110-812: The Imperial War Museum ( IWM ), currently branded " Imperial War Museums ", is a British national museum . It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of the United Kingdom and its Empire during the First World War . The museum's remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. As of 2012,
220-548: A 6-inch triple turret that would be representative of a number of classes of British cruisers . This would eventually lead to the preservation of the Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Belfast , which became a branch of the museum in 1978. Later in 1968 on 13 October the museum was attacked by an arsonist , Timothy John Daly, who claimed he was acting in protest against the exhibition of militarism to children. He caused damage valued at approximately £200,000, not counting
330-543: A Supermarine Spitfire flown during the Battle of Britain . The museum's naval collection includes HM Coastal Motor Boat 4 and a midget submarine HMS XE8 . In 2012 the museum reported its exhibits collection to contain 155,000 objects and a further 357 vehicles and aircraft. The museum's library is a national reference collection on modern conflict, and holds works on all aspects of warfare, including regimental or unit histories (such as 789 rare German unit histories from
440-651: A Union flag from the 1942 British surrender of Singapore , and another found among the wreckage of the World Trade Center following the September 11 attacks ), as well a piece of the towers; personal mementoes, souvenirs and miscellanea such as trench art ; orders, medals and decorations (including collections of Victoria and George Crosses ); military equipment; firearms and ammunition, ordnance, edged weapons, clubs (such as trench clubs ) and other weapons, and vehicles, aircraft and ships. The museum holds
550-460: A "museum curator", or a "keeper" of a cultural heritage institution (e.g., gallery , museum , library , or archive ) is a content specialist charged with an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material including historical artifacts. A collections curator's concern necessarily involves tangible objects of some sort—artwork, collectibles, historic items, or scientific collections. In smaller organizations,
660-461: A branch of the Imperial War Museum on 1 March 1978, being acknowledged by the then Secretary of State for Education and Science , Shirley Williams , as "a unique demonstration of an important phase of our history and technology". In service for 24 years HMS Belfast was in Frankland's opinion, capable of representing "a whole generation of [historical evidence]". In 2017, the name of the exhibit
770-554: A bus used by British forces in the First World War, and a number of vehicles used by Field Marshal Montgomery during the Second World War. The museum's aircraft collection includes aircraft that are notable for their rarity, such as the only complete and original Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 in existence and one of only two surviving TSR-2 strike aircraft, and aircraft associated with particular actions, such as
880-463: A consultancy basis. In France, the term "exhibitions curator" is translated as commissaire d'exposition or curateur . The late-20th century saw an explosion of artists organizing exhibitions. The artist-curator has a long tradition of influence, notably featuring Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), inaugural president of the Royal Academy of Arts , London, founded in 1768. Curators hold
990-443: A curator may be the only paid staff-member. In larger institutions, the curator's primary function is that of a subject specialist, with the expectation that he or she will conduct original research on objects and guide the organization in its collecting. Such institutions can have multiple curators, each assigned to a specific collecting area (e.g., curator of ancient art, curator of prints and drawings, etc.) and often operating under
1100-483: A curator may have sole responsibility for acquisitions and even for collections care . A curator makes decisions regarding what objects to select, oversees their potential and documentation, conducts research based on the collection and its history, provides proper packaging of object for transportation, and shares research with the public and community through exhibitions and publications. In very small, volunteer-based museums, such as those of local historical societies,
1210-400: A distinguishing dome, and two great wings added to it for the accommodation of lunatics no longer required. This particular building can be made to contain our collection admirably, and we shall preserve from destruction quite a fine building which otherwise will disappear". The "distinguishing dome" was added by Sydney Smirke in 1846 and housed the hospital's chapel. The museum was reopened by
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#17327724188181320-578: A further 254,000 items of reference material. The museum's Sound Archive holds 33,000 sound recordings, including a large collection of oral history recordings of witnesses to conflicts since 1914. The museum's sound collection originated in 1972 with the creation of the Department of Sound Records and the instigation of an oral history recording programme. The sound collection opened to the public in July 1977. The collection also includes recordings made by
1430-455: A further wing opened in 1949. In 1953, with Commonwealth forces engaged in Korea and Malaya the museum began its current policy of collecting material from all modern conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces were involved. Despite this expansion of remit, the early postwar period was a period of decline for the museum. Noble Frankland , the museum's director from 1960 to 1982, described
1540-428: A high academic degree in their subject, typically a Doctor of Philosophy or a master's degree in subjects such as history, art, history of art , archaeology , anthropology , or classics . Curators are also expected to have contributed to their academic field, for example, by delivering public talks, publishing articles, or presenting at specialist academic conferences. It is important that curators have knowledge of
