Museums Journal - Museums Association

News Covid-19

Closure of museums and galleries in England’s Tier 3 areas ‘defies logic’

Museum and culture professionals question latest Covid restrictions

News biodiversity

Bristol Museum joins biodiversity coalition

Global group aiming to raise awareness of the issue

News Covid-19

Stonehenge illuminated with ‘unsung champions of heritage’

Dedication comes as research reveals heritage sites have positive impact on mental health during difficult times

Features Openings

Switzerland | Kulturstiftung Basel H Geiger, Basel

This new venue not only offers free admission – visitors get a complimentary catalogue as well

News Decolonising Museums

Charity Commission chair intervenes in ‘culture war’ debate

Concern in sector after head warns charities to 'be careful' about straying into divisive political issues

News Workforce

Iain Watson to retire from Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

Director to step down in March next year after two decades at the service

News

view all news

News Covid-19

Museums in Wales to close again just weeks after reopening

Indoor cultural attractions must to shut from Friday after Covid spike

News Collecting

Museums to collect Covid dreams from Londoners

Oral history project gathering dreams as personal testimonies is a first for museums

News Disposal

Society of Antiquaries fights to remain at London home after huge rent increase

Charity warns it may need to sell items from its collection to fund move to new premises

News Brexit

Government funding for ‘Festival of Brexit’

Chancellor Rishi Sunak makes announcement in spending review

News Covid-19

Tier system announced for local restrictions in England

Museums in Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle among those that will have to remain closed

News Edinburgh

Scottish National Gallery project delayed further

New galleries will now open to public at end of 2022

News Sport

Game on for Wrexham’s national football museum

Hollywood takeover puts North Wales town’s sporting heritage on the map

News Covid-19

Concern as government confirms English museums in Tier 3 must remain closed

Lockdown restrictions to ease on 2 December but some institutions will not be able to reopen

News Digital

Online game enables users to curate Birmingham Museums collections

Trust works with AI-driven art platform in first partnership of its kind

view all news

Analysis

view all analysis

Analysis Decolonising Museums

National Trust gets caught in culture war crossfire

Trust accused of being ‘at odds’ with membership after report on slavery and colonialism

Analysis Climate Crisis

Climate emergency: catalyst for change

While museums facing up to Covid may be tempted to sideline environmental concerns, the current crisis is an opportunity to implement change

Analysis Reopening

So far, so good: reflections on reopening

Despite the practical challenges and far lower visitor numbers, museums have had a largely positive experience of reopening

Analysis Professional Development

How Museum Studies courses are adapting to the pandemic

A lot of teaching has moved online for now, but this has not stopped student numbers growing at some universities

view all analysis

Opinion

view all opinion

Opinion Cultural Democracy

How museums can stay relevant and drive transformation

Creating better connected institutions

Opinion Disability

‘There is a strong feeling among disabled people that we have been losing ground’

Reflecting on the 25th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act

Opinion Freelance

The pandemic has compounded the challenges facing museum freelancers

We’re asking sector organisations to play a meaningful role in driving change

Opinion

How have you been engaging with schools during Covid?

Read the latest Museums Journal voxpop

Opinion Feminism

Regional collections can help redress the marginalisation of women artists

Sexism, classism and ableism feed exclusion, says Haley Moyse Fenning

Opinion Ma Conference

Conference will be a great opportunity to re-engage

The theme of World Turned Upside Down really captures the position that the sector is in

Opinion Ma Conference

I can’t wait to share conference with many more colleagues than usual

The event may look a little different this year but it's just what we need right now

Opinion Covid-19

Policy | The MA is fighting for you across the UK

With museums facing an uncertain future, having a UK-wide association is more important than ever

Opinion Covid-19

Is it time for national museums to take a hyper-local approach?

As new lockdown restrictions loom, we need to shift our focus to the visitors on our doorstep

view all opinion

Covid-19 impact tracker

News Workforce

Fears that new government scheme will not save jobs

DCMS culture committee says the replacement for the furlough scheme ‘may not be able to stop unprecedented redundancies’

News redundancy

Tate denies using ‘strike-breaking’ tactics against workers

Tensions rise between management and staff as industrial action continues

News Cuts

York Museums Trust enters redundancy consultations

'Survival depends on reduction in costs,' trust warns

News Covid-19

Two thirds of Scotland’s independent museums say they cannot survive for a year

Museums Galleries Scotland says there is a ‘real and urgent need’ for further financial support to avoid closures

Analysis Covid-19

Tensions rise over mass redundancies

The scale of job losses raises questions about what the cultural sector will look like in future

News Covid-19

Extend furlough scheme to save museums, says Senedd report

Committee warns ‘financial timebomb’ will hit organisations in October

People

view all people

People Obituary

Obituary | Susan Bourne, 1950-2020

Sue Bourne was known for her energy, infectious enthusiasm and sense of fun

People

Obituary | John Millard, 1950-2020

One of the profession's genuine superheroes, John was devoted to making people from all walks of life feel welcome in museums

People Digital

Working life | Mohammed Miah, Museum Futures trainee

'I now see digital tools like video conferencing as the way forward'

People Covid-19

Welcome shift

Melanie Keen, the director of the Wellcome Collection in London, on responding to Covid, Black Lives Matter and ushering in much-needed cultural change

view all people

Features

view all features

Features Making

Making space

How museums are turning to makerspaces to encourage informal connections with diverse local communities

Features Repatriation

A new approach to repatriation

The two museums that are nurturing relationships with communities of origin

Features Collections

Best in show | Fishermen and Visitors, 1931, by Joseph Edward Southall

Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle

Features Museum Of

The Museum of… | The Museum of Comedy, London

How an empty crypt was transformed into a shrine to comedy

Features Covid-19

Crisis management

Javier Pes investigates the challenges facing medical museums during the Covid-19 pandemic

Features

Best in show

Lights at Sunset in Ostia by Tullio Crali, 1930, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, London

view all features

Reviews

view all reviews

Reviews

Sea change | Brightlingsea Museum, Essex

A reimagined venue that has overcome major challenges to tell the story of a maritime community

Reviews Temporary Exhibition

Reel-life pioneer | Robert Paul: The Forgotten Showman

This exuberant show at the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, puts the camera lights on a forgotten inventor

Reviews Temporary Exhibition

Among the Trees, Hayward Gallery, London

Caroline Ikin gets immersed in this forest of art, which coaxes visitors to examine their complex relationship with nature

Reviews Temporary Exhibition

William and Evelyn De Morgan: ‘Two of the Rarest Spirits of the Age’, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle

The gallery's first post-Covid show is a riveting exploration of one of art's great power couples, says Jamie Taylor

Reviews

Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, Barnstaple

Even a modest extension can help modernise a 19th-century museum, says Peter Mason

Reviews

On my bookshelf

The New Museology, by Peter Vergo, demonstrates how far museums have come

view all reviews

In practice

view all in practice

In practice Retail

Creating a low-cost online museum shop

A case study from Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre

In practice Digital

Creating an interactive learning resource exploring African and Caribbean history

A case study from Hackney Museum

In practice Retail

How to grow online sales

A case study from Art UK's e-commerce platform

In practice Older People

Creating resources for dementia patients

A case study from Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums

In practice Digital

Exploring some of the benefits of digital exhibitions

A case study from the Mixed Museum

In practice Signage

Captain’s Rules: creative and Covid-safe wayfinding solutions

A case study from Whitby’s Captain Cook Memorial Museum

view all in practice

We are committed to giving readers high-quality, original, factual and challenging content...

Our editorial values Submissions and Code of Practice