A New ‘World Gallery’ Comes to Horniman Museum and Gardens

The Horniman Museum and Gardens’ new World Gallery will provide a beautiful, contemporary setting for Horniman’s world-class anthropology collection.

From 29 June 2018, the 600 sq m space will showcase over 3,000 objects that tell stories from around the world and explore what it means to be human.

A New ‘World Gallery’ Comes to Horniman Museum and Gardens

World Gallery balcony, courtesy of Horniman Museum and Gardens. Planning and design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates.

Occupying one half of the Horniman’s original building in Forest Hill, South London, the World Gallery is the culmination of more than five years’ work. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the gallery is part of the Horniman Museum and Gardens’ wider mission to encourage appreciation of the world and its environments, as well as its people and their cultures. Showcasing selected new acquisitions alongside magnificent objects from the Horniman’s existing collection, the gallery will demonstrate some of the ways that ordinary people live and make their way in the world we all share. The gallery also includes stories about contemporary issues such as climate change, migration and displacement.

14 of the Best Current Art Exhibitions in London

The World Gallery will be divided into four interlinked spaces: an Introductory area – welcoming visitors into the gallery and exploring the sentiments and memories we can associate with objects ; Encounters – rich displays revealing life on every continent throughout different times and in different places; Horniman’s Vision – an overview of the Horniman’s history; and Perspectives – an area that reflects on how and why we categorise, describe and understand the world.

World Gallery aisle, courtesy of Horniman Museum and Gardens. Planning and design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates.

The gallery space is completed with a beautiful display of kites and banners hanging from the newly renovated ceiling vault. Collected and commissioned from Guatemala, China, London and beyond, these emblems have come about in group celebration, play or protest. Highlights include kites by Ahmadzia Bakhtyari, a London-based kite-maker from Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, and a banner created by South East London artist Ed Hall with Horniman volunteers, inspired by the long tradition of Trade Union banners.

When & Where: From 29 June 2018, Horniman Museum and Gardens, 100 London Rd, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ

This Exhibition Finally Addresses Our Obsession with Edited Photos