A VIEW FROM THE BOARD

Hello Friends,

The warmer weather and hours of extra daylight always make me feel like you can do so much more with your day - any excuse to spend a couple of hours at one of our museums! What’s been your favourite exhibition so far this year? It’s been wonderful seeing visitors return to see our fabulous Joseph Wright collection, and to see so many people coming to visit Hogarth Britons. It’s fabulous to see scenes from history, led by Bonnie Prince Charlie - and it seems timely to offer a reminder of the statue of the Prince by the Museum of Making and our Bonnie Prince Charlie collection at the Museum and Art Gallery, both well worth a visit.

We continue to provide a wide range of exhibitions, events and workshops for visitors to our museums, and we also have much to explore online, on our website and social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram). Why not make plans to meet family and friends in Derby and visit us in the coming months? There’s plenty to see and do! I’m looking forward to visiting Oliver Frank Chanarin’s solo exhibition, A Perfect Sentence, which was created whilst the country was in lockdown and opened at the Museum of Making as part of the FORMAT International Photography Festival earlier in the year. I’m so grateful that we have many fabulous festivals here in Derby, such as FORMAT and the Derby Book Festival, and I love that Derby Museums is such a welcoming host for so many events. I hope you get to visit something a little bit different, and something very enjoyable.

A reminder that all of our three museums are free to visit and, if you’re able to make a donation, don’t forget to add Gift Aid if you’re eligible. You’re also very welcome to pop in just for a bite to eat or to shop - The Hub on the third floor of the Museum of Making is a favourite of mine when it comes to buying presents, it’s full of wonderful and unique pieces from amazing local makers and just beautiful to visit even if you’re not shopping!

I hope you have a wonderful summer time, that your days are full of creativity and wonder, and that you once again are able to come and spend some time with Derby Museums. My thanks, as always, to all the fantastic museum staff and volunteers, our committed Friends, and our wonderful visitors and supporters.