'I refuse to be exhibited like a prize bull whose chief attraction is his past prowess,' said Winston Churchill. So we can assume from this utterance that he wanted ultimately to be judged on his full and rounded life rather than on his war record alone.
The new Churchill Museum, which opened earlier this year at the Imperial War Museum's Cabinet War Rooms, should be applauded for largely honouring its subject's wishes.
The exhibition presents Churchill as the single-minded, multi-talented, charismatic leader that earned him the accolade of 'Greatest Briton' in a 2002 BBC poll. But it also throws light on his flaws and foibles and places his passions and prejudices in a historical perspective.
Above all, it encourages visitors to view the available evidence and draw their own conclusions and it does so in a visually stimulating and entertaining way.
Even before a recent survey revealed that an astonishing 15 per cent of British people thought Churchill was an insurance salesman - a revelation matched only by the lamentable public ignorance of Auschwitz - it was clear that a proper museum devoted to Churchill's life was long overdue.
Forty years after his death, interest in the great man is growing, according to Churchill scholars. 'People turn to Churchill as the outstanding example of leadership in modern times,' says Robert Crawford, the director general of the Imperial War Museum.
Phil Reed, the director of the Churchill Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms, believes the 40th anniversary of Churchill's death is an appropriate moment to reassess his career. 'A number of good books have appeared about him recently,' says Reed, 'and this has helped generate a greater swell of interest.'
Built for £6m and financed entirely through fundraising and donations, the project is at the forefront of museum innovation and is expected to make the Cabinet War Rooms an even more attractive tourist destination. 'We researched other biographical museums here and elsewhere in the world, but we learned lessons from them rather than found things to imitate,' says Reed.
About 325,000 people visited the Cabinet War Rooms site last year, a figure that is expected to rise to 364,000 between April 2005 and March 2006.
A museum devoted to Churchill could easily have resulted in the worst
kind of museological hagiography - a V-sign, greatcoat and cigar-fest peppered with the celebrated wit and wisdom. But this project manages to be so much more and for that we have first-rate design and technology to thank.
Roger Mann, the director of Casson Mann, the project's designer, says: 'From the outset, the brief was to be the best that a 21st-century museum could be; not a theme park or a Madame Tussauds, but a magical experience with the technology hidden.
Some museums are overt about the technology, but we aimed to make a connection with Churchill and the Churchill archive.'
The result is an atmospheric interior space painted predominantly in an appropriate battleship grey. It is divided into separate zones covering major themes in Churchill's life - the Gathering Storm; Churchill and the Allies; Earning a Living, and so on.
Each zone is illuminated with different coloured low-lighting, helping to create a non-linear, intuitive viewing experience. Throughout the exhibition there are exciting educational tools, interactive presentations and touchscreen displays to engage with.
The centrepiece of the 929sq metre space is a 15-metre long interactive timeline table, an illuminated 'virtual filing cabinet' containing scanned material from the Churchill archive. Using a touch-pad navigation system, similar to that used on a laptop computer, the visitor can trace Churchill's life and career through chronologically arranged 'virtual' folders.
Clicking on a folder opens it to reveal electronic facsimiles of letters, enlargeable photographs, audio snippets and other historical documents.
Embedded in the timeline are some 200 interactive 'rewards', each associated with a momentous event in Churchill's long life. A reward is encountered unexpectedly by opening the dated folder in which it is contained.
For example, clicking on the folder for 30 November 1964 - Churchill's 90th birthday - triggers the sound of champagne corks popping, while the entire length of the table is suddenly illuminated by the flickering flames of 90 animated red birthday candles.
Open the folder for 15 April 1912 and the surface of the table becomes convincingly submerged in water in commemoration of the Titanic disaster. These audiovisual events have a dynamic effect on the surrounding spaces, animating the atmosphere and enlivening the visitor experience.
Up to 26 workstations can be used on the timeline table at any one time, making it the largest user-interactive system of its kind. 'The term "state of the art" gets bandied about,' says Colin Payne, the audiovisual manager, 'but the hardware itself is not particularly new.
The real achievement is the intuitive interface between the visitor and the technology and the ease with which you can engage with the material. We wanted it to be a fun, content-driven experience, a balance between technology and education.'
Throughout the exhibition there are touchscreen terminals prompting a critical assessment of Churchill's character and personality. 'Churchill's views on India were based on race,' states one proposition.
The viewer is invited to agree or disagree before being presented with an account of Churchill's attitude towards Gandhi and the Indian independence movement. After viewing the unadulterated evidence, visitors may change their vote before viewing the results of the running poll.
Such blending of interactive technology and educational content contrasts with traditional modes of display that present seemingly authoritative, normative accounts of historical events.
If there is any aspect of the exhibition that might invite criticism it is the constant, albeit low-level, background noise. After an hour or so this can be quite distracting. Roger Mann defends it as a conscious part of the overall design. 'The exhibition has a soundscape, a collage of mid-century noises from an analogue, paper-heavy world of filing cabinets and other sound sources.
It absorbs noise; it's a hubbub we are in control of.' Churchill, who according to one of the museum's information boards 'hated any noisy distraction', like me, might have disagreed.
There will be an in-depth review of the
Churchill Museum in Museum Practice issue 30.
To subscribe visit www.museumsassociation.org
The new Churchill Museum, which opened earlier this year at the Imperial War Museum's Cabinet War Rooms, should be applauded for largely honouring its subject's wishes.
