National Museums Liverpool has released the most detailed look yet at the bold vision and ambition for the International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum.
Accompanied by interviews with Lead Architect, Kossy Nnachetta, Head of International Slavery Museum, Michelle Charters, and Head of Maritime Museum, Ian Murphy, the evocative film champions the global importance of these museums and the stories they tell.
Led by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, the redevelopment of the International Slavery Museum and Maritime Museum will sensitively respond to the existing Grade I-listed buildings: Hartley Pavilion and Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building (previously the Dock Traffic Office).
A monumental new entrance for the International Slavery Museum will be worthy of its position as the only national museum in the world dedicated to transatlantic slavery and its legacies. This striking intervention on the historic landscape responds directly to community stakeholder feedback for designs to feature not only an accessible front door but one that also claims its rightful place on Liverpool’s waterfront.
A new contemporary link bridge will connect Hartley Pavilion and the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Building and create a ‘pause-point’ with panoramic views across the docks, where visitors might consider how the stories within the galleries relate to the place they currently stand.
The International Slavery Museum will become a home to the National Centre for Teaching Black History. The re-developed second floor of Dr Martin Luther King Junior Building will be dedicated to the learning outputs and outcomes of the centre, and its programming will connect with collections and representation across all National Museums Liverpool’s museums and galleries.
Ralph Appelbaum Associates is leading the exhibition design for both museums, and the project will see new galleries, as well as shared spaces for community uses, research, learning and events.
The Maritime Museum will see significant regeneration and enable the museum to show a more comprehensive and coherent vision of Liverpool’s maritime story. A new entrance will create a more welcoming arrival for visitors, new galleries will explore conflict, global connections and migration, while the popular ‘Titanic and Liverpool’ gallery will be revitalised.