Building work completed on new Museum of Liverpool
The largest museum to be built in Britain in more than a century marked a significant milestone in its completion last night.
Construction work on the new Museum of Liverpool has been finished and the building handed over to its owners to begin fitting it out.
Prof Phil Redmond, National Museums chair, hosted a preview fundraising dinner in one of the expansive gallery spaces to celebrate the achievement.
He said: “It provided our friends and supporters from the business and cultural community with their first opportunity to view the museum’s spaces, and preview what will undoubtedly become one of the best vantage points in the city through a magnificent 80ft picture window.”
The internal fit-out will begin next week to transform the building into Liverpool’s largest museum, which will tell the history of the city and its people.
Prof Redmond said last night’s event was just the beginning of the next stage of work on the building.
He said: “The current emptiness of the galleries reveals the enormous scale of the project to date and just how much we have achieved so far, but work doesn’t stop here.
“The building is looking great, but work starts in earnest next week when the fit-out of the galleries begins, and the really exciting part starts.”
The inaugural dinner was held in the People’s City gallery, one of the £72m museum’s most impressive gallery spaces, overlooking the Three Graces and the River Mersey.
Due to open in spring, 2011, displays on exhibits related to the city from National Museums Liverpool’s entire collections.
Its story will be told through archaeological material, social and urban history objects, oral testimonies, entomology collections, botanic collections, photographic archives, costume and decorative art collections.
The museum will be structured around four core themes: Port City, Global City, People’s City and Creative City, located in four large gallery spaces.
Another key area of the museum will be the History Detectives interactive resource centre.
Specially designed for flexibility, the museum will incorporate a bespoke exhibition system to give it the adaptability of an exhibition centre.
Prof Redmond said, as it was a museum for the people of Liverpool it’s important for all to become involved in its creation.
He said: “We want to encourage everyone to be a part of the new museum and get involved in maintaining and developing museums for the future.
“It is hoped this event will inspire a return to the philanthropic ethos that helped found our museums and galleries in the first place, and bring people on board to support the project who recognise the importance of arts and culture in Liverpool and making it accessible to all.”
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/mol/
BACK
The Capital, 39 Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9PP Telephone: +44(0)151 600 2900
Email: info@liverpoolvision.co.uk