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Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Telegraph
The anti-woke brigade won't like it, but this ‘inclusive' museum is actually rather good
Past mountainous warehouses, down a listless canal, and into the quiet academic quarter with its beige halls soaring into skies that never seem to cease to rain, stands Manchester Museum. With the institution freshly glistening with ' European Museum of the Year 2025 ' status, I ventured in to see if this superlative accolade is justified, immersing myself in ancient earrings, psychedelic rickshaws and the tooth of an 80-million-year-old shark, the mellow rain of Manchester pattering on the roof. The museum's purpose is written in the atrium: 'To build understanding between cultures and a more sustainable world.' This isn't really a museum about Manchester, more of artefacts, animals and artworks that have ended up in the museum's collection, and a mosaic of perspectives from ethnic minority communities living in, studying at, or in some way associated with Manchester. It strives to be 'the most inclusive, imaginative and caring museum you'll ever visit'. Essentially, the museum is about belonging. It is this bold curatorial line that gives it a distinctive flavour, with each of the four main galleries contributing to the central theme in interesting and surprising ways. I first entered Ancient History, Contemporary Belonging, a gallery of ancient and medieval artefacts from Anatolian earrings to marvellously-preserved Roman playing pieces, ancient Egyptian cat idols to hoards of delicate medieval silver coins. The rooms are a little over-stuffed, and some of the information plaques positioned so low that all the stooping became exhausting. I had to be economical in what I examined, but this made me worry that I was overlooking some gems, sometimes quite literally. Despite these gripes – entrance is free, anyhow, so you can always come back – a strong flavour of displacement emerged, a synergy between the migration of ancient historical objects and of people. More topical than ever at a time when George Osborne is reportedly negotiating a 'reciprocal, long-term loan' which would send the Elgin Marbles back to Greece, it was hard to peruse the collection without wondering how on earth so many of these rare finds ended up in Manchester and the answers, one suspects, are not always savoury. You're encouraged to consider the human stories of migration, the sometimes traumatic tales of persecution, forced upheaval and dreams of a better life that help to explain how a Mesopotamian hair-pin fetched up in front of you. Many museums now engage in this kind of soul-searching, but here it is taken a step further. Manchester University students of migrant heritage have been invited to respond. The juxtaposition of an 'official' plaque next to a personal response presents a person's lived experience as an echo of the narrative. On paper, this is fraught with risk, threatening to debase the whole thing into mawkish amateurishness. But many of the responses are in fact profoundly moving, making the galleries feel less lofty and academic than their equivalents in, say, the Ashmolean or the British Museum. The next gallery focuses on animals that belong – or should belong, if we weren't doing so much to make the earth uninhabitable. Cinematically lit, with a veritable menagerie of taxidermy and lifelike models, this is an emporium of wonder, at times a cacophony of delighted children's wails. It was exhilarating to stare into the eyes of an African hunting dog, a North American woodchuck, or Maude the tigon – a cross between a male tiger and a lioness, once a beloved feature of Manchester's Belle Vue Zoo – finally on display after 70 long years existing as a rolled-up skin in a storage vault. Stuck on one glass panel, in stark red letters, is the word 'Decolonise!' – signalling its inclusion in the museum's Decolonise! Trail. Of course, this will make some people groan. But the manner in which it is done, at least, is original. It feels like a Just Stop Oil-style organisation has placed it here; a performative act of self-sabotage. It's just one act of curatorial dandyism. Elsewhere, an empty glass box commemorates species that became extinct. In another display, the stuffed heads of tigers and lions loom like phantoms of guilt over black-and-white photographs of hunters. It's only when the curatorial voice slips from posing questions to telling you the answers that the device galls. I felt this peering into a surrealist reconstruction of a curator's office, eerily frozen in time since the 1920s, all mahogany desks and exotic bric-a-brac. It is, we are told, 'like a glimpse of our colonial unconscious' – yet all I could think about was how cosy and charming it looked compared with soulless modern offices. The South Asia Gallery – bright, airy, perfectly spaced – casts a spotlight on the experiences of British Asian communities. Scenes of oppression, violence and starvation under the East India Company and the Raj are included, as one might expect, appearing as incongruously beautiful panels in the atrium. Objects