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
ICOM UK has announced the election of Maria Blyzinsky as its new Co-Chair, succeeding Nick Marchand who stepped down last December. Blyzinsky, who has served as a trustee since 2023, brings significant experience as a heritage consultant and independent curator. The organisation has also appointed Kristina Broughton, former CEO of Wessex Museums Trust, as its new Strategic Director starting 10 February 2025.
The Collections Trust, which supports museums and cultural institutions in managing their collections, has announced a new Chief Executive. David Gelsthorpe will lead Collections Trust and will be the main point of contact for Collections Trust’s grant funders, Spectrum Partners, other key stakeholders and potential consultancy projects.
Openings & closures
The former Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro is set to reopen next month as Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery. From March it will welcome visitors inside the transformed space and additional art gallery.
Exhibitions
The National Maritime Museum in London explores the history and cultural impact of pirates through an extensive exhibition featuring nearly 200 objects, including original Captain Pugwash illustrations, Orlando Bloom’s costume from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, a Vivienne Westwood ‘Pirate’ collection ensemble, and a captured Chinese pirate shrine hanging. The exhibition examines global piracy from the Caribbean to the South China Sea, incorporating materials from the National Archives, V&A and BFI, alongside the museum’s comprehensive collection of ‘A General History of the Pyrates’. The exhibition ‘Pirates’ runs from 29 March 2025 – 04 January 2026.
‘Injecting Hope: The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine’ has opened at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. It explores the global effort to develop COVID-19 vaccines through more than 80 objects, including the first administered vaccine vial, June Almeida’s notebooks, and artworks by Luke Jerram, Angela Palmer and Junko Mori. The exhibition examines the scientific principles, vaccine development, production and worldwide distribution efforts, with new content highlighting Scottish pandemic experiences. The exhibition runs from now until 27 April 2025.
Also open now is a new Brontë Parsonage Museum exhibition ‘From Haworth to Eternity: The Enduring Legacy of the Brontës’. It explores the family’s home at Haworth Parsonage and its influence on literary tourism, featuring letters, manuscripts, souvenir albums and material from the Museum’s drama archive. The exhibition examines how Haworth developed from a literary pilgrimage site to a mass tourism destination, tracing this evolution through various film and TV adaptations of the Brontës’ works. The exhibition runs from 1 February 2025 – 31 December 2025.
The Charles Dickens Museum in London presents an exhibition celebrating its centenary, showcasing highlights from their collection including Dickens’s original manuscripts, letters, rare first editions, and personal effects such as his only surviving suit, hairbrush, and walking stick. The exhibition features both early museum acquisitions and recent additions, bringing together items that illuminate Dickens’s life as both writer and private individual. The exhibition runs from 5 February 2025 – 29 June 2025.
‘Mid Century Modern: Putting Scotland on the Map’ is an exhibition exploring the international influence and context of Mid-Century Modern architecture in Scotland, featuring materials from Historic Environment Scotland’s archive and North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre’s collections. The exhibition examines iconic Scottish structures including Glasgow’s Luma Tower and the Forth Road Bridge, alongside the impact of post-war rebuilding and world expositions on architectural development. The exhibition runs at North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre from 6 February 2025 – 6 May 2025.
Manchester’s John Rylands Library launches ‘Rylands125’, featuring a new Collections Gallery displaying over 40 remarkable objects including an early New Testament fragment, a clay cylinder from King Nebuchadnezzar’s temple, and significant manuscripts such as a 14th-century trilingual Qur’an, Shakespeare’s first folio, and Alan Turing’s MARK I computer notes. The exhibition explores the library’s evolution from its founding by Enriqueta Rylands through to its present-day role as a cultural destination, with rotating displays to preserve the collections. The exhibition opens on 15 May 2025, with objects rotating after six months.
‘The Age of AI’ at Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, presents a comprehensive exploration of artificial intelligence, featuring interactive exhibits including AI voice recreation technology, hands-on demonstrations distinguishing AI-generated content, and case studies from Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on AI-assisted 3D printing. The exhibition showcases pioneering work from Bletchley Park codebreakers Alan Turing, Irving John ‘Jack’ Good, and Donald Michie, alongside contemporary AI developments in creative industries, including works by Sougwen Chung and AI artist Ai Da, and the AI-generated film ‘The Frost’. The exhibition opens on 4 February 2025.
Funding
A new heritage fund has been announced, which will award grants of up to £10,000 to local heritage projects. The ‘Surrey Heritage for All Fund’ has been created by Surrey Cultural Partnership (SCP) and the Community Foundation for Surrey (CFSurrey). It has received £250,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which it will allocate as grants to eligible not-for-profit community organisations.
New Surrey heritage fund to grant first-time and grassroots projects
