Museums Journal - Museums Association

News Treasure

Herefordshire Council buys medieval treasures

Herefordshire Hoard will be housed in redeveloped museum

News Business Rates

Twam becomes latest institution to secure business rates victory

MA calls on Valuation Office Agency to reflect tribunal’s decision in its methodology

News Benin Bronzes

Horniman to hand 72 Benin bronzes back to Nigeria

Museum’s chair says decision to return ownership is ‘both moral and appropriate’

Features

Show time | The evolution of exhibition design

A new archive is being set up that will chart the transformation in exhibition design over the last 40 years. Stephen Greenberg, one of the pioneers in the field, looks back at this ever-changing discipline

Reviews Heritage

The only way is up | Clifford’s Tower, York

There are modern touches to this restored ancient site, but opportunities have definitely been missed

Reviews Prehistory

Ancient wonders | The World of Stonehenge, British Museum, London

On a quest to learn the secrets of this iconic prehistoric landmark

News

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News Arts Council England

Arts council publishes long-awaited restitution guidelines

Practical advice aims to clarify process around return of objects

News Heritage Fund

Heritage Fund consults on new strategic funding framework

Museums encouraged to send their feedback by 5 September

News Food

Chocolate Museum seeks new home as London rents bite

Brixton organisation is looking to find a space in an existing museum or gallery

News Decolonising Museums

Picton reinterpretation aims to create ‘healthy ways of addressing trauma’

New artworks go on display in Cardiff alongside portrait of 18th-century general

News Restructure

Stoke-on-Trent City Archives to relocate to Potteries Museum

Council approves move following recent museum restructure

News Parthenon Marbles

British Museum opens door to Parthenon deal with Greece

Deputy director calls for ‘active partnership’ after decades-long stalemate

News design

Amgueddfa Cymru unveils rebranding

Organisation's new look reflects its role as an activist museum

News Capital projects

Museum of London secures three major donations

Money will support creation of the museum's new home at West Smithfield

News Fundraising

Natural History Museum launches public appeal for £19.6m urban garden

Public asked to support new biodiverse green space

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Analysis

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Analysis Covid-19

A new museum policy for Northern Ireland is sorely overdue

The sector has faced numerous challenges but strategic thinking could bring a renewed sense of purpose

Analysis Pay

Are workers being priced out of heritage?

In a sector where low wages are already endemic, the cost of living crisis is having a stark impact

Analysis Cost of living crisis

Museums feel the pinch of the cost of living crisis

What steps is the sector taking to cope with soaring prices? Geraldine Kendall Adams reports

Analysis Visitors

When will museums’ missing visitors return?

Footfall levels are taking time to recover but museums are finding new ways to lure the public back in through the doors

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Opinion

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Opinion Curatorial

The rise of the skills-based curator

Is there a future for subject-specialist curator posts?

Opinion Digital

Digital | We must tackle hybrid working

Is the sector capable of permanently changing its practice?

Opinion Disposal

It’s time for the sector to embrace disposals

MA has convened a new working group on the issue

Opinion Inclusion

Policy and practice must be based on responses to poverty that empower

What can museums do differently?

Opinion Icom

Vox pop | How would you define a museum?

Three museum professionals respond to our question

Opinion Campaigning

Making an impact in hard times

Museums all over the UK are doing great work

Opinion

Museums are failing to address working class experiences

Pandemic has exposed issues of social inequality and class divisions

Opinion Homelessness

How museums can help people who are homeless during the heatwave

As the country experiences its highest-ever temperatures, we need to do everything we can to provide sanctuary for those at risk

Opinion Pay

How Birmingham Museums is improving working conditions for staff

Staff survey found only a third feel fairly compensated, says Zak Mensah

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In practice

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In practice Young people

Share how your museum is working with youth panels

We're looking for case studies on developing and sustaining meaningful engagement with young people

In practice Exhibitions

Trendswatch | Content warnings

Museums must tread a fine line between being effective and inclusive, and heavy-handed and didactic

In practice Interpretation

Guide | Using play in interpretation

Play is often overlooked when planning interpretation, but it makes exhibitions more appealing

In practice Sustainability

Focus | Designing exhibitions for longevity not posterity

A lot can be done to reduce the impact of exhibitions on the environment

In practice Volunteers

Case study | The value of volunteers

Creating engaging projects that support mental health and add value to communities

In practice Conservation

Trendswatch | Photogrammetry and conservation

What role do 3D digital models play when it comes to conservation and preservation?

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People

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People Black history

Working life | ‘We must get comfortable with the uncomfortable’

Carolyn Baguma talks about her role leading The World Reimagined – a national arts education project that aims to transform how people understand the transatlantic slave trade

People Exhibitions

Q&A | ‘Computing and communication technologies have shaped our world’

The Science Museum Group is marking the 100th anniversary of the BBC with a series of exhibitions and events

People Redevelopment

Q&A | ‘We’ve been the first to do this – I don’t think we’ll be the last’

Tunbridge Wells’ reimagined museum – now the Amelia Scott Centre – is a new way of blending council services, says director Jeremy Kimmel

People Art

Q&A | ‘An exciting new chapter in the history of drawing’

Isabel Seligman talks to us about curating a show on some of the youngest artists ever collected by the British Museum

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Features

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Features Folklore

Cultural heritage: making the intangible tangible

A new strategy around intangible cultural heritage will shine a brighter light on the rituals, festivals and traditions of communities across the country

Features Folklore

Why folk art is no longer the endangered species of the art world

How Compton Verney is engaging with contemporary communities to build on its extensive collection of folk art

Features Folklore

Capturing the magic of folklore collections

Audiences are enchanted by the romance of folkloric objects, so why are they still the poor cousin in museum collections?

Features Best In Show

Best in show | Wow Bush/Turmoil in Full Bloom, 1977, by Sheila Hicks

How the artist embraced a delay caused by the pandemic to evolve her show at the Hepworth Wakefield

Features Museum Of

Museum of… British Red Cross Museum, London

Pippa Kelly is treated to a tour of this extensive archive that celebrates 150 years of helping people in crisis across the globe

Features Openings

Tales of the unexpected | Hans Christian Andersen’s House, Denmark

This interactive museum dedicated to the fairy-tale author is full of surprising twists, writes Pippa Kelly

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Reviews

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Reviews Restoration

Coming up roses | Kelmscott Manor, Oxfordshire

The textile genius William Morris’s beloved family home, newly restored to its heavenly status through sympathetic restoration

Reviews Bookshelf

On my bookshelf | The Participatory Museum, by Nina Simon

A book that changes the way you look at museums

Reviews Books

Home truths | Transforming Author Museums: From Sites of Pilgrimage to Cultural Hubs

This book tells the story of the world’s author museums and cements their place in literary heritage

Reviews Redevelopment

On active service | The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum, Stirling Castle, Scotland

This museum showcases personal stories of soldiers to shine new light on life on the front line

Reviews Redevelopment

University challenge | Wardlaw Museum, University of St Andrews

This study of innovation and research down the ages deserves applause

Reviews Local Authority

Power to the people | Museum of Oxford

A major revamp presents a fresh perspective on the story of life in the city of dreaming spires

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Opinion Museum X

We are committed to publishing accurate, engaging, challenging and constructive content on the issues, ideas, debates and practices that help museums serve the public better.