£70,000 award for galleries of modern London

31 August 2007

Museum of London has been awarded £70,000 by DCMS/Wolfson Fund to support the creation of a major new exhibit. The new area named simply, Londoners, tells the story of the post war city through film and photographic portraits of real Londoners at work and play.

Visitors will witness how London became home to a diverse population, relishing the freedom to be different. The gallery highlights the rise of youth culture and multiculturalism from the 1950s onwards and is reflected by displays of street festivals such as Notting Hill Carnival, Chinese New Year celebrations and Gay Pride.

Londoners, is just one part of the major £18 million redevelopment currently underway at Museum of London. In the autumn of 2009 Museum of London will proudly throw open the doors to its new galleries and a Clore Learning Centre with fully modernised theatre. 2,500 square metres of gallery space will be completely transformed to complement the museum’s early London history galleries, retelling the story of London from 1666 to the present day.

Professor Jack Lohman, Director of Museum of London comments,

'We are tremendously thankful to DCMS/Wolfson Fund for this fantastic contribution to our £18 million redevelopment. It will be spent on new galleries reflecting the rich cultural diversity of London and the enormous influence this has had on our city. This generous sum plays a part in helping us transform the way we tell the story of our capital city.'

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said:

'Once again the DCMS Wolfson Fund is providing support for museums and galleries across England. This year’s grants go to an imaginative array of projects in national institutions, university collections and well-loved local museums and galleries. This funding will give visitors the best possible experience of some wonderful collections.'

The project still needs to raise the remaining £1.5 million pounds. Companies and individuals can Buy a Year of London’s History through the museum’s innovative fundraising scheme. This offers people a chance to buy their favourite year between 1666 to 2012, for £5,000, and have their name included on a timeline running through the new galleries. Visit our support us pages for more information.

Notes to editors

• For press enquiries and images contact Marian Williams 0n 020 7814 5502 mwilliams@museumoflondon.org.uk
• Throughout the redevelopment work, visitors will continue to be able to discover the city's many incarnations in the London before London, Roman London, and Medieval London galleries, together with London's Burning and a series of topical exhibitions. A full programme of activities and events for all ages, bringing London's past and present to life, will continue.
• The DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Museums & Galleries Improvement Fund allocates £4 million annually to capital projects in national and regional museums and galleries. www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/Museums_galleries/wolfson.htm