Features

Best in show

Girls’ knee-high boots, 1960s, Museum of Edinburgh

Social capital

Rick Lowe’s socially engaged practice has a huge impact on the communities he works with. Geraldine Kendall Adams meets him

International opening | Gruuthusemuseum, Bruges

A five-year renovation has transformed a gothic palace into an involving experience with great interactives, says Eleanor Mills

Museum of… Firbeck House Infirmary, the Workhouse, Southwell

Louise Gray views this well-preserved workhouse and learns what it meant to be separated from loved ones

Trendswatch | Machine learning

Alex Stevens investigates the ethics, uses and benefits of artificial intelligence in museums and galleries

Climate control

Gareth Harris looks at how artists are working with environmentalists to respond to the human impact on our planet, and asks if this is leading to real change

New horizons

Ten years ago there was an explosion of new and refurbished regional galleries in England. A decade on, how have these institutions adapted to harsher economic realities and changing priorities?

One small step…

Half a century ago, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the lunar surface as part of Nasa’s Apollo 11 mission. John Holt talks to curators and scientists about how their institutions are marking the final lap of the space race

International opening | University of Michigan Museum of Natural History

This venue combines scientific research with hi-tech exhibits

The world’s a stage

John McGrath, the artistic director and chief executive of Manchester International Festival, talks to Eleanor Mills. Portrait by Phil Sayer

Museum of… The Devil’s Porridge Museum, Dumfries and Galloway

John Holt discovers the vital munitions role HM Factory Gretna and its female workers played during the first world war

Trendswatch | Take your partners

Museums are making all the right moves to appeal to visitors