London Museum to Reopen as 'Democratic' Space with Afternoon Tea, DJ Sets, and Artefacts

The Vision for a 'Democratic' Museum

The new London Museum will be 'a social space for the city', its director Sharon Ament has said, hosting events like afternoon tea, monthly dinner clubs, and late-night DJ sets where visitors can mingle among the artefacts while dancing.

The Museum's New Home and Collections

The institution, formerly known as the Museum of London, has been closed since 2022 and will reopen in its new home in Smithfield, in the City of London, on November 28. The museum's collection includes 7m artefacts, such as the Cheapside Hoard of 17th-century jewels, the vest worn by Charles I when he was beheaded in 1649, and a chunk of the Whitechapel fatberg.

Events and Cultural Programming

Events will sit alongside the museum's collection, with the first event, called London Tastes, focusing on the diversity of the capital's food scene. The museum will also host a full programme of cultural events in the cavernous market halls, which have been painstakingly converted over a decade from two historic former market halls.

The Impact on London's Cultural Scene

Ament said that the museum's new approach was something that many other museum directors had been 'grasping towards', but were often hampered by their institutional culture or historic buildings. The museum's director wants to create a space where people can 'extend their evenings in a museum, in a way which is a different form of going out.'

The Future of the London Museum

The £437m project has been funded by the corporation of London and the mayor of London, with a range of other donors including the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The museum aims to be 'an arena for public life' and a social space that engages with all Londoners.