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 Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has announced the appointment of Rachael North as its CEO. For the last six months North has served as Interim CEO, having previously been the director of museum and public programmes.
Interim CEO made permanent at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
Sara Wajid MBE, co-chief executive of Birmingham Museums Trust and Museums + Heritage Awards judge, has been appointed to the National Museum Directors’ Council’s executive committee. On the appointment, Wajid said: “Museums are a core part of our national infrastructure and, despite crisis induced by decades of austerity cuts, have huge potential to contribute to the cultural, social, economic and democratic renewal of our society.”
Openings & closures
Hackney Museum is to close for around a year from late 2025, reopening by early 2027 as it carries out a £2.2m restoration. The museum will continue its work through community projects across the borough until its reopening.
Exhibitions
A new exhibition explores art from Europe’s last Ice Age alongside works by celebrated artists including Rembrandt, Matisse and Maggi Hambling, presenting over 75 objects from the British Museum collection including a 24,000-year-old flint point from France and England’s oldest known work of figurative art found at Creswell Crags. ‘Ice Age Art Now’, a partnership project with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and Bradford District Museums & Galleries, will feature an immersive cave installation and family-friendly trail at Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley. The exhibition runs from 21 June 2025 – 14 September 2025.
The exhibition ‘Dawn to Dusk: Birds by Jim Moir’ at Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool will display around 45 paintings of British birds, with some created exclusively for the exhibition by the comedian also known as Vic Reeves. The collection includes garden birds and seabirds, with most works available for purchase. The exhibition runs from 14 June 2025 – 2 November 2025.
A new exhibition explores the history of Scottish gardens from 1600 to the present day, featuring materials from the archives that reveal stories about the people who created and used these green spaces. Stanley Mills in Perthshire will host ‘Seeds of Time: Scottish Gardens 1600 to present day’, showcasing how gardens serve as living time capsules of Scotland’s heritage. The exhibition runs from 5 April 2025 – 29 June 2025.
The UK’s first major Cartier exhibition in nearly 30 years will open at the V&A South Kensington, featuring over 350 objects including precious jewels, timepieces and historic gemstones from the V&A and Cartier collections. Highlights include the Williamson Diamond brooch commissioned by Queen Elizabeth II, Grace Kelly’s engagement ring, and a collection of the House’s iconic panther jewels. The exhibition runs from 12 April 2025 – 16 November 2025.
An extraordinary exhibition of nightscape, planetary, and deep sky photography by Bath’s amateur astronomy community is now on display at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy in Bath. ‘Capturing the Cosmos: Astrophotography by the Bath Astronomers’ features stunning astronomical images captured using smartphones and various cameras, alongside historical drawings from William and John Herschel provided by the Royal Astronomical Society and Royal Society. The exhibition is open now and runs until 4 January 2026.
Gainsborough’s House will showcase nearly 30 masterpieces by British and French artists including Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, George Romney, and François Boucher in its exhibition ‘Masterpieces from Kenwood: The Splendour of British and French Painting’. This exceptional collaboration with English Heritage displays selected works on loan from the world-class Iveagh Bequest at Kenwood, London, aiming to contextualise Gainsborough alongside his contemporaries. The exhibition will run from 3 May 2025 – 19 October 2025.
An exhibition celebrating female artists inspired by mining culture opens at National Coal Mining Museum for England in Wakefield. ‘From the Earth Comes Light: Women, Creativity & Mining in 20th Centenary Britain’ challenges conventional male-dominated narratives through paintings, drawings, films, sculptures and photography from the museum’s collection and loans from the Amber Film & Photography Collective. The free exhibition is open now and runs until 28 September 2025.
A selection of 18 masterpieces from the Renaissance to the 20th century will go on display at The Courtauld Gallery whilst the Barber Institute of Fine Arts undergoes major building improvements. Paintings by Bellini, Rubens, Gainsborough, Turner, Rossetti, Degas, and Monet are among the works featured in ‘The Barber in London: Highlights from a Remarkable Collection’. The exhibition runs from 23 May 2025 – 22 February 2026.
A new permanent exhibition ‘Anindilyakwa Arts: Stories from our Country’ brings the voices of Warnindilyakwa to Manchester Museum, featuring traditional artistry and cultural objects from the Groote Archipelago, Australia. Visitors can also experience ‘Dadikwakwa-kwa Come Out to Play’, offering hands-on interaction with shell dolls that must be played with annually as part of their care. The exhibition opens on 8 April 2025.
Perth Art Gallery presents ‘GLASS’, bringing together unique treasures including contemporary glass art, Monart pieces, Perthshire Paperweights, 19th-century Blaschka sea creature models, Venetian Crystal and 2,000-year-old Syrian glass. The exhibition showcases the international influence of Perthshire glassmaking, linking local traditions to those in Spain, Germany, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and beyond. ‘GLASS’ is open now and runs until 2 February 2026.
More than 140 rare objects including ornate paintings, dazzling jewels, lavish textiles, and rare books and manuscripts are to go on display at the National Galleries Scotland: Portrait in Edinburgh. An exhibition features important loans from galleries and private collections across the UK, including the Royal Collection Trust, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Fashion Museum Bath. Visitors can explore this special one-off exhibition marking the 400-year anniversary of James’s death from 26 April 2025 – 14 September 2025.
A new exhibition showcasing over 300 works from the Royal Collection explores the lavish Edwardian era through the lives of King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, King George V, and Queen Mary. Objects on display at The King’s Gallery in London include Queen Alexandra’s gold coronation dress, Edward’s cloth-of-gold coronation mantle, thrones, portraits, and pieces from the royal Fabergé collection. ‘The Edwardians: Age of Elegance’ runs from 11 April 2025 – 23 November 2025.
Funding
England’s civic museum can now apply for support from a new tranche of government grants. The £20m Museum Renewal Fund is now open for applications, and is designed to support regional museums with a local authority link. The funding programme is being delivered by Arts Council England and will run from now until March 2026.