1650-410: A large art collection, and examples of military vehicles and aircraft, equipment, and other artefacts. The museum is funded by government grants, charitable donations, and revenue generation through commercial activity such as retailing, licensing, and publishing. General admission is free to IWM London (although specific exhibitions require the purchase of a ticket) and IWM North, but an admission fee
1760-403: A movement in museums, public humanities organizations, and within the biocuration field to involve community members in various curatorial processes, including exhibit development and programming. Community members involved in community curation are likely not trained as museum professionals, but have vested interests in the outcomes of curatorial projects. Community curation is a response to
1870-638: A number of states in Australia also operate "national museums". These include: The Federal Public Service for Science Policy Programming in Belgium operates several museum associations: The government of Brunei operates several museums including: The following are national museums of Canada , established by the federal government of Canada and operated through an autonomous Crown corporation : Former national museums that were later shut down includes: In addition to institutions established or operated by
1980-514: A pair of 15-inch naval guns . One had been mounted on the Royal Navy 's HMS Ramillies and the other on both HMS Resolution and HMS Roberts . Both had been fired in action during the Second World War. They went on permanent display outside the museum in May 1968. The acquisition of these guns, representative of the dreadnought era of British battleships , led the museum to seek to acquire
2090-556: A permanent gallery, Secret War , exploring special forces , espionage and covert operations . The second floor included the atrium viewing balcony, two art galleries, a temporary exhibition area and the permanent Crimes against Humanity exhibition. The third floor housed the permanent Holocaust Exhibition , and the fourth floor, a vaulted roof space, accommodated the Lord Ashcroft Gallery. Opened in November 2010
2200-583: A prestigious area for museums, the accommodation itself proved cramped and inadequate and in 1936 a new permanent location was found south of the River Thames in Southwark. The building, designed by James Lewis was the former Bethlem Royal Hospital which had been vacated following the hospital's relocation to Beckenham in Kent. The site was owned by Lord Rothermere , who had originally intended to demolish
2310-484: A programme of temporary exhibitions, mounted in a separate gallery. The Imperial War Museum's original collections date back to the material amassed by the National War Museum Committee. The present departmental organisation came into being during the 1960s as part of Frankland's reorganisation of the museum. The 1970s saw oral history gain increasing prominence and in 1972 the museum created
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#17327724188182420-473: A test lab, where an independent curator selected technology that showcased radical technology advancements and their impact on society, such as the ability to design and "print" physical objects using 3D printers (such as a fully working violin) or the ability to model and represent accurate interactive medical and molecular models in stereoscopic 3D. As US museums have become increasingly more digitized, curators find themselves constructing narratives in both
2530-416: A wider 20th century historical remit; it comprised a learning programme using overseas visits and social media , and a professional development scheme for educators. A digital archive of the project, online exhibitions and learning resources were also produced. In October 2011 the museum rebranded itself as Imperial War Museums, the initials IWM forming the basis of a new corporate logo. In September 2011
2640-422: A work of art, the injection of technology and impact of social media into every aspect of society has seen the emergence of technology curators. Technology curators are people who are able to disentangle the science and logic of a particular technology and apply it to real-world situations and society, whether it is for social change, commercial advantage, or other purposes. The first U.K. Wired Conference had
2750-453: Is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular institution and its mission. The term "curator" may designate the head of any given division, not limited to museums . Curator roles include "community curators", "literary curators", " digital curators ", and " biocurators ". A "collections curator",
2860-438: Is a professional scientist who curates, collects, annotates, and validates information that is disseminated by biological databases and model organism databases . Education and outreach play an important role in some institutions. It has led to the emergence of titles such as "Curator of Education" and "Curator of Public Practice". Community curation— also known as "co-curation", "public curation" or "inclusive curation" —is
2970-539: Is levied at the other branches. The museum is an exempt charity under the Charities Act 1993 and a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport . As of April 2024, the chairman of the trustees is Guy Weston . Since May 2023, Caro Howell has served as the museum's director-general On 27 February 1917 Sir Alfred Mond , a Liberal MP and First Commissioner of Works, wrote to
3080-483: Is now largely occupied by corporate offices. The 1966 extension houses the library, art store, and document archives while the 1980s redevelopments created exhibition space over five floors. The first stage created 8,000 m of gallery space of which 4,600 m was new, and the second provided a further 1,600 m. The final phase, the Southwest Infill, was partly funded by a £12.6 million grant from
