Features
Live and kicking
Maria Balshaw, the director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, is overseeing plans for a £12m extension and experimenting with daring ways of attracting more visitors with the use of performance art. She talks to Simon Stephens.
Rich seams
On the 25th anniversary of the miners' strike, Ceri Thompson, the curator of the Big Pit, has been looking back at an event that changed his life forever. By Simon Stephens
This is today
Iwona Blazwick tells Simon Stephens how the expanded Whitechapel Gallery is building on its illustrious past.
Identity crisis
Identity is central to the work of museums, but it's also a complex subject that is difficult to keep pace with. By Simon Stephens
Due south
As works starts on an extension to the South London Gallery, its director, Margot Heller, tells Simon Stephens why independence made it all possible
Nation building
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is about to undergo a major facelift led by its director, James Holloway. Simon Stephens hears about his plans.
Facing forwards
When the directorship of the Dulwich Picture Gallery came up, it took Ian Dejardin all of 20 minutes to make his choice. By Simon Stephens.
Family values
Simon Stephens hears why Rhian Harris wants to make the Museum of Childhood a place for adults as well as kids.
Evolutionary fervour
It will be difficult to escape Darwin this year as museums, galleries and others celebrate a double anniversary, says Simon Stephens
The Museum of…Our pick of the UK’s specialist collections: December 2008
Nene Valley Railway prides itself on a vast collection of engines as well as its very own Thomas, writes Louise Gray