that were 'violently plundered', were are told, have not been included. One of the most poignant parts of this gallery are the displays that bring to life 'hidden' voices within British-Asian communities. The prejudice historically felt by mixed-race Asians is rendered palpable and real. The exhibition on LGBT people of British Asian heritage is particularly moving: their feelings of loneliness, confusion and self-loathing, as well as hope, are all conjured from cuttings from 1990s magazines, help forum notices and leaflets. A final gallery attempts the same thing (slightly less successfully) from an East Asian perspective. I was fascinated to learn that Manchester has a higher proportion of Chinese émigrés than any other city in Europe. It's one of the few revelations we get about Manchester itself. I hankered for more on how this great industrial behemoth came to be, and its later metamorphosis into a modern city of culture. Many, no doubt, would find the emphasis upon displacement, multicultural identity and preserving the environment preachy and over-rehearsed. Some might even declare the whole thing a Trojan's Horse of woke tosh (when I'd read that the museum has 'safe spaces' for anyone who finds the exhibitions traumatising, I did cringe). But Manchester Museum nails its colours to the mast. And it's only fair to judge something by what it is trying to achieve. Does it succeed on its own terms? Overwhelmingly, yes.
BBC News
07-06-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Volunteers sought to help survey glow worms in Cumbria
Volunteers are being sought to help survey for glow worms at a country estate. They will spend 10 weeks looking for the insects, which are beetles that use bioluminescence to attract mates, across the Lowther Estate near Penrith, Cumbria. The volunteers will be trained by experts from Manchester Museum to try and find glow worms, which are believed to be declining in insects are "voracious" predators of snail and slug populations, Lowther Conservation ecologist Elizabeth Ogilvie said. "[They help] maintain balance in our landscapes," she said. "They also contribute to soil health by cycling nutrients back into the ecosystem."Ms Ogilvie said their glowing signals which are vital for mating are often drowned out by artificial lights and their numbers appear to be declining across the country. The survey, which will be conducted in the evenings, will help scientists determine whether glow worms are present on the estate, assistant curator from Manchester Museum, part of The University of Manchester, Bethany Dean may provide an opportunity for long term monitoring on the site, she Ogilvie said no experience was necessary to volunteer – simply an "eagerness to help on summer evenings". Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Guardian
28-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Manchester Museum named European Museum of the Year
It contains Egyptian mummies and is the only place outside Panama where tiny variable harlequin toads can be found. And now, the 138-year-old Manchester Museum has been named European Museum of the Year. The institution won one of the most prestigious museum prizes in the world with judges praising its approach to addressing its complex past and its extensive work with communities. It is the first university museum to win the award, created in 1977, and the first British museum since the Design Museum in London won in 2018. The museum's director, Esme Ward, said it was a thrill to win, particularly after what had been a 'truly grim' 30-hour trip to just get to the awards, this year held in the north-east Polish city of Białystok. Ward was there with two colleagues and said they were hopeful of perhaps winning the 'belonging and inclusion' award. When they did not get that they were feeling flat. 'I'll be really frank, we genuinely didn't think the main award was ours.' Manchester was named winner from a shortlist of 42 museums. Ward added: 'It's not often I'm lost for words, but we were gobsmacked and it was amazing. I probably gave the worst speech of my life, but who cares?' The prize is given to a museum which represents the best in innovation and excellence. Manchester Museum has been at the frontline of debates about repatriation, curation, the stories modern museums should tell and what use museums can be to society more widely. After a £15m revamp, it reopened in 2023 with a new south Asia gallery designed and co-curated with 30 people from Manchester's south Asian diaspora communities. The museum, Ward said, is the headquarters for Pinc College, a specialist creative college for neurodivergent young people, and the building's top floor is an environmental action and social justice hub. Ward said the museum did not shy away from its past. 'Manchester Museum was born of incredible civic spirit, but it was also born of empire and of racism and we have to grapple with the legacy of that. We want to do that in a way that recognises the harm, but also encourages healing.' In September 2023 the museum returned 174 objects to an Indigenous Australian community, the Anindilyakwa people, in a landmark example of cultural repatriation. Ward said museums had the power to 'to bring generations and communities together' and to help people 'hopefully feel less lonely but certainly feel more connected and have a kind of bigger view of the world'. In the current climate, there will be people who label Manchester Museum's new approach as 'woke'. 