on 1st February 2017, UAL’s Postgraduate Community were invited to an exclusive talk and Q&A with Tom Wilson, Head of Collections and Research at the Design Museum
Tom kindly shared with the students the circumstances which led the new Design Museum to move to their new home in the former Commonwealth Institute in Kensington, and the challenges involved in opening a new museum.
Following a long search for larger premises to expand its activities, in 2008 the Design Museum selected the former 1960s building in Kensington High Street, West London, as its new home. This unique landmark from the 1960s, a Grade II listed building that had stood vacant for over a decade, was transformed by a design team led by John Pawson who made the building fit for a 21st century museum, whilst at the same time retaining its unique spatial quality. The Design Museum worked with John Pawson on the interior fit out of its building.
The new Design Museum is the world’s leading museum of contemporary design and architecture, an international showcase for the many design skills at which Britain excels and a creative centre, promoting innovation and nurturing the next generation of design talent.
An expert on the Design Museum’s history, Tom Wilson’s recent book ‘The Story of the Design Museum’ was published in November 2016 and charts the story of the museum from its origins in the 1980s to its current incarnation.
Background:
The Design Museum is the world’s leading museum devoted to contemporary design in every form from architecture and fashion to graphics, product and industrial design. The Design Museum moved to its spectacular new location on High Street Kensington in 2016.
Tom Wilson is Head of Collections and Research at the Design Museum. He is a graduate of the Royal College of Art / V&A Museum, and recently completed an AHRC-funded PhD on the Commonwealth Institute’s design and display strategies with the Design Museum / University of Brighton. In 2013 he was the British Council’s Curator in Residence at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India. His book ‘The Story of the Design Museum’ was published in November 2016.
Exclusive to UAL’s Postgraduate Community, Pop Up Common Room events assist in the community’s aims for building platforms for skill sharing, networking, collaboration and investigating new communities of practice. Find out more about previous Pop Up Common Room events on our blog: http://blogs.arts.ac.uk/pgcommunity/
Image Credits: Inside the new Design Museum, Copyright G Gardiner