The Migration Museum is delighted to announce that The Wolfson Foundation has become a Founding Partner of the UK’s first permanent museum dedicated to exploring how the movement of people to and from these shores across the centuries has shaped who we are.

The Wolfson Foundation has awarded £600,000 in funding, which will be put towards the fit-out of our new permanent home in the City of London, and the development of content, including story-led permanent and temporary exhibitions, learning programmes and special events. 

When it reopens at its permanent home in Spring 2028, the Migration Museum will be the UK’s first permanent museum dedicated to migration, welcoming 140,000 visitors a year to its exhibitions, events, learning and community programmes, including 20,000 learners. 

The new Migration Museum will challenge perceptions of what a museum can be and do – evoking surprise and delight through relevant, resonant and unexpected experiences and collaborations, with personal stories at the heart of everything we do.

Co-production and co-creation will be at the heart of our curatorial vision, with the Migration Museum working with five partners across the UK to recruit 10 Community Curators to collect stories from across the UK that will feature in our permanent home, ensuring that we are creating a museum that is truly UK-wide in scope and a platform for migration stories from across the UK.

The Wolfson Foundation is an independent grant-making charity with a focus on research and education. Its aim is to contribute to civil society by supporting high-quality projects in science, health, heritage, humanities and the arts.

Since it was established in 1955, it has awarded over £1 billion (£2 billion in real terms) to around 14,000 projects throughout the UK.

Announcing the funding, Georgina Lewis, Development Director of the Migration Museum, said:

“It’s hugely exciting to have such a widely respected institution like The Wolfson Foundation as a founding partner. As an organisation with a fascinating migration story of their own, and deep understanding of the important role that museums like ours can play in society, we’re thrilled to be working with them.

“This support is thanks to the ambition and hard work of the entire Migration Museum team and will be transformational in enabling us to realise our vision for the UK’s missing museum, opening in 2028.”

Paul Ramsbottom, Chief Executive of The Wolfson Foundation said:

“The history of migration is rich and colourful. In its varied shapes and forms, migration affects each of us – and it is not possible to understand our country without these diverse stories. The Migration Museum tells those stories, past and present, with elegance, sensitivity and beauty. It is therefore a great delight to support the Museum’s move to the heart of the City of London: an appropriate backdrop for this important institution.”

Find out more about the Migration Museum’s plans for its permanent home and how you can get involved.

Find out more about The Wolfson Foundation.

Images:

1 External visualisation of the Migration Museum’s new permanent home in the City of London, an inspiring new cultural landmark opening in 2028 exploring how migration to and from the UK has shaped who we are (Image: Unknown Works/Migration Museum)

2 The Migration Museum’s new home will provide state-of-the-art gallery spaces for core and temporary exhibitions exploring how migration has shaped our history, culture and society (Image: Unknown Works/Migration Museum)

3 Over the past decade, the Migration Museum has staged award-winning exhibitions exploring the impact of migration on so many aspects of our lives, including Taking Care of Business: Migrant Entrepreneurs and the Making of Britain (Photo: Elzbieta Piekacz/Migration Museum)

4 The new Migration Museum will be an inspiring setting for creative workshops and events bringing people together to explore our connections to migration (Photo: Elzbieta Piekacz/Migration Museum)

5 Migration Museum Community Curators in the museum’s previous temporary home in Lewisham. Co-curation and co-production is at the heart of the Migration Museum’s approach (Photo: Elzbieta Piekacz/Migration Museum)

6 A Migration Museum discussion event exploring the impact of migration on food featuring author and broadcaster Jimi Famurewa.The new Migration Museum will be an inspiring setting for talks and events (Photo: Elzibieta Piekacz/Migration Museum)

7 Guided tours and walks led by the Migration Museum team and volunteers will bring its exhibitions and programming to life (Photo: Elzbieta Piekacz/Migration Museum)