By Liz Firth, Commission member & Peace Museum Trustee
The Peace Museum, currently based in Bradford City Centre, has announced it is to relocate to new premises at Salts Mill in Saltaire. The move is made possible due to a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of
£245,651 for an exciting heritage project, ‘IMAGINE: Creating The Peace Museum of the Future’. The project will create brand new public exhibition and engagement spaces at Salts Mill in Saltaire.
The museum is aiming to reopen to the public in summer 2024. Supported through The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the project will focus on creating engaging and accessible exhibitions and developing a dedicated learning space in its new home. Opening in these new premises will create many more opportunities for visitors, researchers, and community groups to explore the diverse range of stories told by the museum’s collection.
The Peace Museum is the only museum in the UK dedicated to peace and holds a unique collection of international importance. With Salts Mill being a key Bradford landmark and located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Saltaire, The Peace Museum team is confident that opening at this venue will allow a larger number of people to freely access peace history for the foreseeable future.
Commenting on the award, Clive Barrett, Chair of Trustees at The Peace Museum, said: “This project will be transformational for The Peace Museum. We’re delighted to have received this support thanks to National Lottery players, and so excited to have the opportunity to make the history of peace accessible to everybody. This is particularly exciting in light of Bradford receiving City of Culture for 2025, as we’ll be able to welcome visitors from all over the world to our brand-new museum in the heart of the district.”
Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, said: “It’s a joy to see Bradford’s cultural sector preparing for our landmark year as UK City of Culture. Bradford is a city of peace and we’re so excited that The Peace Museum is opening again, increasing access to their incredible collection. This is a huge opportunity to celebrate and share our district’s diverse history of social reform – with our communities and with visitors from around the world, in the year 2025 and beyond.”
The Peace Museum explores the history and the often-untold stories of peace, peacemakers, social reform, and peace movements. The museum opened to the public in 1998 and is celebrating its 25th birthday in 2023. It is unique in that it is the only accredited museum of its kind in the UK, and it is a member of the International Network of Museums for Peace, which connections across the globe.
For more information visit https://thepeacemuseum.org.uk/