TOP TEAM
THE ASHMOLEAN
Oxford’s Ashmolean has reopened following a £61m transformation, with 39 new galleries, a new
display strategy – ‘Crossing Cultures Crossing Time’ – an education centre and rooftop restaurant.
Andrea Jezovit asks the management team what this means for the UK’s oldest public museum
CHRISTOPHER BROWN, DIRECTOR, THE ASHMOLEAN
Why was the museum redeveloped?
example, was supported by a Japanese
Even before I became director here it benefactor, the Cyprus gallery was sup-
had been my opinion that although the ported by the Leventis Foundation, which
European fi ne and decorative arts were is based in Nicosia, and so on. It was very
displayed well in the museum, we didn’t do ambitious for us – it was our fi rst time rais-
justice to the archeological, the Oriental ing these sums of money.
and the numismatic collection. What we’ve
tried to do is build a substantially new
What’s the reaction been so far?
building of 100,000sq ft (9,300sq m) to We’ve had very good press and lots of
show those collections much better. media attention. The fi rst weekend we
When I came here 11 years ago from opened to the public in November, we had
the National Gallery in London, I commis- 23,000 visitors, which is a lot of visitors for
sioned a masterplan and looked at how the logical work. We had hoped for a rather any museum in two days. That would seem
building was working. I felt very strongly lighter touch, but they decided to go for a to suggest people are very enthusiastic.
that the part of the museum that wasn’t full excavation, which held us up a bit. It BBC Oxford interviewed people as they
working very well was the addition from the revealed what we knew was there – the walked in the museum and there was an
1890s at the back of the 1845 Cockerell remains of some medieval houses, which overwhelmingly positive reaction.
Building. After much discussion we weren’t very interesting, but it did take We’re doing our budgets on the basis of
resolved to demolish and rebuild that part, quite a long time. visitor numbers going up from 400,000 a
which was about 60 per cent of the build- year to 500,000, but I’m really hoping it will
ing and showed the archeological, Oriental
How was the project funded?
be more than that.
and numismatic collections. This doubled The project was funded by the largest
the space on the footprint and provided single grant we received – £15m (17.1m,
What’s next for the museum?
modern museum facilities. US$24m) from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We’re going to rearrange and redisplay our
The largest private donor was The Linbury Egyptian collections. This will take place
Why was some archeological work
Trust, which gave in the region of £10m this year and we’ll reopen them in early
completed onsite before building?
(11.4m, $16m). We raised the rest of the 2011. And we’ve got an ambitious tempo-
The centre of Oxford has been lived in for money from private individuals and trusts rary exhibition programme launching in
a long time, and when we knocked down globally. Because these collections are September. The fi rst will be a big pre-Rap-
the building at the back, it’s a legal right from around the world, it made good sense haelite exhibition we’re doing with the City
that the city has to commission archeo- that the one of the Japanese galleries, for Art Museum of Ravenna.
56 Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital AM 1 2010
©
cybertrek 2010
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