3190-636: Is operated in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council and the Duxford Aviation Society, a charity formed in 1975 to preserve civil aircraft and promote appreciation of British civil aviation history. HMS Belfast , a Town class cruiser , was launched in 1938 and served throughout the Second World War , participating in the December 1943 Battle of North Cape and firing some of the first shots of Operation Overlord ,
3300-452: The BBC during the Second World War, actuality sound effects, broadcasts, speeches and poetry. As part of the museum's First World War centenary programme, the museum is producing Voices of the First World War , a podcast series drawing upon the museum's oral history recordings. In 2012 the museum reported the size of its sound collection as 37,000 hours. The IWM has an online database, listing
3410-553: The Heritage Lottery Fund and provided 5,860m of gallery space and educational facilities over six floors. Before the 2013–14 redevelopment, the basement was occupied by permanent galleries on the First and Second World Wars, and of conflicts after 1945. The ground floor comprised the atrium, cinema, temporary exhibition spaces, and visitor facilities. The first floor included the atrium mezzanine, education facilities, and
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3520-809: The Parachute Regiment and the Royal Anglian Regiment . Based on the historic Duxford Aerodrome , the site was originally operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the First World War . During the Second World War Duxford played a prominent role during the Battle of Britain and was later used by United States Army Air Forces fighter units in support of the daylight bombing of Germany. Duxford remained an active RAF airfield until 1961. Many of Duxford's original buildings, such as hangars used during
3630-565: The Petroleum Warfare Department . These included the submarine fuel pipeline PLUTO , the fog dispersal method FIDO , and flame weapons such as the Churchill Crocodile and Wasp Universal Carrier . Due to bomb damage to the building and exhibits, the museum was obliged to reopen its galleries piecemeal and opened a portion of its galleries in November 1946. A third of the galleries were opened in 1948 and
3740-620: The Second World War saw the museum expand both its collections and its terms of reference, but in the post-war period it entered a period of decline. In 1976 the museum opened IWM Duxford at Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire , and in 1978 the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Belfast , which is permanently berthed on the River Thames in central London, became a branch of the museum. In 1984, Churchill War Rooms , an underground wartime command centre in Westminster , were opened to
3850-600: The United Nations UNTV service in Bosnia. As an official repository under the 1958 Public Records Act, the archive continues to receive material from the Ministry of Defence. The archive also seeks to acquire amateur film taken by both service personnel and civilian cameramen. Material from the collection was used in the production of TV documentary series such as The Great War and The World at War . In 2012
3960-477: The Visual Arts Data Service (VADS), and Google Art Project . In 2012 the museum reported the total size of its art collection as 84,980 items. The museum's Film and Video Archive is one of the oldest film archives in the world. The archive preserves a range of historically significant film and video material, including the official British film record of the First World War . Notable among
4070-412: The chapel beneath. The building also featured a theatre in a building to the rear of the site. The building remained substantially unchanged until vacated by the hospital in 1930. After the freehold was purchased by Lord Rothermere , the wings were demolished to leave the original central portion (with the dome now appearing disproportionately tall) and Smirke's later wings. When the museum moved into
4180-480: The surrender of Japan . Their historical value was recognised early on, and the public were able to visit by appointment. However, the practicalities of allowing public access to a site beneath a working government office meant that only 4,500 of 30–40,000 annual applicants to visit the War Rooms could be admitted. The museum agreed to take over the administration of the site in 1982, a development keenly supported by
4290-455: The 1958 Public Records Act, and as such continues to receive material from the Ministry of Defence. In 2012 the museum reported the size of its photographic holdings as approximately 11 million images in 17,263 collections. The museum's exhibits collection includes a wide range of objects, organised into numerous smaller collections such as uniforms, badges, insignia and flags (including a Canadian Red Ensign carried at Vimy Ridge in 1917,
4400-424: The 19th century "information transmission" model of learning, in which museums are sources of expert knowledge and visitors are the recipients of that expertise. Community curation seeks not to abandon expertise, but to broaden definitions of expertise to "include broader domains of experience" that visitors bring to museums. Community curation practices are varied. Organizations have conducted community outreach at
4510-695: The Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. She saw further combat in the Korean War . Expected to be disposed of as scrap after she was decommissioned in 1963, in 1967 efforts were initiated to preserve Belfast as a museum ship. A joint committee of the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Ministry of Defence was established, and reported in June 1968 that preservation
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4620-620: The Army, the Navy, the production of munitions , and women's war work . There was an early appreciation of the need for exhibits to reflect personal experience in order to prevent the collections becoming dead relics. Sir Martin Conway , the museum's first director general, said that exhibits must "be vitalised by contributions expressive of the action, the experiences, the valour and the endurance of individuals". The museum's first curator and secretary
