The working life of Museum of London

During the last 6 months and while the museum was getting ready for the big launch of the new Galleries of Modern London, a small team of us has been working on another exhibition project aiming to highlight the importance of archaeology in the capital. The exhibition called ‘Archaeology in Action’ will open to the public on Friday 16 July 2010 and will run until spring 2012. Within this time one of the elements of the exhibition, the recent finds display, will be changing regularly to showcase new objects soon after they come out of the ground in the various excavations that are taking place around London.

We spent some time thinking about the title of the exhibition. Other candidates were ‘Archaeology Now’, ‘Archaeology Today’ and ‘Archaeology in Practice’ but ‘Archaeology in Action’, a suggestion put forward by our colleagues at the Museum of London Archaeology, won by far the popular vote.

Few people outside the museum world would probably realise how much work an exhibition project entails and how many people from different departments need to be involved to make it happen.

My role as the project manager of the exhibition was to coordinate work, ensure the timetable was followed and key deadlines along the way were met, manage the budget, make sure the right people were speaking to each other and decisions were made when needed and keep everyone in the team and the rest of the museum informed of the developments.

The people who worked with me and who I would like to thank for their contribution to this project are (and did I say we were a small team?):

Jon Cotton, the curator, who selected the objects and images for the display, developed the text and film content, assisted the designer and conservator with the case layouts and object installation, liaised with people at the Museum of London Archaeology and other archaeological companies about the recent finds display and had the difficult task of selecting the five key sites that best represent archaeology in London.

Leigh Cain, the 3D designer, who developed the design concept and layout of the exhibition and turned the three straight, plain, dark grey walls of the exhibition space into an imaginative, clean and fresh-looking display.

Jayne Davis, the graphic designer, who developed the graphic elements of the exhibition, the title, the colours and the layout of the text and images on the walls, graphic panels, and object captions.

Jill Barnard, the conservator, who conserved the objects, liaised with the technicians for the object mounts, managed the installation stage of the exhibition and ensured the showcases provide a safe and suitable environment for the objects for the next two years. Kate French, Lisa Psarianos and Luisa Duarte who have also helped with the conservation of objects and the mounts.

Catherine Stevenson, the learning advocate, who ensured the exhibition is suitable for schools and families and helped to develop our ‘What do these finds mean?’ interactive, which we expect will be one of the most popular elements of the exhibition.

Nickos Gogolos, the registrar, who arranged the loan agreements between the museum and our object lenders and made sure we had all the necessary documentation on time for the exhibition’s opening.

Kirsty Marsh, the inclusion officer, who liaised with the Friends of Arnold Circus for the display of the wall-hanging ‘Bagaan’ a great example of community involvement with archaeology.

Cliff Thomas, Richard Tosdevin and Hilmi Nevzat, the technicians, who made the object mounts and prepared the showcases and object plinths, installed the objects and, as always, helped to sort out all sorts of odd and last minute issues with the display.

Richard Stroud, the photographer, who put together the introductory projection and the film about the Theatre excavation.

Andy Murray and John Iaciofano, the electricians, who wired up the exhibition so that film, sound, projections and powerpoint presentations are all possible in the space and who put the final lighting touch that made the objects in the showcases stand out.

Louise Baker, the Visitor Services team leader, who brought in the operational perspective and advised on aspects to do with the way our visitors will use the exhibition space.

Claire Kirk, the events officer, who organised the events programme so that the exhibition space is also used for talks, object handling sessions and demonstrations.

Nicola Kalimeris, Anne McMeekin and John Joyce from Communications who looked after the promotion of the exhibition and Vicky Lee, the marketing manager who together with Jayne Davis produced the exhibition’s advertising poster.

Cathy Ross, Annette Day, David Spence, Frazer Swift and Roy Stevenson, our approvals team, who had the task to approve and sign off countless versions of the exhibition’s text and film.

Steve Cox and Andy McCabe who looked after the security and health and safety aspects of the exhibition.

