HRH The Prince of Wales: MGM "will help to foster an appreciation of our diverse heritage." © Dave Williams-EPS.
HRH The Prince of Wales launched the annual celebration of all that’s best in the UK’s Museums and Galleries at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace on April 27 2005.
Now in its fifth year Museums and Galleries Month (MGM) takes place throughout May and offers museums and galleries up and down the country a chance to promote themselves and engage with as many people as possible.
Under the over-arching theme Objects of Desire: The Art of Collecting, institutions of all sizes and budgets have organised thousands of events, exhibitions and activities.
Speaking at the launch, HRH The Prince praised the work of the thousands of participating museums and galleries: "The hundreds of events taking place," he said, "are testimony to the skills and value of this splendid annual event."
(left to right) Virginia Tandy, co-chair of MGM, and Ylva French of the Campaign for Museums meet the Duchess of Cornwall. © Dave Williams-EPS.
Altogether there are more than 1,200 museums and galleries taking part in this year’s MGM with over 1,000 events, exhibition and activities already lined up.
For MGM co-chair Loyd Grossman, the month is a "celebration of the variety, excellence and creativity of all our museums and galleries."
Also speaking at the launch he described MGM as "an affirmation of our belief that museums and galleries should be at the centre of our society. The cultural and financial health of our museums and galleries," he said, "is one of the most important hallmarks of the fact that we are a civilised country."
His words were echoed by HRH Prince Charles who explained that the many events organised as part of museums and galleries "underline the important role played by arts and heritage organisations in our national life."
24 HM Editor and member of the MGM Working Group Jon Pratty is introduced to the Prince. © Dave Williams-EPS.
The wide range and scope of MGM, he said, "will help to foster an appreciation of our diverse heritage," and "encourage public participation and, most importantly, hopefully be enjoyed by all concerned."
The Prince also paid tribute to the hard work, creativity and imagination that keeps hundreds of smaller, often entirely volunteer-run, museums and galleries open.
"I’m such an admirer of the smaller museums and galleries that struggle away to maintain these remarkable collections," he said, "I only wish there was more time to go and visit more of them."
The launch officially gets proceedings underway and events kick off on April 30, continue throughout the month and take in the announcement of the winner of the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year on May 26.
© Dave Williams-EPS.
Above: Having offered particular praise to smaller museums, HRH meets (l to r) Alexandra Walker of the Harris Museum & Art Gallery; Vivien Rudolph of River House Barn; Ashley Jones of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and Stuart Evans from Ceredigion Museum.
On Saturday April 30 there’ll be a series of nine Fabulous Finds Days taking place in museums across England.
Members of the public will be able to show off their everyday treasures or unusual items and experts will be on hand to examine them, explain their use and discuss their importance.
In order to keep us updated on what’s brought in, 24 Hour Museum Renaissance Student Journalists will be reporting on each event and you’ll be able to find out what went on right here.
Event details can also be found right here on the 24 Hour Museum, so to get the lowdown on activities in your area just have a quick search on our new What’s On page.
