Interview with our Directors, Jonathan Morton & Bryony Robins
Since January 2024, Royal Cornwall Museum has been undergoing a widescale transformation and re-imagining of our spaces. The team have been exceptionally busy carefully packing away artefacts and artworks, and working with talented creatives and craftspeople to recreate gallery spaces that welcome, engage, and bring our incredible collections to life.
Below, Artistic Director Bryony Robins and Executive Director Jonathan Morton share an insight into where we are now, and more importantly, where we’re going to be!
The museum is currently undergoing a major transformation project. Can you tell us where you are in that process right now?
Bryony: “We have completed the transformation of one key area of the museum already – the Mineral Gallery. That phase was generously funded by the Town Deal and opened in the summer of 2024. This amazing space gives a good indication of the direction of travel for the whole museum, with a more modern, interactive, and immersive feel to the presentation of our globally significant collections.
The next phase involves the Nature Gallery, Main Gallery, and the balcony which will become an Art Gallery. Work has started in all those areas thanks to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.”
Jonathan: “The grants Bryony mentioned have allowed us to begin the re-imagining of the museum for a new generation. It’s an exciting time and the whole team are energised by the project.
In order to make the budget go as far as possible, and to continue serving our community, we have stayed open despite work taking place this autumn. This has necessitated a lot of careful collections management on our part, and a lot of understanding on the part of our visitors, for which we are very grateful. However, we will need to extend our usual winter closure to cover all of January and February 2025 to allow the main part of the work to take place safely and efficiently.”
Executive Director, Jonathan Morton
What does that mean for the museum in the next few months?
Bryony: “During January and February, the ‘people’ and ‘collections’ part of the museum will be on the road, while the physical space is transformed.
Our Learning Team have joined up with the local library service to engage with more schools than ever before, and our Engagement Team has created a brilliant workshop called Treasure which they will be taking to various Wellbeing groups across Cornwall.
One of our exhibitions – As Above, So Below, by Jill Randall, is also going on the road and will be at Wheal Martyn Clay Works between 13th January and 13th February.”
Artistic Director, Bryony Robins
Jonathan: “We’re using the extended winter closure as an opportunity to get out into the local community as much as possible, and engage diverse and geographically remote audiences with what the museum has to offer.
Once we reopen in the spring, we look forward to welcoming these newly engaged audiences back into our physical spaces – as well as visitors to Cornwall and local people who already love the museum and cherish their Annual Passes. We have an exciting exhibition and events programme for March 2025 onwards, which we can’t wait to share in due course!”
When the museum reopens, what will it look like?
Jonathan: “The exterior of the museum will be improved, with a landscaping project creating a more interesting and inviting approach.
The central space will be transformed into a new Heart of Cornwall Gallery, with our beautiful Victorian cases renovated and arranged to better make use of the space. These will be movable so that we can hold more events in this impressive central atrium.
The gallery will be arranged thematically and will explore what makes Cornwall unique, from the Cornish language to maritime industries, our mining heritage to Cornish folklore.”
An artist’s impression of the new Heart of Cornwall Gallery
Bryony: “We’re also really excited about the Nature Gallery, which is a much-loved space within the museum. We’ve been working closely with Cornwall Wildlife Trust to curate a new-look Nature Gallery which showcases Cornwall’s unique biodiversity and natural riches, without shying away from the climate emergency and the impact of human activity.”
Visualisation of the new-look Mineral Gallery
What are you personally most excited about when the museum reopens?
Bryony: “My background is the visual arts, so I’m most excited about the introduction of a new space dedicated to painting and drawing. The balcony will become an Art Gallery, allowing us to display much more of our incredible art collection than previously, inviting interesting connections across genres and eras, and between art made here in Cornwall and the rest of the world. It will also prompt visitors to make connections with historical objects elsewhere in the museum, setting up fresh conversations that everyone from school children to academic researchers can take part in.”
The balcony will become an Art Gallery showcasing the museum’s collection
Jonathan: “I’m excited that the museum will look and feel much more modern and dynamic, and will better reflect our whole outlook as an organisation. The role of museums generally has evolved hugely in the past two decades and with these changes we’ll very much be part of that evolution.
The founding principles of the Royal Institution of Cornwall – the charitable institution behind the museum – all still hold true, and through this change we’re striving to achieve sustainability for the museum and the RIC in the long term.”
You’ve hinted that this is just the next phase in a bigger process of change. What’s next after spring 2025?
Jonathan: “The project to fix the roof will take place next year, so there will be scaffolding up for quite a long period – a less glamourous but very necessary aspect of the transformation project!”
Bryony: “Longer term, we’re working on a further phase of the project which will overhaul the upper galleries in the museum, bringing a more contemporary feel to these spaces too so that the museum as a whole feels cohesive.”
Jonathan: “There will be improvements to our facilities too, making the museum more accessible for all and better equipped to host major events. At this point, Cornwall will have effectively a brand-new cultural hub to be proud of, right at its very heart.”
To keep up to date with the Transformation Project, sign up for museum news and events here.
The museum’s Transformation Project has received £2.3 million from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, click here.