Thanks also to:

Our colleagues at the Museum of London Archaeology, Taryn Nixon and Jo Lyon for making the Theatre excavation display happen, Tracy Wellman and Carlos Lemos for developing the ‘Slice through time’ graphic that shows a simplified version of London’s archaeological stratigraphy,  Andy Chopping for providing most of the images that feature in the exhibition and Adam Corsini and Glynn Davis from LAARC for sourcing a lot of the material that is on display.

Nathalie Cohen, Lorna Richardson and Anies Hassan from the Thames Discovery Programme for their contribution and the beautiful film about their work with volunteers and the archaeology on the Thames foreshore.

Our contractors, Matt Di Fiore, Peter Sheldrick, Dave Richardson and their teams for the setworks, graphics production and alarms installation respectively.

Watch this page for more entries from Jon Cotton and do keep an eye for updates in our recent finds display in the coming months.

Elpiniki Psalti , Display and Exhibitions Project Manager

First members of the public to see new galleries

Meet Londoner’s Denise, Sally, Dawn, Justin and Bryce, our first visitors this morning to our new Galleries of Modern London.

Having waited patiently outside until the Museum doors opened at 10am. All five headed down the main staircase and entered the new galleries at the Sackler Hall and became the first members of the public to visit the gallery spaces (technically the boys were first as they enthusiastically ran ahead).

Everyone (Denise and Sally are daughter and mother whilst mum Dawn was with son Justin and his friend Bryce) was excited to see the new space having heard about the galleries in the media and had arrived specifically to be one of the first to visit.

As Justin, seven, so eloquently said:

“I have been looking forward to this as I know the galleries have been closed for four years and as I’m only seven I have never seen them.”

Sally remembered the lower galleries as they were before they closed and was looking forward to seeing the new layout, having held off visiting again until they opened, a tough task as she loves the Museum.

Dawn was keen to see what we had achieved visually as she found that this helped our younger visitors become interested in areas of history which could further be explored at home through books – a great way to get kids interested in reading.

As they started to explore London’s history from 1666 to the present day, they said they would be in touch with their thoughts on what they saw and experienced.

In just over an hour, they were joined by over 400 visitors experiencing our new galleries for the first time.

The Museum of London is open from 10am to 6pm daily and is free! Find out more at www.museumoflondon.org.uk

I’m very happy to tell you that the Museum of London Docklands is now free to all! You can enjoy getting an insight into over 2,000 years of history surrounding the Port of London and the people who lived and worked there, all without charge.

Museum of London Docklands is situated in one of only two warehouses from 1802 still remaining on West India Quay, and it has long been a popular destination for local families and tourists.

You can visit the Museum at:

Museum of London Docklands
West India Quay
Canary Wharf
London E14 4AL

Open everyday from 10am-6pm (except 24-26 December)
More information at: www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands

Many of you will be aware that the Museum of London is undergoing a huge redevelopment and some spectacular new galleries will open in May 2010. However, although many of the Museum of London employees have seen how the redevelopment is going, the web team didn’t get a chance to see the latest developments.

So we decided to have a bit of an adventurer last Friday afternoon after the builders had ‘shut up shop’. Yes, we finally went to see the new galleries and I managed to sneak my handy camera in with me and took a few photos to share with you.

I must warn you that I am no professional photographer and my very slim digital camera does not deal well with poor lighting, but the photos below will still give you an insight into some of the fascinating things that await your visits in May.

The head of communications, Antony Robbins, gave us an excellent tour. We explored the new Galleries of Modern London, starting with checking out some really cool chill-out areas where visitors can surf the net and perhaps even sneak in a coffee or two!

What looked like a ghostly figure shrouded beneath plastic appeared to watch us as we made our way through the galleries. I found that we are being very eco-friendly and have recycled many of our display cases from the previous galleries.

I was much taken with one of the exhibits of an 18th century printing press that spews reams and reams of papers, notices, and posters on to over 20 plasma screens to show the 18th century version of the white heat of technology. Wow, I thought, I can’t wait to see this in action!

I finally discovered what the back of the glass display cases look like (they actually look like the back of normal cases to me!), and I was able to look up closely into what the inside of the Wellclose prison was like in its original form. I didn’t have time to read all the names and see all the pictures etched on the walls, but it was fascinating none the less.

