In brief | Latest on collections, awards, funding, loans and more

The museum asks the public to share memories of Jimi Hendrix

The Handel & Hendrix Museum in London has been publicly seeking Jimi Hendrix memoirs, photos and film for a new exhibition ahead of its reopening in May. The museum at 23 Brook Street, Mayfair – where 18th-century composer George Frideric Handel and guitarist Jimi Hendrix lived 200 years apart – is currently undergoing a £3million revamp to restore Handel’s home and new exhibitions about the to create life and music of the two musicians. An exhibit will explore Hendrix’s music and influence, and the museum hopes to obtain “people’s memories and personal photos of times they’ve seen Jimi perform, at a club, or just out and about.” The memories and images will be recorded on a special website and a selection will be included in a new documentary film to be shown at the exhibition.

The Aberdeen Art Gallery introduces Relaxed Mondays

Aberdeen Art Gallery has introduced a more relaxed visiting experience on Mondays to ensure it is a welcoming place for all visitors. Relaxed Mondays are primarily intended for, but not limited to, families with neurodivergent children, neurodivergent youth and adults, adults with dementia, adults and children with mental health conditions, and visitors with sensory needs and their families, friends, and caregivers. Local charity We Too! has worked with the gallery team to provide staff with ‘First Aid for the Senses’ training and to develop resources including an access guide, visual history and a silent senses cave. Sensory backpacks are available to borrow to enhance the visit, including dark glasses, hearing protection, and fidget toys.

Migration Museum shortlisted for civic art award

London’s Migration Museum and Belfast’s Golden Thread Gallery are among 10 organizations shortlisted for the third edition of the Awards for Civic Arts Organisations, hosted by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and celebrating collaboration in the UK arts sector . The shortlisted organizations were chosen for their ability to respond to local needs and concerns, deepen relationships within communities, and use art and creativity to enable positive change. The winner receives a prize of £100,000, while the two runners-up receive £25,000 each.

Fitzwilliam Conservator wins Plowden Medal

Julie Dawson has been announced as the winner of the 2022 Plowden Medal for Conservation in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the conservation of archaeological artifacts. The award was presented at a reception at the Queen’s Chapel in London in January. The Plowden Medal was established in 1999 to commemorate the life and work of the late Anna Plowden (1938-1997) and is awarded annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of the conservation profession. Dawson, who lived at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge for nearly four decades, was lauded for her “distinguished career as a restorer, scholar of ancient Egyptian materials and tireless standard-bearer for the preservation of cultural heritage”.

Funding for urgent repairs at the Science and Industry Museum

The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester has secured £14.2million in equity funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to complete urgent repairs and improvements over the next two years. Work will begin later in the year, with the museum remaining open throughout. The museum’s ongoing restoration program will continue in 2023, including work to restore the historic, Grade II listed Power Hall. The museum will draw inspiration from the site’s live engineering projects to host construction, engineering and heritage-themed activities for all ages during the fall.

Ad Gefrin opening date announced

The Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whiskey Distillery opens to the public on March 25th. The new museum in Wooler, Northumberland, brings to life the largely untold story of the 7th century^thThe 19th century Anglo-Saxon royal court of Northumbria through a comprehensive visitor experience and exhibits including Anglo-Saxon treasures from the British Museum and other collections. The museum will be located next to a whiskey distillery and bistro and hopes to promote Northumbria as an international tourist destination. The museum is based on one of the most remarkable archaeological finds of the 20th century: the Great Hall of the summer palace of the kings and queens of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria, which was discovered at nearby Yeavering in the 1950s and is partially recreated in the museum.

Consultation on public commemorations in Wales

The Welsh Government has launched a consultation on guidelines to help public bodies better represent modern Wales through public commemorations. The guide will help public authorities make decisions about existing and planned memorials, including statues, plaques and street names. It sets out what public bodies should do to make a positive contribution to the public commemoration of Welsh history and the achievements of an anti-racist Wales. The deadline for feedback is February 21st.

Masterpieces on loan to celebrate the National Gallery’s 200th anniversary^th Birthday

Twelve masterpieces from the National Gallery will be loaned to partner venues across the UK as part of the institution’s 200th anniversary celebrations on 10 May. As part of the National Treasures program, each partner location receives a masterpiece and curates it with interpretation, community engagement, and events and exhibitions. The partners and the images they receive are:

• Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, The Wilton Diptych (c.1395-9)
• Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Self-Portrait Aged 34 (1640), Rembrandt
• Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, The Hay Wain (1821), John Constable
• The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Venus and Mars (c. 1485), Sandro Botticelli
• Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c.1615-17), Artemisia Gentileschi
• Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, The Fighting Temeraire (1839), Joseph Mallord William Turner
• Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, The Umbrellas (c.1881-6), Pierre-Auguste Renoir
• The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, The Stonemason’s Yard (c. 1725), Canaletto
• Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal (c.1670-2), Johannes Vermeer
• Ulster Museum, Belfast, The Last Supper at Emmaus (1601), Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
• Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, The Rokeby Venus (1647-51), Diego Velázquez
• York Art Gallery, The Waterlily Pond (1899), Claude Monet