£4.4m Redevelopment Planned for Horniman Museum

The Horniman Museum and Gardens has announced initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) with a £3.1m grant for a major redevelopment of two of its galleries and an innovative community engagement programme.

The gallery redevelopment, which will take three years to complete, will transform the way the Horniman displays its Anthropology collection – a Designated collection of national and international importance comprising 80,000 items – by putting more than 3,000 of the collection’s artefacts on public view, many for the first time. It follows a three-year review project that revealed the strength and depth of the collection.

The project will also include:
• restoration of some of the original architectural features of the historic building
• a flexible, creative studio space for cutting-edge displays and artistic collaborations
• a new display exploring the history of founder Frederick Horniman and his family, and the origins of the collections and Museum.

Janet Vitmayer, Director of the Horniman Museum and Gardens, said: “This is wonderful news and the start of an incredibly exciting new phase in the Horniman’s history. With this redevelopment of our galleries, our public can look forward to seeing and interacting with world-class displays from many more countries and cultures. We want our visitors to be able to stand in our galleries, surrounded by objects and stories from around the world that will move, enlighten, fascinate, and inspire them.”

Alongside the HLF grant, the Horniman will need to raise an additional £1.3m from other sources including individual donors, corporate support, Trusts, and Foundations. The redevelopment is scheduled for completion in 2018.

For more info: www.horniman.ac.uk