4730-569: The Battle of Britain, are still in use. A number of these buildings are of architectural or historic significance and over thirty have listed building status. The site also features a number of purpose-built exhibition buildings, such as the Stirling Prize -winning American Air Museum, designed by Sir Norman Foster . The site remains an active airfield and is used by a number of civilian flying companies, and hosts regular air shows . The site
4840-601: The British landings on D-Day in June 1944, and the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. The archive also holds government information films and propaganda features such as Target for Tonight (1941) and Desert Victory (1943). The archive's post-Second World War collections include material from the Korean War , Cold War material, the former film library of NATO , and material produced by
4950-683: The Cabinet Office. The collection also includes files on Victoria and George Cross recipients, and correspondence relating to the BBC documentary The Great War . The documents collection also includes the UK National Inventory of War Memorials . In 2012 the museum reported its documents collection to contain 24,800 collections of papers. The museum's art collection includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, and works in film, photography and sound . The collection originated during
5060-505: The Department of Sound Records (now the Sound Archive) to record interviews with individuals who had experienced the First World War. The museum maintains an online database of its collections . The museum's documents archive seeks to collect and preserve the private papers of individuals who have experienced modern warfare. The archive's holdings range from the papers of senior British and Commonwealth army, navy and air officers, to
5170-553: The Duke of York (later King George VI ) in its new accommodation on 7 July 1936. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the museum began to collect material documenting the conflict. In November 1939, during the " Phoney War ", the museum appeared in the opening sequence of the GPO Film Unit production The First Days , in which children are seen playing on some of the museum's German artillery pieces captured during
5280-717: The Falklands, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The collection also includes over twenty thousand items of publicity material such as posters, postcards, and proclamations from both world wars, and more recent material such as posters issued by anti-war organisations such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Stop the War Coalition . The museum's collection is represented in digital resources such as
5390-468: The First World War to the Falklands War . For some years the museum was marketed as "The new Imperial War Museum". This atrium, with its concentration of military hardware, has been described as "the biggest boys' bedroom in London". This first phase cost £16.7 million (of which £12 million was provided by the government) and the museum was reopened by The Queen on 29 June 1989. In 1990,
5500-590: The First World War) or a gun served by Victoria Cross -winning boy seaman Jack Cornwell . The museum was closed for the duration of the war in September 1940 with the onset of the Blitz . On 31 January 1941 the museum was struck by a Luftwaffe bomb which fell on the naval gallery. A number of ship models were damaged by the blast and a Short Type 184 seaplane, which had flown at the Battle of Jutland ,
5610-603: The First World War), technical manuals, biographical material and works on war's social, cultural, economic, political and military aspects. The library also holds printed ephemera such as the Imperial War Museum Stamp Collection , leaflets and ration books, printed proclamations, newspapers, trench magazines (such The Wipers Times ) and trench maps . In 2012 the museum reported its library collection to contain over 80,000 items of historic importance (such as maps, proclamations and rare books) and
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#17327724188185720-531: The First World War, a new central hall, easier navigation and improved visitor facilities, access and circulation. In preparation for building work, a number of galleries were closed during September 2012, and by December 2012 over sixty large objects had been removed from the IWM London atrium for conservation at Duxford. To allow building work to go ahead, IWM London closed to the public on 2 January 2013. The museum partially reopened on 29 July 2013. IWM London
5830-507: The First World War, when the museum acquired works that it had itself commissioned, as well as works commissioned by the Ministry of Information's British War Memorials Committee . As early as 1920 the art collection held over 3,000 works and included pieces by John Singer Sargent , Wyndham Lewis , John Nash and Christopher Nevinson . Notable First World War works include Sargent's Gassed and other works commissioned for an, unbuilt, Hall of Remembrance . The collection expanded again after
5940-696: The First World War. With the Dunkirk evacuation in May–June 1940, the British Army's shortage of equipment saw eighteen of the museum's artillery pieces return to military service. The museum's trench clubs were used by the Home Guard , while other items such as sights and optical instruments were returned to the Ministry of Supply. The museum refused to return some historic items such as a naval gun from HMS Lance (which had fired Britain's first shot of
6050-512: The Government of Canada, several provinces and territories have established their own provincial and territorial museums . National-level museums in India come directly under the administrative control of Ministry of Culture , Government of India . Museums listed below are operated by Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and other ministries. The National Museum of
