Museums Journal - Museums Association

News Climate Crisis

Galleries on high alert as climate protesters target famous paintings

Activists have glued themselves to works at four institutions, including Royal Academy and National Gallery

News Restitution

Give nationals more freedom to deaccession objects, says Hunt

V&A chief says National Heritage Act should be overhauled to hand power back to trustees

News Crime

Museums warned of metal theft threat

Rise in criminal activity expected as metal prices rise

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

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

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

News

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News Awards

Shortlist for Family Friendly Museum Award revealed

Sixteen venues in the running for awards

News Leadership

Diane Lees to step down as director-general of IWM

Institution’s first female head will leave in 2023 after 15 years

News Repatriation

Nigerian delegation visits Glasgow for repatriation talks

Meeting is latest step in plans for largest ever repatriation from a Scottish collection

News Health And Wellbeing

Science Museum pays tribute to cancer activist Deborah James

James, who died this week, was a key adviser on the Cancer Revolution exhibition

News Exhibitions

Hayward Gallery show addresses racial injustice

In the Black Fantastic features the work of 11 artists

News Redevelopment

National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool spearheads town’s regeneration

Museum’s three-acre expansion plans welcomed by council

News Governance

Museum governance ‘synonymous with privileges for politicians’

Report finds alarming levels of political interference in many European museums

News Black history

Call to make 75th Windrush anniversary a ‘major national moment’

Letter urges government to raise profile of Windrush Day 2023 as new monuments are unveiled

News Disposal

National Museums Liverpool consults on ship disposal

De Wadden is a 1917 three-masted schooner built in the Netherlands

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Analysis

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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

Analysis Climate Crisis

Climate: There’s no time to waste

With the sector still getting to grips with the ecological emergency, the MA is launching a campaign to spur museums into taking action. By Simon Stephens

Analysis Education And Learning

Could museums play a more ambitious and creative role in education?

A study that concluded museum visits do not improve GCSE results has put the focus on the evolving relationship between education and museums

Analysis National strategy

The big picture

Scotland's first national museum strategy launched 10 years ago - but how have events from the past decade shifted priorities?

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Opinion

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Opinion Religion

Museums must be a home for all faiths

The importance of Glasgow's St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art

Opinion Arts Council England

Inclusive, open and connected museums

Arts Council England support for the sector, including a shake-up of the Museums Development programme

Opinion Ukraine

Editorial | All victims of war need our support

Plight of museum workers across the world needs to be considered

Opinion Climate Crisis

Policy | Taking action on climate issues

Museums Association to launch campaign

Opinion National museums

Vox pop | Do we need a national museum of England?

Three museum professionals respond to our question

Opinion Disaster Planning

‘The incredible and humbling support of the community bolstered us’

How Pontypridd Museum reopened to the public two years after severe flooding

Opinion

Museums have a responsibility to help visitors understand religion

Network will help tackle ‘difficult’ subject

Opinion Digital

Digital | Increasing audience engagement

Joint research initiative into funded digital projects

Opinion Hybrid working

Is hybrid working here to stay?

Many value the flexibility it provides but the sector is grappling with how it is changing working practice

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In practice

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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

The 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?

In practice Conservation

Focus | The climate crisis and conservation

The climate crisis is making it difficult to keep collections safe, given the costs of cooling and dehumidifying, says Jonathan Knott

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People

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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

People Art

Profile | ‘This is what ambition looks like’

Geraldine Kendall Adams talks to Artangel director Mariam Zulfiqar about building on the organisation’s mission to bring art to the people

People Working life

Working life | ‘I often start my artistic process with a poem’

Lynsey Ford talks to the artist Shahrzad Ghaffari about her work at London’s Leighton House Museum

People Moves

Moves

The latest appointments in museums, galleries and heritage

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Features

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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

Features Religion

Let there be light

As the Lindisfarne Gospels return to north east England, John Holt talks to the organisers of a host of events that celebrate the region’s history and shine a modern light on an ancient treasure

Features Medicine

Healing power

Medical museums are putting patient experiences at the heart of collections as they develop new ways to treat emotive subjects, writes Juliana Gilling

Features Health And Wellbeing

Standing up to cancer

How the Francis Crick Institute gave its Outwitting Cancer exhibition the personal treatment

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Reviews

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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

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

Reviews Research

Books | Rethinking Research in the Art Museum, by Emily Pringle

Changing the way museums carry out research could make them more inclusive organisations

Reviews Digital

Digital reviews | Archive stories, youthful memories and an engaging podcast

A scroll through the latest digital content from museums and galleries

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