Maxwell Museums

Friday 28 August 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Scroll for: Top stories 🚨 | UK news 🇬🇧 | Global news 🌍 | News in brief 🗞️ Happy Friday. Farewell then, Yayoi Kusama, arguably the world's most famous contemporary female artist. She died two weeks ago aged 97, but her death was only announced yesterday. She had a long and successful career — but it absolutely boomed in the 21st century. She was hugely prolific even in these past few years.

Wednesday 26 August 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Scroll for: The Big Interview 🗣️ Happy Wednesday. I walked past the restored Hull Maritime Museum on the day before it opened to the public earlier this month, and the neoclassical building seemed to literally glow. It’s 155-years-old, but it gleamed like new.

Wednesday 19 August 2026 Whatā€™s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Scroll for: Take Five Hundred āœļø | Hot List šŸ”„ Happy Wednesday. Itā€™s mid-week, and itā€™s a guest column edition. Ever found commercial art galleries intimidating, secretive and off-putting? Youā€™re not alone, as shown by the hundreds of people who have been flocking to a new quarterly London event thatā€™s positioning itself as the antithesis to the ā€˜insiderā€™ art world.

Friday 14 August 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Scroll for: Top stories 🚨 | UK news 🇬🇧 | Global news 🌍 | News in brief 🗞️ Happy Friday. The countdown is officially on. There’s now less than a month until the Bayeux Tapestry is finally unveiled at the British Museum, for its landmark once-in-a-millennium loan to the UK. The King will inaugurate the display on 02 September, before the first ticket holders arrive just over a week later.

Friday 07 August 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Scroll for: Top stories 🚨 | UK news 🇬🇧 | Global news 🌍 | News in brief 🗞️ Happy Friday. Mark your diaries: Wednesday (12 August), 18:00 BST. Very soon after the clock hits six, the most significant solar eclipse in the UK for 27 years will begin. Around an hour later, light will noticeably fade and the temperature will dip as over 90% of the sun is covered by the moon.

Wednesday 05 August 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Scroll for: Take Five Hundred ✍️ | Hot List 🔥 Happy Wednesday. It’s mid-week, and it’s an opinion edition! The Artists Information Company (a-n) is the largest artists’ membership organisation in the UK. Now, 46 years after it was founded, it’s got a new name: Artists Now.

Friday 31 July 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Scroll for: Top stories 🚨 | UK news 🇬🇧 | Global news 🌍 | News in brief 🗞️ Happy Friday. The most eye-opening revelation for me — among many — was that the Hindenburg had a smoking lounge. Oh, they knew the dangers: there was a dedicated member of staff in charge of the single lighter allowed on board. But this was the 1930s, and nothing got in the way of a ciggie. Not even 7 million cubic feet of hydrogen.

Friday 24 July 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Scroll for: UK news 🇬🇧 | Global news 🌍 | News in brief 🗞️ Happy Friday. So, it turns out visiting the Bayeux Tapestry last week wasn’t one of Lisa Nandy’s final engagements as culture secretary, as I had predicted. The most eye-popping development from this week’s formation of a new British government was not John Healey’s genuinely surprising appointment as Chancellor — it was that Nandy retained her job.

Friday 17 July 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Friday. Families, children and young people are major target audiences for museums and galleries. There are many reasons for this, a not-insignificant one being that charitable trusts and foundations will give you money to programme things for them. But generally it’s because they are seen as a way of establishing the visitors of the future. Get them into the museum visiting habit early etc.

Friday 10 July 2026 What’s happening in museums, galleries, art and heritage Happy Friday. Maybe it’s the heat in London this week, but I need to get two things off my chest. Both are to do with how museums and galleries use social media. Let’s call them two of my pet hates. Firstly, why-oh-why are we still seeing social posts begin: “We are delighted to announce…”?