And what an amazing opening weekend it was!
The opening event was the culmination of so much prep, planning, and hard work by the entire Powell-Cotton Museum & Gardens team. The day kicked off early with a private viewing and unveiling of our new permanent exhibition, which explores the rich cultures of South Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda, as well as our reimagined Ethiopian collection. This special preview was attended by the museum’s trustees, our community partners who helped curate the exhibition, and their family and friends.
While our special guests enjoyed a delicious brunch buffet in the Winter Garden’s glasshouse, we opened the gallery doors to the public for the first look at the new African exhibitions and revitalised natural history displays. Our famous displays now feature even more fascinating information about Percy Powell-Cotton, the explorers who collected the artifacts, and the scientists who have researched the animals and their habitats over the years. It was wonderful to see everyone’s joyful reactions!
In Quex House, we were treated to live music from Falle Nioke, a talented musician and percussionist from Margate who sings in multiple languages, including his native Coniagui. Falle performed two mesmerising live sets in Quex House and returned for three more performances on Sunday. You can watch part of his set on our Instagram channel!
Later on Saturday afternoon, our visitors enjoyed a powerful and engaging panel talk from Lucy Edematie, Alexandra Wright, Donna Carr, and Lorna Cole-Partridge, some of the community advisors behind our African exhibition (we’d also like to give a special mention to Abi Lawal and Alice Mulinya, who also attended the event, and Jane Henya).
Getting to this day has involved a significant team effort. From years of research and documentation to meticulous planning, scraping paint from display cabinets, cleaning, and moving furniture, everyone at the museum has played an important role in making this a huge success. We hope you can find the time to visit us in the coming months to see the results of our hard work.
The African Exhibition project was funded by a National Lottery project grant administered by Arts Council England, with additional funding from Art Fund and Museum Development Southeast.
Would you like to become a Trustee during this exciting time for our Museum? We are currently recruiting Trustees to join the Powell-Cotton Trust. Find out how you can apply here.
