MUS EUMS
PHILLIP TEFFT As the Imperial War Museum London prepares to tell hitherto unheard stories from World War 2, Magali Robathan speaks to the designers about the museum’s new galleries
F
ive years in the making, Imperial War Museums’ new Second World War Galleries and Holocaust Galleries will bring together unseen objects and unheard voices, when they open on 20 October 2021.
IWM London’s £30.5m transformation
project will make it the first museum in the world to house dedicated Second World War and Holocaust Galleries under the same roof, telling the story of this period in history for a 21st century audience. The galleries span two floors; The Second World War Galleries were designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), while the Holocaust Galleries were designed by Casson Mann. Drawing heavily upon the personal stories contained in the IWM’s collections, the new galleries will aim to show visitors the realities of the Second World War, the Holocaust and the resulting impact on the world. Diane Lees, IWM Director-General, said: “At the centre of the brutal and barbaric conflict was the state sponsored mass murder of 6 million Jewish men, women and children. This is why we’re placing IWM’s new Holocaust Galleries at the central chronological fulcrum of our iconic London museum and linking them, architecturally and conceptually, to our new Second World War Galleries.” Here we speak to Phillip Tefft,
Photo: RAA
founding director of Ralph Appelbaum
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Associates London, about this Phillip Tefft, founding director of Ralph Applebaum Associates
attractionsmanagement.com ISSUE 3 2021
moving and emotional project.