6160-454: The INP (Institut National du Patrimoine). The "conservateurs du patrimoine" are civil servants or work in the public service; the use of the title by private workers is not possible. In the United Kingdom, the term "curator" also applies to government employees who monitor the quality of contract archaeological work under Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning (PPG 16) and manage
6270-699: The Philippines (NMP), a government organization, operates several national museums, including: The National Museum Complex in Manila which consists of the central museums of the NMP namely the: The NMP also operates the following satellite museums: Sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Sponsored by Ministry of Defence Sponsored by the Home Office Curator A curator (from Latin : cura , meaning 'to take care')
6380-697: The Prime Minister David Lloyd George to propose the establishment of a National War Museum. This proposal was accepted by the War Cabinet on 5 March 1917 and the decision announced in The Times on 26 March. A committee was established, chaired by Mond, to oversee the collection of material to be exhibited in the new museum. This National War Museum Committee set about collecting material to illustrate Britain's war effort by dividing into subcommittees examining such subjects as
6490-725: The Second World War, receiving thousands of works sponsored by the Ministry of Information's War Artists' Advisory Committee . In 1972 the museum established the Artistic Records Committee (since renamed the Art Commissions Committee) to commission artists to cover contemporary conflicts. Commissioned artists include Ken Howard , Linda Kitson , John Keane , Peter Howson , Steve McQueen (see Queen and Country ) and Langlands & Bell , responding to conflicts in Northern Ireland,
6600-545: The Southwark site and approached engineering firm Arup to plan a phased programme of works that would expand the building's exhibition space, provide appropriate environmental controls to protect collections, and improve facilities for visitors. The following year, in April 1984, the Cabinet War Rooms were opened to the public as a branch of the museum. The first phase of the works to the Southwark building started in 1986 and were completed in 1989, during which time
6710-664: The United States, most national museums are privately funded and operated, but have been designated by Congress as national institutions that are important to the country. In other countries a much greater number of museums are run by the central government. The following is an incomplete list of national museums: The Albanian government operates several national museums, including: The Argentinian Ministry of Culture operates several national museums, including: The Australian Government operates several national museums through its various departments, including: In addition,
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#17327724188186820-582: The War Rooms were rebranded as the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, with 850 m of the site redeveloped as a biographical museum exploring Churchill's life. The development of the Churchill Museum cost a further £6 million. The centrepiece is a 15 m interactive table which enables visitors to access digitised material, particularly from the Churchill Archives Centre , via an "electronic filing cabinet". The museum
6930-663: The Western Front, who reportedly took great interest in his work. In December 1917 the name was changed to the Imperial War Museum after a resolution from the India and Dominions Committee of the museum. The museum was opened by King George V at the Crystal Palace on 9 June 1920. During the opening ceremony, Sir Alfred Mond addressed the King on behalf of the committee, saying that "it was hoped to make
7040-406: The archive's First World War holdings is The Battle of the Somme , a pioneering 1916 documentary film (which was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 2005), and Der Magische Gürtel , a German 1917 propaganda film about the submarine U-35 . The archive's Second World War holdings include unedited film shot by British military cameramen, which document combat actions such as
7150-441: The beginning of exhibition projects, and convenes community advisory committees at various stages in the curatorial process. or have accepted exhibit proposals from community members and trained them in curatorial skills to co-create exhibits. Such efforts to allow communities to participate in curation can require "more not less expertise from museum staff". The term "literary curator" has been used to describe persons who work in
7260-471: The building in 1936 the ground floor of the central portion was occupied by the principal art gallery, with the east wing housing the Naval gallery and the west wing the Army gallery. The Air Force gallery was housed in the former theatre. The first floor comprised further art galleries (including rooms dedicated to Sir William Orpen and Sir John Lavery ), a gallery on women's war work , and exhibits relating to transport and signals. The first floor also housed
7370-409: The building to provide a public park in what was a severely overcrowded area of London. Eventually the central portion of the hospital building was retained. The two extensive wings were removed and the resulting space named Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park , after Lord Rothermere's mother. Sir Martin Conway described the building as "...a fine building, really quite noble building, with a great portico,
7480-593: The cultural resource of a region. In a museum setting, a curator in the United Kingdom may also be called a "keeper". An "exhibitions curator" is a person in charge of conceiving and organising exhibitions. The title "curator" identifies someone who selects and often interprets works for an exhibit. In addition to selecting works, the curator is often responsible for writing labels, catalog essays, and other content supporting exhibitions. Such curators may be permanent staff members, "guest curators" from an affiliated organization or university, or "freelance curators" working on