For the first time ever, Museum of London will have display cases under the floor and I was told that the glass will be bullet proof (no, please don’t bring your gun in to check!).

I ‘accidentally’ stumbled into the power room behind the gallery and decided to take a photo as I was already there.

The pleasure garden was next and how pretty and peaceful it was! One of my colleagues was playing around with the different sounds that would be played in the background and I could have just stayed there for a very long time. There were real trees in the middle, and the garden has the ability to change from day to night, with the music reflecting the different mood.

We were lucky to see the Selfridges lift all lit up and my colleagues and I marvelled at the detail.

We toured the galleries that had maps and interactives, and what I thought were sails but weren’t sails at all (it was just sheets to protect the new galleries from dust and keep it private from visitors visiting the galleries on the upper floors). It turned out that we were keeping the development sites very clean because I even saw a very happy, smiling ‘Mr Henry’, vacuum cleaner.

I was interested to learn that an unexploded insidious bomb recovered in the early 1940s in the East End will loom large on top of a glass case. You and I will have to find out by visiting the gallery when it opens exactly what this looks like.

I found out that the largest glass case in the gallery will host the Tom Hunter ghetto (recreation of groups of streets in Hackney, home to squatters, including Tom himself) and that there will be an interactive river Thames (it was not installed fully yet so I couldn’t really get my hands on it and test the interactivity, all in the line of duty of course).

We were unable to see some parts of the gallery but as I did not want to disappoint you, my colleague and I raised the zip up a little and I took the photo of the Lord Mayor’s Coach (which you can see below).

The timeline for ‘a London year’ had not been installed yet but Antony did suggest that the web team may want to buy a year and I said that as soon as he gives us a pay rise, we would be more than happy to contribute. I’m sure we can expect a pay rise very soon. (If you haven’t yet bought a year, and wish to do so, why not visit our website at www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/SupportUs/Year-of-London-History/availableyears.htm for more information)

The Clore Centre was the last thing we saw. It opened recently and has hosted many events already. In the Centre, I’ve learned that learning continues, even if you go to the toilets!

Photographs of developments

Below are thumbnail images showing parts of the things I saw on my tour. Click on each image to see the full, larger image:

On Saturday 20th June, there is an exiting chance to discover what post-medieval cemeteries can tell us about life in the past.  Meet the archaeologists and osteologists involved in the excavation and analysis of the cemeteries and skeletal populations from 18th-19th century London.

Talks will discuss the evidence gathered from St Marylebone, Westminster and Old Church, Chelsea. This will demonstrate what can be learnt about the lifestyle, diet and diseases of past popluations.

Alongside osteologists, there will also be an opportunity take part in the examination of human remains and learn how the study of a skeleton can provide information about age, sex and disease.

For more information visit http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/studyday

Happy New Year to all our readers from the Museum of London!

late events

Just to let everyone know that the ‘late’ events are not happening in January at all, but the next late events are on Thursday 5 February 2009, 6-9pm

Museum of London: Write Queer London
Join us for an evening of smart talk, wise words and music in celebration of London’s Queer history.

Museum of London Docklands: LandFall
Celebrate the opening of LandFall, our new exhibition, with an evening of poetry and live chamber music and voice.

Need something to do?

If you are looking to do something in the coming weeks, why not visit the Museum of London or the Museum of London Docklands?

At Museum of London
We have an exhibition in the Museum of London foyer called ‘Homeless in the Capital’, until 22 February 2009

Video and audio interviews, twenty-four hour diaries, poetry, art and personal belongings all offer insights into the everyday lives of people who are or have been homeless in central London. More about Homeless in the Capital

At Museum of London Docklands
A new exhibition at Museum of London called ‘LandFall’, from 6 February until 31 May 2009

Explore the Atlantic Ocean as natural phenomenon and transporter of dreams and peoples in this new exhibition. More about LandFall

Snap up London for £15!

Become a new Friend of Museum of London between 9 December 2008 and 28 February 2009 and get London: The Illustrated History half price! More about Friends offer

Wishing you all a great 2009!

