Manchester Museum will unveil its £15m makeover this February, as the venue aims to become the ‘most inclusive, imaginative and caring museum you might encounter’.
Reopening to the public on Sat 18 Feb, the museum’s revised mission is all about levelling up for culture and putting the diverse communities of Manchester at the centre of its programming.
Highlights from the imminent programme include the South Asia Gallery, a British Museum partnership co-curated with the South Asia Gallery Collective, which includes community leaders, educators and artists. It is the first permanent gallery in the UK to celebrate the lived experience and contributions of the South Asian diaspora.
This will include a newly commissioned mural from British artists, The Singh Twins, presenting an emotional map of the South Asian diaspora experience, a rickshaw imported from Bangladesh and decorated by communities in Manchester, and one of the collective’s great-grandfather’s World War I uniform.
The Lee Kai Hung Chinese Culture Gallery, which draws on historical and contemporary links between Manchester and China to present a diverse understanding of Chinese culture, highlighting personal stories of migration, friendships and collaboration.
A brand new exhibition hall dedicated to ambitious shows that explore past, present and future, opening with an exhibition dedicated to the Golden Mummies of Egypt.
Other new additions include a Belonging Gallery reflecting on what it means to belong, led by Alexandra P. Alberda, the first-ever Curator of Indigenous Perspectives at Manchester Museum, and a brand new Dinosaur display.
Along with a major focus on inclusion, the building will also be the world’s first Carbon Literate Museum, and has recycled and reused as much material within the museum during renovation works.
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- Words:
- Bradley Lengden
- Published on:
- Fri 17 Feb 2023
