Museums and heritage

Spending time in a museum or art gallery can help people feel more relaxed, according to a Japanese study.

In June, researchers led by Izumi Ogata, a professor at Kyushu Sangyo University, measured the blood pressure, pulse rate, mood and psychological state of 41 people as they visited the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.

Participants viewed the exhibit in silence for 20 minutes, followed by 20 minutes conversing with others, with measurements taken at three stages.

The study found all the people showed lower levels of anger, fatigue, tension, confusion and depression after silently visiting the exhibition. Indicators of being in a more positive emotional state rose after the second viewing.

The experiment was the latest in an investigation that began in 2020, with more than 1,000 people and 75 museums taking part so far.

“Museum bathing has an effect on the function of activating human homeostasis,” said Ogata. “If it can be proven that even a 10- or 20-minute visit to a museum can relieve stress, it may draw in new visitors.”

A new £15m centre dedicated to the late comedian Sir Ken Dodd is planned for his home city, Liverpool.

The Sir Ken Dodd Happiness Centre will be home to Dodd's joke books, tickling sticks and other artefacts.

Plans for the four-storey centre, which will be attached to the city's Royal Court theatre, were approved last week by the city council.

Dodd regularly performed at the Royal Court during his career, and in the late 1970s helped save it from closure.

His widow Lady Dodd told BBC News he would be "honoured", "amazed" and "thrilled to bits" by the news.

The centre will be built on the site of the theatre's current Courtyard Bar. It is hoped it will open in time for the 100th anniversary of the comedian's birth in 2027.

Royal Court Chief Executive Gillian Miller said: "There is no better city than Liverpool to create a centre for happiness and wellbeing in, and we are looking forward to delivering a unique building for the city that epitomises happiness."

Funding for the building, which will also celebrate other comedians, will come from the Sir Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation and The Comedy Trust.

The British Museum has received a significant donation of artefacts valued at £103.3m, thanks to a bequest from Sir Joseph Hotung, a Hong Kong businessman, collector and philanthropist.

The legacy was first announced in 2022, shortly after Hotung died in December 2021.

The collection has been donated in partnership with the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art and includes a large collection of Chinese jades, blue-and-white porcelains, and other rare artefacts.

Hotung was a trustee of the British Museum from 1994 to 2004 and had made many previous donations to the museum.

The Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery of China and South Asia at the museum was opened in 1992 by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

British Museum Chair George Osborne said: "This is one of the most generous gifts we’ve ever received, and it means future generations will be able to enjoy these beautiful objects and learn more about the extraordinary history of China."

Hotung’s family said in a statement: "We are pleased that our father’s collections will now be viewed by the millions of visitors who pass through the museum every year."

The British Museum is working with The National Archives to improve how it adminsters its records. The move follows an internal audit which found it was "not compliant" with the Public Records Act.

The act governs the Place of Deposit system, through which archive services are appointed to preserve and provide access to public records. This is carried out on behalf of the Public Record Office, part of The National Archives.

According to The National Archives, a Place of Deposit “needs to meet basic standards of preservation, access and professional care for the type of public record held, the size of the collection and its use”. The British Museum is recognised as a Place of Deposit for its archives and written records.

The museum said in its annual report for 2023/24 that an internal audit had found that it was not compliant with the Public Records Act.

Furthermore, a report in The Sunday Times said the museum had committed an offence or breached the legislation, an allegation the museum has roundly rebutted.

A British Museum spokesman said: “The British Museum holds a historic archive of national significance, with a dedicated team overseeing its day to day management.

“The museum’s archive was awarded provisional accreditation by The National Archives (TNA) under the Archive Service Accreditation Standard and is working closely with TNA to reach full accreditation.”

It could take up to five years to establish a new permanent home for Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Derbyshire County Council has said.

The Buxton Advertiser reports that the museum was temporarily closed in June 2023 after dry rot was discovered in the building.

The council says the building is no longer viable due to the potential costs and length of time needed for us to bring it back into use as a modern-day museum and is putting it up for sale.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “We’re determined to see the collections displayed locally as soon as possible.

“Three to five years is the time we believe it could take to establish a new permanent home for Buxton Museum and Art Gallery and so plans are currently being developed for a museum service to be offered at alternative locations until a permanent home is found.”

“We can’t make any decisions about exactly how the temporary service will operate until a suitable building is secured, but potentially it could include a small temporary museum in the town as well as additional ‘pop-up’ displays at other venues."
 

Around 40 French museums were affected by a ransomware attack over the weekend, according to news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Among the affected organisations was the Grand Palais, which is hosting Olympic events in Paris.

A police source told AFP that those responsible attacked a system that centralises financial data for affected organisations, demanding a ransom and threatening to release financial data.

France's national cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, confirmed that it had been alerted to an incident.

Brighton Museum and Art Gallery will close for about a month this summer so urgent repair work can take place.

The project is funded by a £1.5m grant from Arts Council England, matched with £500,000 from Brighton & Hove City Council.

The necessary repairs were identified in a structural survey in 2019. The museum says the work will help improve the care of collections and enhance the visitor experience, while reducing maintenance costs and carbon emissions.

The project will include restoring two Georgian glass roof lanterns, which span the building above the central main gallery.

Replicating the original lighting scheme, which included light wells and sun pipes, will mean “the whole gallery will be lit by daylight” and reduce energy costs, the museum said. 

In addition, upgrades and repairs to the building’s two large, glazed roofs will include better ventilation and insulation.

Two galleries will close for the duration of the project, but the majority of the museum will stay open for most of the work. The work is expected to be finished next summer, according to The Argus newspaper.

Hedley Swain, Chief Executive of the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust, said the work on the roof “needs to be carried out at a time when the weather is expected to be dry, to reduce the risk of water damage while the work is being done”.

"The summer months are the best time to conduct this work and will mean the closure time will be shorter."

Swain added that following the repairs, “visitors to the museum will be able to appreciate our artworks and exhibitions knowing the building is more sustainable, energy-efficient with better lighting and ventilation”.
 

Supporters of a controversial scheme to reroute a major road under Stonehenge have criticised the government's cancellation of the project as it seeks to make savings.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced the scrappping of the planned £2bn tunnel under the prehistoric site, redirecting the A303 which passes close by, as part of measures to plug a £22bn hole in the country's finances.

There has been vocal opposition to the tunnel, with campaign group Save Stonehenge World Heritage Site winning a court battle in 2020 to overturn former Tory Minister Grant Shapps's approval of the project.

Earlier this month, the group legally challenged a subsequent judicial review that allowed the scheme to proceed. The group claimed ministers responsible for the decision were “inadequately briefed”. 

However a spokesperson for English Heritage, which manages the site, told Arts Newspaper it will seek further dialogue with the government to find a solution for the monument.

“English Heritage has been a strong supporter of the tunnel project, which would reunite the ancient landscape and allow more people to explore and enjoy this remarkable site,” said the spokesperson.

The National Trust was also critical, warning that “a solution is needed to remove the hugely damaging surface road that blights Stonehenge and its surrounding landscape”.