The Imperial War Museum (IWM) has set up a charitable foundation to raise money for a refurbishment of the permanent galleries at its London branch.
The IWM Foundation has been created to raise funds and make decisions on where money should be invested. IWM director Diane Lees said the foundation would be free from the constraints of the IWM's status as a non-departmental body but that the museum would be represented on the new board. Initially, she said, the foundation's focus will be on IWM London, but it could eventually include the museum's other branches around the UK.
Last month the museum appointed Jonathan Harmsworth (Viscount Rothermere) as the chairman of the foundation. His priority will be to select up to 15 members to join him on the foundation's board. There is no fixed time frame for these appointments.
Masterplanning has begun for the refurbishment of the World War I gallery, which the museum hopes will be finished in time for the centenary of the war in 2014. It is hoped that the World War II and post-1945 galleries will be refurbished for the museum's centenary in 2020.
Explaining the idea behind the proposals, Lees said: "The World War I and World War II galleries are over 20 years old, and audiences have less and less experience of those wars, so we have to change the context."
The IWM Foundation has been created to raise funds and make decisions on where money should be invested. IWM director Diane Lees said the foundation would be free from the constraints of the IWM's status as a non-departmental body but that the museum would be represented on the new board. Initially, she said, the foundation's focus will be on IWM London, but it could eventually include the museum's other branches around the UK.
Last month the museum appointed Jonathan Harmsworth (Viscount Rothermere) as the chairman of the foundation. His priority will be to select up to 15 members to join him on the foundation's board. There is no fixed time frame for these appointments.
Masterplanning has begun for the refurbishment of the World War I gallery, which the museum hopes will be finished in time for the centenary of the war in 2014. It is hoped that the World War II and post-1945 galleries will be refurbished for the museum's centenary in 2020.
Explaining the idea behind the proposals, Lees said: "The World War I and World War II galleries are over 20 years old, and audiences have less and less experience of those wars, so we have to change the context."
