. The exhibition runs from 18 October 2024 to 11 May 2025.
The National Football Museum has launched an exhibition inspired by LS Lowry’s ‘Going to the Match’, featuring creative responses from four local community groups. Artworks on display include a braille canvas, a football shirt design, and a short film exploring football’s role in mental health support. The exhibition opened yesterday and runs until 30 September 2024.
‘Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights’ is a free exhibition opening later this month at Wellcome Collection, exploring physical labour’s impact on health and workers’ rights. The exhibition features over 150 objects, including artworks by Lubaina Himid and Forensic Architecture, alongside historic items such as “Street Life in London” (1877). The exhibition runs from 19 September 2024 – 27 April 2025.
Funding
The Welsh Government is providing a further £5 million to support Wales’ culture and sport arm’s length bodies and Cadw. The National Library will receive £725,000, £1.5m will go to the Arts Council of Wales, while Amgueddfa Cymru is to benefit from £940,000. Funding of £745,000 has been allocated to allow Cadw to “maintain financial sustainability.” .
