In brief | Latest news, projects, moves and more

NHM surveys appetite for biodiversity network

The Natural History Museum (NHM) is seeking to support organisations across the UK to increase biodiversity across their estates and use this as an opportunity to engage audiences with nature positive action. It is interested in creating a network that can share knowledge, expertise and funding, showing the collective impact of these interventions across the UK.

To gauge the appetite in the sector for such a programme, and what support the NHM could provide, the institution has launched a short survey for museums, cultural institutions and heritage sites.

A statement from the museum said: “Biodiversity can be increased across all types of estates from concrete to woodland and there are lots of interventions that NHM can help with. We are interested in creating a network that can share knowledge, expertise and funding, showing the collective impact of these interventions across the UK.

“We are interested in hearing about your appetite for the programme and what support we could provide. Whether your site is buzzing with life or a little greyer than you would like, by changing parts of your ‘grey’ landscape of human made areas back to natural habitats, however tiny, you can enhance biodiversity.”

The survey runs until Monday 10 June 2024.

Museums granted royal patronage

A number of mueums have been granted or retained royal patronage from King Charles III. The King has been announced as patron of the Royal Air Force Museum, which runs two sites in London and the Midlands, and has retained patronage of Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent and Bath Preservation Trust in Somerset.

The patronages were announced to mark the first anniversary of the King's coronation on 3 May, following a detailed review of patronages held by the royal household.

British Museum announces partners for youth-led programme

The British Museum has announced key partners in Doncaster and Wolverhampton for Where we are…, its youth-led arts an culture programme. Now in its fourth year, the national programme, supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for those aged 16–24, aims to empower young people through the co-creation of arts and culture projects within their own communities.

The key partner organisations will work in partnership with their local authority arts and culture service. They serve communities that face high levels of deprivation and aim to create opportunities, provide support and raise aspirations for young people.

In each area, young people who join the programme decide what type of arts and culture projects they would like to pursue and co-produce. 

In Doncaster, Right Up Our Street and City of Doncaster Culture Services were selected as key partners, while in Wolverhampton, Reach and Unite Outreach and Empowerment (RUOE) and Wolverhampton Arts and Culture Services have been appointed.

Hanouf Al-Alawi, national outreach manager at the British Museum, said: “We are so excited to work with our partners in Wolverhampton and Doncaster on this year’s Where we are… programme. Their passion and motivation to make positive changes for the young people in their local area was truly inspiring. I can’t wait to start collaborating on the new projects this year’s programme brings.”

Holocaust Centre North appoints writer and translator

Holocaust Centre North in Huddersfield has completed the line-up for its Memorial Gestures residency programme following the appointment of the programme’s first writer and translator.  

Writer Tom Hastings and translator Rey Conquer will join visual artists Maud Haya-Baviera, Irina Razumovskaya, Ariane Schick and Matt Smith to create new work inspired by the centre’s archives and in response to its themes and collections around Holocaust remembrance and history.

Alongside the artists, Hastings and Conquer will work with the centre’s artefacts and testimonies covering themes of discrimination, displacement, trauma, migration, loss, memory and hope, and respond to and translate them through their own, individual creative and artistic practices. 

Rey Conquer is a writer working across essay, fiction, poetry and translation, as well as a translation editor and critic. Tom Hastings is a writer living in Glasgow whose work covers performance, forms of protest, and social history.

Now in its second year, the Memorial Gestures Residency aims to bring new perspectives to the centre’s collections and bring them to life creatively for future generations. This is the first year both a translator and a writer have been appointed alongside visual artists.

Repair work begins at Science and Industry Museum’s viaduct

Essential repair work has started on the Science and Industry Museum’s 1830 viaduct and gantry, both seen as longstanding symbols of Manchester’s industrial past.

Mostly hidden by the station’s buildings, the viaduct runs from the middle of the Power Hall out towards Water Street, and makes up the most complete surviving early railway station complex in the world.

The repair work aims to restore the viaduct and the gantry connected to the Power Hall. Waterproofing solutions are also being put in place across the viaduct to futureproof it for years to come.

The works are funded with £14.2m capital funding from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. They mark the next stage of the museum’s multi-million pound restoration, one of the most significant heritage restoration projects currently underway in the UK.

Arts council appoints new area director

Rebecca Ball, who is currently the chief executive of Sunderland Culture, has been appointed as Arts Council England’s new area director for the North. Ball will take over from Sarah Maxfield who is stepping down from the role at the end of May after 14 years at the arts council, leading the North West and then the North team.

Ball has more than 20 years' experience in the arts and culture sector and previously worked at the arts council as director of arts for the South East. She has been the chief executive of Sunderland Culture since 2021. Before that, she led Sunderland’s City of Culture bid.

Stolen clock returned to Preston Manor

An antique clock stolen from Preston Manor in Brighton more than two decades ago has been returned to its owners.

The clock was a favourite with visitors, with sailing ships that move to music when it chimes every hour. Staff at the manor witnessed two men steal the timepiece from the premises on February 12, 2001. Despite an investigation by Sussex Police, they were never traced.

The force’s Rural Crime Team recovered the item from an auction house in 2023 after the Art Loss Register, the world's largest private database of stolen art and antiques which monitors the global art market to identify registered pieces, notified Brighton & Hove Museums that it was listed for sale.

CEO of Brighton & Hove Museums, Hedley Swain, said: “We are so thrilled to have this wonderful item returned to us after so long. We want to thank Sussex Police and the Art Loss Register for their hard work in restoring the clock to its home.”

Designer appointed for Hereford Museum revamp

The design consultancy Mather & Co has been appointed for the redevelopment of Hereford Museum and Art Gallery. The project will see new exhibition spaces, enhanced visitor facilities and improved accessibility, and aims to transform the museum's Grade II-listed building into a contemporary cultural destination.

Mather & Co has extensive experience in museum and visitor attractions and will work with the the museum to create an “engaging and innovative” visitor experience.

The appointment was made possible through funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

Leanne Clydesdale, content manager for Mather & Co said: “We are excited to build on the existing work already undertaken, working alongside the people of Hereford to shape their museum for the future. The unique heritage and history of the region will be brought out through a closer co-development with audiences, working with stories and collections to create a strong sense of pride and ownership.  We’re looking forward to starting on this next phase in what will be a flagship project for everyone.”

 The appointment comes as the redevelopment moves into its next stage, developing technical designs and then construction. 

NML gets go-ahead for waterfront transformation 

National Museums Liverpool’s Waterfront Transformation Project was recently granted planning permission to transform Canning Quaysides and Dry Docks into a space for education, contemplation and recreation.

The £15m redevelopment will see the south dry dock, built in 1765, made accessible to the public. A new stop wall will be built behind the existing timber gates and a staircase and lift will enable visitors to descend into the historic site for the first time.

The plans also feature a twin-lever footbridge from the Royal Albert Dock across to the Canning quayside. The project will enhance the public realm around the site, with level pathways, an open-air events space, and improvements to the interpretation of items around the site.

Construction work on the designs, which are being led by architects, Asif Khan Studio, and the international artist, Theaster Gates, is due to start in autumn 2024.

Liz Stewart, head of the Museum of Liverpool, which overlooks the Canning Dock area said: “This is such a transformational project: a once in a lifetime opportunity. Working with local community arts organisations, we have a unique chance to really enhance people’s experience of this space. As well as creating an overall cohesive visitor experience, we’re determined to truly represent the profound historic significance of the site.

“The dry docks and quaysides have such a powerful heritage narrative, and throughout the process of co-production, we’ve ensured the feedback and ideas coming directly from our communities, is integrated into the designs.”