7590-487: The current collecting market for their area of expertise, and are aware of current ethical practices and laws that may impact their organisation's collecting. The increased complexity of many museums and cultural organisations has prompted the emergence of professional programs in fields such as public history, public humanities , museum studies , arts management , and curating/curatorial practice. (See →External links for further information on courses.) A biocurator
7700-680: The direction of a head curator. In such organizations, the physical care of the collection may be overseen by museum collections-managers or by museum conservators, with documentation and administrative matters (such as personnel, insurance, and loans) handled by a museum registrar. In France, the term "collections curator" is translated as conservateur . There are two kinds of conservateurs : heritage curators ( conservateurs du patrimoine ) with five specialities (archeology, archives, museums, historical monuments, natural science museums), and librarian curators ( conservateurs des bibliothèques ). These curators are selected by competitive examination and attend
7810-445: The existing permanent exhibition. In 1989 the museum acquired the All Saints Annexe, a former hospital building in Austral Street off West Square . The 1867 building, which backs onto Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park , was originally an orphanage opened by local philanthropist Charlotte Sharman , then later used as a hospital. It housed the museum's photographic, film and sound archives, and offices. Imperial War Museum Duxford, near
7920-418: The field of poetry, such as former 92nd Street Y director Karl Kirchwey . More recently, advances in new technologies have led to a further widening of the role of curator. This has been a focus in major art institutions internationally and has become an object of academic study and research. In the same way that a museum curator may acquire objects of relevance or an art curator may select or interpret
8030-541: The final phase of the Southwark redevelopment was completed. The development included the installation of the museum's Holocaust Exhibition which was opened by the Queen on 6 June 2000. This was the first permanent exhibition dedicated to the Holocaust in a UK museum; its development had taken five years at a cost of £5 million. Two years later, in July 2002, Imperial War Museum North was opened. Between 2004 and 2010
8140-477: The former Bethlem Royal Hospital on Lambeth Road since 1936. The hospital building was designed by the hospital surveyor, James Lewis, from plans submitted by John Gandy and other architects, and construction completed in October 1814. The hospital consisted of a range of buildings 580 feet long with a basement and three storeys, parallel to Lambeth Road , with a central entrance under a portico . The building
8250-410: The foundation's patron. In a speech at IWM London on 11 October 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron announced an additional £5 million of government funding to support the museum's redevelopment, as part of funding arrangements to facilitate national centenary commemorations. The £40 million redevelopment, designed by Foster and Partners , provides new gallery spaces dedicated to the history of
8360-524: The gallery exhibits the museum's Victoria Cross (VC) and George Cross collection, alongside the private VC collection amassed by Michael Ashcroft , 241 medals in total. In August 2019, the museum announced plans to spend over £30m on a new set of galleries over two floors at its London site covering the Holocaust and its importance in World War II. The galleries opened in October 2021 to replace
8470-579: The letters, diaries and memoirs of lower-ranked servicemen and of civilians. The collection includes the papers of Field Marshals Bernard Montgomery , and Sir John French . The archive also includes large collections of foreign documents, such as captured German Second World War documents previously held by the Cabinet Office Historical Section, Air Historical Branch and other British government bodies. The foreign collection also includes captured Japanese material transferred from
8580-408: The loss of irreplaceable books and documents. On his conviction in 1969 he was sentenced to four years in prison. In 1969 RAF Duxford, a Royal Air Force fighter airfield in Cambridgeshire was declared surplus to requirements by the Ministry of Defence . Needing further space, the museum duly requested permission to use part of the site as temporary storage. The entire site was later transferred to
8690-437: The material and digital worlds. Historian Elaine Gurian has called for museums in which "visitors could comfortably search for answers to their own questions regardless of the importance placed on such questions by others". This would change the role of curator from teacher to "facilitator and assistor". In this sense, the role of curator in the United States is precarious, as digital and interactive exhibits often allow members of
8800-652: The museum aims "to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and 'wartime experience'." Originally housed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill , the museum opened to the public in 1920. In 1924, it moved to space in the Imperial Institute in South Kensington and in 1936 it acquired a permanent home at the former Bethlem Royal Hospital in Southwark , which serves as its headquarters. The outbreak of
8910-501: The museum announced the creation of the Imperial War Museum Foundation. Chaired by Jonathan Harmsworth the foundation was charged with raising funds to support the redevelopment of Imperial War Museum London's permanent galleries. In December 2010 plans were announced to redevelop IWM London's First World War gallery in time for the conflict's centenary in 2014, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge became
9020-532: The museum in February 1976 and Duxford, now referred to as Imperial War Museum Duxford became the museum's first branch. Also during the 1970s the government raised the possibility of the museum taking over the historic Cabinet War Rooms in Whitehall . The museum was reluctant due to its new commitments related to Duxford and HMS Belfast , but agreed in 1982. By 1983 the museum was again looking to redevelop
