Hackney residents can now submit feedback on what they would like to see in a new permanent exhibition at Hackney Museum as the revitalisation project enters its next chapter.
Residents and visitors alike have until January 2024 to take part in a survey consultation as part of the ‘Reimagining Hackney Museum: Connecting Communities with Collections’ project.
This phase comes after Hackney Council was awarded £266,782 in a first-round grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Petra Roberts, Assistant Director for Culture, Libraries and Heritage at the Council said: “We are so excited to be able to include our residents’ voices and stories in this ambitious transformation project, it will see our much-loved museum given a new lease of life.”
Plans for the project include a new exhibition focused on sharing stories of “migration and settlement from prehistory to modern day, a developed community room, an improved shop, additional storage space for collections and enhanced digital activities”, the press release reveals. This will give the community greater access to the borough’s rich histories.
Local resident Martin Dunhill said: “It is great to see the council working hard for the community. My wife and I take our three-year-old to museums often and I like the idea that we’ll get a say in the future of our local museum.”
The National Lottery Heritage Fund will consider final proposals in the new year. It will decide whether to award the second-round funding of £1.8 million to Hackney Council or to elsewhere.
The museum revitalisation project comes as part of an ongoing investment into the borough’s cultural facilities, which include an improved Town Hall Square and Central Library. The Council is encouraging everyone interested to complete the consultation survey before 24 January 2024.