'Does that bother me? No,' said Ward. 'Because frankly, I don't tell anybody what to think. I can't bear it when people tell me what to think. That's not what we do. We want to provide multiple perspectives to equip people to navigate this crazy world we're in, to understand it, to build empathy for other people and the natural world. 'We think one of the most powerful ways of doing that is to expand the stories we tell. You know, the stories of the collectors, the institutions, we've been telling those 100 years. It's time for some new ones.' The prize is a small Henry Moore mother and child sculpture and comes with no money, but lots of prestige that could help unlock future funding. 'Tomorrow we're going to have as many people here as humanly possible to unveil the award and then we'll plan a party,' said Ward. 'Obviously.'
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Manchester Museum named European Museum Of The Year
Manchester Museum has won the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA), hailed by judges for "balancing globally-significant academic research with community engagement and social responsibility". The museum, part of the University of Manchester, is the first university museum to receive the accolade, which is regarded as one of the most prestigious awards of its kind in the world. It topped a shortlist of 41 museums, including the world-renowned Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Guggenheim in Bilbao. Judges praised how the museum, on Oxford Road, "reimagined its mission, acknowledging and addressing its complex history by redefining the role of its collections and public programmes". The museum - which is free to visit - was also praised for "thoughtful, informed, and impactful community engagement, creating a truly inclusive space where all individuals, regardless of identity or background, can see themselves reflected and represented". Esme Ward, director of the Manchester Museum, accepted the award at a ceremony at the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białistok, Poland - winner of the Council of Europe Museum Prize last year. "Museums have the power to be empathy machines - bringing generations and communities together to build understanding, while confronting the past with honesty and transparency," said Ms Ward. "More than ever before, we need museums that are values-led, imaginative and confident about what they stand for." Operated by the European Museum Forum (EMF), EMYA recognises either new museums or established museums which have undertaken a programme of modernisation. An average of around 45 museums apply each year, from across the 46 member countries. Two main awards, the EMYA and the Council of Europe Museum Prize, have been awarded continuously since 1977. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Museum's £15m revamp puts spotlight on South Asia Manchester Museum
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'Impactful' Manchester Museum named European Museum Of The Year
Manchester Museum has won the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA), hailed by judges for "balancing globally-significant academic research with community engagement and social responsibility".The museum, part of the University of Manchester, is the first university museum to receive the accolade, which is regarded as one of the most prestigious awards of its kind in the topped a shortlist of 41 museums, including the world-renowned Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Guggenheim in praised how the museum, on Oxford Road, "reimagined its mission, acknowledging and addressing its complex history by redefining the role of its collections and public programmes". The museum - which is free to visit - was also praised for "thoughtful, informed, and impactful community engagement, creating a truly inclusive space where all individuals, regardless of identity or background, can see themselves reflected and represented".Esme Ward, director of the Manchester Museum, accepted the award at a ceremony at the Sybir Memorial Museum in Białistok, Poland - winner of the Council of Europe Museum Prize last year."Museums have the power to be empathy machines - bringing generations and communities together to build understanding, while confronting the past with honesty and transparency," said Ms Ward."More than ever before, we need museums that are values-led, imaginative and confident about what they stand for."Operated by the European Museum Forum (EMF), EMYA recognises either new museums or established museums which have undertaken a programme of modernisation. An average of around 45 museums apply each year, from across the 46 member main awards, the EMYA and the Council of Europe Museum Prize, have been awarded continuously since 1977. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