9130-580: The museum remained open to the public, was completed in 1994. During the 1990s, while these works were going on, the museum was also seeking to open a branch in the north of England. 71 sites were offered for consideration by 36 local councils and in January 1999 the then Culture Secretary Chris Smith formally launched a project to construct a new branch of the museum, Imperial War Museum North , in Trafford , Greater Manchester . The following year, 2000,
9240-435: The museum reported the size of its film archive as being in excess of 23,000 hours of film, video and digital footage. IWM participated in the national digitising project Unlocking Film Heritage . The museum's Photograph Archive preserves photographs by official, amateur and professional photographers. The collection includes the official British photographic record of the two world wars; the First World War collection includes
9350-533: The museum secured funding from NESTA , the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Arts Council England to develop "social interpretation" systems to allow visitors to comment on, collect, and share museum objects via social media. These systems were incorporated in "A Family in Wartime", an exhibition at IWM London depicting British family life during the Second World War, which opened in April 2012. In August 2009
9460-484: The museum so complete that every one who took part in the war, however obscurely, would find therein an example or illustration of the sacrifice he or she made" and that the museum "was not a monument of military glory, but a record of toil and sacrifice". Shortly afterwards the Imperial War Museum Act 1920 was passed and established a board of trustees to oversee the governance of the museum. To reflect
9570-711: The museum was a partner in a national learning project entitled "Their Past Your Future" (TPYF), part of the Big Lottery Fund 's Veterans Reunited programme to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. A partnership between the IWM, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council , and Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh museum authorities, phase one included a touring exhibition seen by more than two million people, overseas educational visits and further activities run by local authorities. A second phase took
9680-485: The museum was awarded National Heritage Museum of the Year . In September 1992 the museum was the target of a Provisional Irish Republican Army attack against London tourist attractions. Two incendiary devices were found in a basement gallery, but were extinguished by staff before the arrival of the fire brigade , and caused only minor damage. The second stage of the redevelopment of the Southwark building, during which
9790-409: The museum was closed to the public. The work included the conversion of what was previously the hospital's courtyard into a centrepiece Large Exhibits Gallery. This gallery featured a strengthened ground floor (to support the weight of very heavy exhibits), a first floor mezzanine and second storey viewing balcony. Into this space were placed tanks, artillery pieces, vehicles, ordnance and aircraft from
9900-488: The museum's Imperial remit the board included appointees of the governments of India , South Africa , Canada , Australia and New Zealand . While the Act was being debated, some Parliamentarians felt that the museum would perpetuate an undesirable war spirit and Lieutenant-Commander Joseph Kenworthy MP said that he would "refuse to vote a penny of public money to commemorate such suicidal madness of civilisation as that which
10010-413: The museum's galleries in 1955 as appearing "dingy and neglected [and in a] dismal state of decay" the museum's "numerous stunning exhibits" notwithstanding. In 1966 the museum's Southwark building was extended to provide collections storage and other facilities, the first major expansion since the museum had moved to the site. The development also included a purpose-built cinema. In 1967 the museum acquired
10120-437: The museum's photograph collection. The second floor housed the museum's library in its west wing, and in the east wing the map collection and stored pictures and drawings. This division of exhibits by service, and by civil or military activity, persisted until a wide-ranging redisplay of the galleries from the 1960s onwards. In September 1972 the building received Grade II listed building status. The original hospital building
10230-485: The national collection of modern firearms. The firearms collection includes a rifle used by T. E. Lawrence , and an automatic pistol owned by Winston Churchill . The ordnance collection includes artillery pieces that participated in notable battles, such as the Néry gun, a field gun that was used during the 1914 action at Néry , and equipment captured from enemy forces. The museum's vehicles collection includes Ole Bill ,
10340-420: The public to become their own curators, and to choose their own information. Citizens are then able to educate themselves on the specific subject they are interested in, rather than spending time listening to information they have no desire to learn. In Scotland, the term "curator" is also used to mean the guardian of a child, known as curator ad litem . In Australia and New Zealand, the term also applies to
10450-483: The public. In 2002 IWM North opened in Trafford , Greater Manchester , the fifth branch of the museum and the first in the north of England. From the 1980s onwards, the museum's Southwark building underwent a series of multimillion-pound redevelopments, the latest of which was completed in 2022. The museum's collections include archives of personal and official documents, photographs , film and video material, and oral history recordings, an extensive library ,
10560-538: The space. The walls of the gallery space are used as screens for the projection of an hourly audiovisual presentation, the Big Picture. The main gallery, described as cavernous and dramatic, includes objects such as a Russian T-34 tank, a United States Marine Corps AV-8A Harrier jet, and a British 13-pounder field gun which fired the British Army 's first shot of the First World War. The museum also hosts
