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 Museum of Cambridge has appointed Alexandra Smaridge, AMA, as its new Director, promoting the staff member who has worked in community engagement and collections management since 2021 to lead the museum’s strategy and planned major redevelopment.
Exhibitions
Museum of Brands in London presents ‘Thunderbirds and Space: 1999 – A Celebration of Sci-fi Toys and Collectables’ in partnership with Anderson Entertainment, marking the anniversaries of Gerry Anderson’s Thunderbirds (1965) and Space: 1999 (1975). The exhibition features over 300 objects from the Robert Opie collection and private collectors, including toys, games, and memorabilia from Anderson’s iconic shows such as Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet, Supercar, Fireball XL5, UFO, and Space: 1999, co-curated by graphic designer Malcolm Garrett, MBE. The exhibition opens 13 September 2025.
Tate St Ives in St Ives will present a major exhibition of work by Lithuanian-born artist Emilija Škarnulytė, featuring films and immersive installations including ‘Æqualia’ (2023), ‘Aldona’ (2013), and new 16mm film ‘Telstar’ (2025) created during the artist’s residency at Porthmeor Studios in June 2025. The exhibition will present Škarnulytė’s work in large-scale immersive environments alongside glass sculptures and lightboxes, with architectural structures designed to offer multiple viewing perspectives. The exhibition runs 6 December 2025 – 12 April 2026.
Caravaggio’s ‘Victorious Cupid’ (1601-02), on loan from the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, will be displayed alongside two ancient Roman sculptures at The Wallace Collection in London. The painting and sculptures once belonged to Marchese Vincenzo Giustiniani and will be presented as part of a focused exhibition recreating elements of his 17th-century Roman palazzo. The exhibition runs 26 November 2025 – 12 April 2026.
‘Some Kind of Love: Actions and Reactions to Living on a Damaged Planet’ presents works by Uta Kögelsberger spanning video installation, photography, and sound at the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne. The exhibition includes Fire Complex (2020–22) documenting California’s 2020 Castle Fire aftermath, Forest Complex (2023–24) examining Alpine forest pressures, the video installation Off Road (2008–14) investigating American West landscapes, and Forest Choir (2025), a new video installation created with the Brussels Opera Youth Choir. The exhibition runs 20 September 2025 – 24 January 2026.
The National Portrait Gallery presents 54 works by 51 photographers in the ‘Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2025’ exhibition, featuring shortlisted portraits including ‘Boss Morris’ by Hollie Fernando, ‘We Dare to Hug’ by Luan Davide Gray, ‘Jaidi Playing’ by Byron Mohammad Hamzah, and ‘Mel’ by Martina Holmberg. The four shortlisted photographers were selected from 5,910 submissions from 2,054 photographers across 51 countries, with the winner to be announced on 11 November 2025. The exhibition runs from 13 November 2025 – 8 February 2026.
The Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool presents the John Moores Painting Prize 2025, featuring 71 contemporary painters with five shortlisted for the £25,000 first prize: Ally Fallon for ‘If You Were Certain, What Would You Do Then?’ (2025), Davina Jackson for ‘Just Like It Was’ (2025), Katy Shepherd for ‘Bedscape 2’ (2025), Miranda Webster for ‘laid out’ (2024), and Joanna Whittle for ‘Darkened Heart (a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth)’ (2025). The exhibition also displays prize-winning paintings from the John Moores Painting Prize China 2024, with additional awards including the £5,000 Lady Grantchester Prize for recent graduates and the £2,025 Visitors’ Choice Award. 6 September 2025 – 1 March 2026.
Funding
The Museum Data Service has received three years of funding worth £800,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to continue developing digital infrastructure that connects object records across UK museums.
Museum Data Service secures new funding to expand collections database
Thirty-seven heritage sites across England will receive funding through the government’s Heritage at Risk Fund to support essential repair works and conservation projects.