The exhibition presents Churchill as the single-minded, multi-talented, charismatic leader that earned him the accolade of 'Greatest Briton' in a 2002 BBC poll. But it also throws light on his flaws and foibles and places his passions and prejudices in a historical perspective.
Above all, it encourages visitors to view the available evidence and draw their own conclusions and it does so in a visually stimulating and entertaining way.
Even before a recent survey revealed that an astonishing 15 per cent of British people thought Churchill was an insurance salesman - a revelation matched only by the lamentable public ignorance of Auschwitz - it was clear that a proper museum devoted to Churchill's life was long overdue.
Forty years after his death, interest in the great man is growing, according to Churchill scholars. 'People turn to Churchill as the outstanding example of leadership in modern times,' says Robert Crawford, the director general of the Imperial War Museum.
Phil Reed, the director of the Churchill Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms, believes the 40th anniversary of Churchill's death is an appropriate moment to reassess his career. 'A number of good books have appeared about him recently,' says Reed, 'and this has helped generate a greater swell of interest.'
Built for £6m and financed entirely through fundraising and donations, the project is at the forefront of museum innovation and is expected to make the Cabinet War Rooms an even more attractive tourist destination. 'We researched other biographical museums here and elsewhere in the world, but we learned lessons from them rather than found things to imitate,' says Reed.
About 325,000 people visited the Cabinet War Rooms site last year, a figure that is expected to rise to 364,000 between April 2005 and March 2006.
A museum devoted to Churchill could easily have resulted in the worst
kind of museological hagiography - a V-sign, greatcoat and cigar-fest peppered with the celebrated wit and wisdom. But this project manages to be so much more and for that we have first-rate design and technology to thank.
Roger Mann, the director of Casson Mann, the project's designer, says: 'From the outset, the brief was to be the best that a 21st-century museum could be; not a theme park or a Madame Tussauds, but a magical experience with the technology hidden.
Some museums are overt about the technology, but we aimed to make a connection with Churchill and the Churchill archive.'
The result is an atmospheric interior space painted predominantly in an appropriate battleship grey. It is divided into separate zones covering major themes in Churchill's life - the Gathering Storm; Churchill and the Allies; Earning a Living, and so on.
Each zone is illuminated with different coloured low-lighting, helping to create a non-linear, intuitive viewing experience. Throughout the exhibition there are exciting educational tools, interactive presentations and touchscreen displays to engage with.
The centrepiece of the 929sq metre space is a 15-metre long interactive timeline table, an illuminated 'virtual filing cabinet' containing scanned material from the Churchill archive. Using a touch-pad navigation system, similar to that used on a laptop computer, the visitor can trace Churchill's life and career through chronologically arranged 'virtual' folders.
Clicking on a folder opens it to reveal electronic facsimiles of letters, enlargeable photographs, audio snippets and other historical documents.
Embedded in the timeline are some 200 interactive 'rewards', each associated with a momentous event in Churchill's long life. A reward is encountered unexpectedly by opening the dated folder in which it is contained.
For example, clicking on the folder for 30 November 1964 - Churchill's 90th birthday - triggers the sound of champagne corks popping, while the entire length of the table is suddenly illuminated by the flickering flames of 90 animated red birthday candles.
Open the folder for 15 April 1912 and the surface of the table becomes convincingly submerged in water in commemoration of the Titanic disaster. These audiovisual events have a dynamic effect on the surrounding spaces, animating the atmosphere and enlivening the visitor experience.
Up to 26 workstations can be used on the timeline table at any one time, making it the largest user-interactive system of its kind. 'The term "state of the art" gets bandied about,' says Colin Payne, the audiovisual manager, 'but the hardware itself is not particularly new.
The real achievement is the intuitive interface between the visitor and the technology and the ease with which you can engage with the material. We wanted it to be a fun, content-driven experience, a balance between technology and education.'
Throughout the exhibition there are touchscreen terminals prompting a critical assessment of Churchill's character and personality. 'Churchill's views on India were based on race,' states one proposition.
The viewer is invited to agree or disagree before being presented with an account of Churchill's attitude towards Gandhi and the Indian independence movement. After viewing the unadulterated evidence, visitors may change their vote before viewing the results of the running poll.
Such blending of interactive technology and educational content contrasts with traditional modes of display that present seemingly authoritative, normative accounts of historical events.
If there is any aspect of the exhibition that might invite criticism it is the constant, albeit low-level, background noise. After an hour or so this can be quite distracting. Roger Mann defends it as a conscious part of the overall design. 'The exhibition has a soundscape, a collage of mid-century noises from an analogue, paper-heavy world of filing cabinets and other sound sources.
It absorbs noise; it's a hubbub we are in control of.' Churchill, who according to one of the museum's information boards 'hated any noisy distraction', like me, might have disagreed.
There will be an in-depth review of the
Churchill Museum in Museum Practice issue 30.
To subscribe visit www.museumsassociation.org
Project data
Cost: £6m
Funders: Donations from individuals, corporations, trusts and foundations
Exhibition, museum and interior design: Casson Mann
Graphics: Nick Bell Design
Lighting: DHA Design
Sound design: Liminal
Audiovisual production management: The Media Machine
Cost: £6m
Funders: Donations from individuals, corporations, trusts and foundations
Exhibition, museum and interior design: Casson Mann
Graphics: Nick Bell Design
Lighting: DHA Design
Sound design: Liminal
Audiovisual production management: The Media Machine
