We aim to reopen in autumn 2020 with the launch of our new exhibition, Departures, exploring 400 years of emigration from Britain. Below, we set out our thoughts around reopening and our plans over the next few months.

Dear all,

We hope that you, your family, friends and colleagues have been able to stay safe and well during these difficult past few months. Our thoughts go out to everyone who has lost a loved one or been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted many of the communities that we serve.

As you may have heard, museums and galleries are permitted to begin reopening from 4 July onwards.

We are, of course, keen to reopen our doors and welcome you back to the Migration Museum as soon as it is safe to do so. As a community-focused venue exploring themes that go to the heart of urgent conversations around migration, identity, race and belonging, we want to re-engage as soon as possible. The past few months have been an isolating time for many, and we hope that we can play a small part in helping people to reconnect and share stories.

At the same time, we must minimise health risks for visitors, volunteers and staff. The highly interactive nature of our exhibitions and much of the work we do poses significant challenges given the ongoing threat from Covid-19. And we must weigh up how to use our resources to engage our audiences in the best way possible, both in person and online.

As a result, our museum will remain closed to visitors for the time being. We aim to reopen in the autumn with the launch of our new exhibition, Departures, exploring 400 years of emigration from Britain, by which time we will have been able to make the necessary adjustments to our space, exhibitions and working arrangements to ensure that they are safe for visitors, volunteers and staff alike.

In the meantime, we are hard at work creating our first major digital exhibition, Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS, exploring the personal stories and experiences of people who have come to Britain to work for the health service over the past 72 years. We are also developing a programme of community activities, responsive to local needs. We will be announcing more details on both of these soon and will provide further updates on our reopening plans as soon as we are in a position to do so.

Thank you for your ongoing support. You are all at the heart of everything we do and we sincerely look forward to welcoming each and every one of you back to the Migration Museum as soon as we can. In the meantime, we look forward to continuing to share stories and have conversations digitally.

Very best wishes,

The Migration Museum team