10670-412: The then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , an admirer of Britain's wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill . Thatcher opened the War Rooms in April 1984. In 2003 a further suite of rooms, used as accommodation by Churchill, his wife and close associates, were added to the museum. The restoration of these rooms, which since the war had been stripped out and used for storage, cost £7.5 million. In 2005
10780-507: The various items which make up the IWM Collections. In some cases, there are images of the item, or contemporary photos, which can be shared and reused under a Creative Commons Licence . National museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government . In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government , while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In
10890-460: The village of Duxford in Cambridgeshire , is Britain's largest aviation museum . Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft , military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven main exhibitions buildings. The site also provides storage space for the museum's collections of film, photographs, documents, books and artefacts. The site accommodates a number of British Army regimental museums, including those of
11000-529: The work of photographers such as Ernest Brooks and John Warwick Brooke . The archive also holds 150,000 British aerial photographs from the First World War, the largest collection of its kind. The Second World War collection includes the work of photographers such as Bill Brandt , Cecil Beaton and Bert Hardy . Like the Film Archive, the Photograph Archive is an official repository under
11110-715: Was Charles ffoulkes , who had previously been curator of the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London . In July 1917 Mond made a visit to the Western Front in order to study how best to organise the museum's growing collection. While in France he met French government ministers, along with Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig , Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on
11220-544: Was Libeskind's first building in Britain. Libeskind's building, overlooking the Manchester Ship Canal at Salford Quays , was based on the concept of a globe shattered by conflict into shards and reassembled. These shards, representing earth, air and water, give the building its shape. Originally budgeted at £40 million, the museum was eventually completed for £28.5 million after anticipated funding
11330-573: Was changed to "HMS Belfast 1938" to reflect that one of the Royal Navy's new Type 26 frigates had been given the name HMS Belfast . The Cabinet War Rooms is an underground complex that served as a British government command centre throughout the Second World War. Located beneath the Treasury building in the Whitehall area of Westminster , the facilities became operational in 1939 and were in constant use until their abandonment in August 1945 after
11440-425: Was destroyed. While closed to the public the museum's building was used for a variety of purposes connected to the war effort, such as a repair garage for government motor vehicles, a centre for Air Raid Precautions civil defence lectures and a fire fighting training school. In October 1945 the museum mounted a temporary exhibition, the first since the end of the war in August, which showcased technologies developed by
11550-432: Was formally reopened on 17 July 2014 by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge . From the 1970s onwards the Imperial War Museum began to expand onto other sites. The first branch, Imperial War Museum Duxford opened to the public on a regular basis in June 1976. HMS Belfast became a branch of the museum in 1978. The Churchill War Rooms opened in 1984, and Imperial War Museum North in 2002. The museum has occupied
11660-430: Was not forthcoming. The museum was funded by local, national and European development agencies, by private donations and by Peel Holdings , a local transport and property company which contributed £12.5 million. The museum's first floor main gallery space houses the permanent exhibitions. These consist of a chronological display which runs around the gallery's 200m perimeter and six thematic displays in "silos" within
11770-539: Was practical. In 1971 the government decided against preservation, prompting the formation of the private HMS Belfast Trust to campaign for her to be saved for the nation. The Trust was successful in its efforts, and the government transferred the ship to the Trust in July 1971. Brought to London, she was moored on the River Thames near Tower Bridge in the Pool of London . Opened to the public in October 1971 Belfast became
11880-478: Was renamed the Churchill War Rooms in 2010. The Imperial War Museum North was opened in Trafford , Greater Manchester , in 2002. It was the first branch of the museum outside southeast England, and the first to be purpose-built as a museum. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind , with Manchester-based architects Leach Rhodes Walker providing implementation services, The Imperial War Museum North
11990-539: Was shown in the late War". On the August Bank Holiday 1920, the first public holiday since the museum's opening, 94,179 visitors were received, and by November 1921, 2,290,719 had visited the museum. In 1924 the museum moved to the Imperial Institute building (demolished in the 1950s and 1960s to make way for Imperial College ) in South Kensington. While this location was more central and in
12100-459: Was substantially altered in 1835 by architect Sydney Smirke . In order to provide more space, he added blocks at either end of the frontage, and galleried wings on either side of the central portion. He also added a small single-storey lodge, still in existence, at the Lambeth Road gate. Later, between 1844 and 1846, the central cupola was replaced with a copper-clad dome in order to expand
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