Some of you may remember from my last blog that I mentioned that the Museum of London websites were changing inline with our rebranding to bring together our  venues and values, with new names and logos. We have now completed phase one of redesigning and moving around content on our websites. You can check out our striking new logos and our redesigned websites at:

• www.museumoflondon.org.uk
• www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands
• www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archaeology

In phase two and three, we will be auditing all our websites, holding audience evaluations to find out what our visitors think, and planning and implementing the migration of all our websites into one single site. This will involve analysis of our current website structures and planning the future architecture and redesigning of all the templates within our websites, including our microsites.

We would love to find out what you think of the websites and how it might develop in the future. So tell us what you think of the sites and the new ‘tabs’ that combine all our three venues together by sending me your comments to: webmanager@museumoflondon.org.uk.

Please note that we are aware some things may not display properly or some links may be broken, but please bear with us while we go through this transition period.

Thank you for all your continued support.

Smoking was introduced to Britain in the 16th century, and pipe and cigar smoking had become popular by the 19th century. Tobacco use continued to rise and the first mass produced cigarettes were introduced in the 1880s. Evidence of smoking is often demonstrated on archaeological sites in the form of clay pipes. These disposable items were easy to make and the different types and manufactures markings can provide valuable dating information.

Recent analysis of over 700 skeletons from the Catholic Mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel, London, who died between 1843 and 1854, has demonstrated how evidence of smoking can also be observed in the bones of past populations.

 Fifty eight adult skeletons (58/268: 21.6%) displayed wear patterns to the surfaces of the teeth. These were often smooth, rounded grooves resulting from long term pipe smoking. In many cases a circular hole or ‘pipe notch’ was clearly visable when the upper and lower jaws were closed. Thirty two of the individuals with pipe notches also showed a brown coloured staining to the inside of the teeth. Pipe notches were found on a number of young adults. These may have developed over several years suggesting that smoking could have been taken up at a younger age. Adult smokers were also found to be more likely associated with lesions to the inside surfaces of the ribs, possibly the result of lung disease resulting from smoking.

This evidence may help provide information about how smoking affected the health of an individual and if it made more susceptible to other diseases and the infections compared to non smokers. If smoking was more commonplace amongst the Victorian working class, this may be used as an indicator of status and possibly gender. This may also help better our understanding and awareness of smoking in the modern world that is reported to kill 5.4 million people each year (World Health Organisation 2008).

A year on from the smoking ban, the museum of London looks into the history of smoking in London and life in the captial since the ban with a new exhibition ‘ The Big Smoke’. More information can be found at the following link…

www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/AboutUs/Newsroom/Archived08/The+Big+Smoke.htm (link updated 8 February 2010)

A display of stunning photographs of the self-governing Maroon community in Jamaica are on show at Museum in Docklands until 31 August as part of the London, Sugar & Slavery gallery’s rolling community exhibition space.

The display of over 50 photographs in a montage and a short film draws attention to the forgotten story of the Maroons who refused to be enslaved, survived in remote parts of the Caribbean islands and helped destabilise the plantation system.

The project is the brainchild of hip hop photographer, Jennie Baptiste, who guided a group of six young Londoners who call themselves the Linx, teaching them research, communications and photography skills. The group of 14 to 19 year olds then researched the history of African resistance to slavery and visited the Maroons in the town of Accompong in the Jamaican mountains to take the photographs.

Linx member and 19 year old art student, Asia Bharj, said:

‘Never in my life did I think I would be part of this amazing project, being with the Linx I overcame personal challenges which allowed me to grow mentally and to become a better person.’

Don’t miss out – the display closes on August 31!  There’s information on how to plan your visit to the Museum in Docklands or find out more about the community exhibition in our newsroom article, Journey to Accompong.  Entry to the display is free, but there is a charge for entry to the Museum in Docklands itself.

Watch it at this link: Victorian London, Jack the Ripper, Museum in Docklands video.

There are more videos at the Museum in Dockland’s Jack the Ripper and the East End exhibition playlist.

You can also view (and buy) images of Victorian London at the Jack The Ripper & The East End section of the Museum of London print site or find out more about the exhibition at the Museum in Docklands.

If you’re in London before November 2, 2008 then watch to the end of the video for a discount code for 20% off the full ticket price for the exhibition.