Neil Kaiper-Holmes (outgoing Chair); Edward Appleyard (CEO); Neil Clephan (Chair-Elect)
As we prepare to celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2027, beginning with our latest exhibition – Complexion – announced today, new funding worth more than £420,000 has been secured that will define an exciting future for the museum over the next three decades.
The support, including £249,500 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund will help us explore how we can care for and develop our Grade II listed home in East Leeds, welcome ever more people through a broader range of work and plan for a sustainable future for our nationally significant collection over the next 30 years.
It will support two connected strands of work, including the early-stages of a long-term planning process supported by consultation with local communities, academics, partners, stakeholders and staff, and the development of a long-term fundraising, philanthropic giving, and enterprise activity plan.
A key element of the work will be to explore opportunities for upgrading and replacing the roof of our building, including investigating the potential for an additional floor that could support future programmes, partnerships and income generation.
Edward Appleyard, Chief Executive of Thackray said:
“This announcement comes at a hugely exciting moment for Thackray. As we prepare to celebrate 30 years since opening, this support gives us the time and space to think ambitiously about what the museum can become over the next three decades, and how the museum and its collection can best serve our visitors and the wide-ranging communities – from healthcare professionals to diverse Harehills residents – around us.
“Since reopening after our redevelopment in 2021, we have been on a journey to strengthen Thackray’s role and reach, which has included recognition as a finalist for Art Fund Museum of the Year and being shortlisted for European Museum of the Year. We’ve launched new programmes, improved accessibility, changed our pricing approach to welcome wider audiences, and developed a more diversified income model so we can better fulfil our charitable purpose.
“Looking ahead to 2027, this new support will allow us to build on our progress by rethinking how our spaces are used, open up more opportunities for people to connect with our collections, and work with communities, creatives, researchers and partners to make Thackray even braver, more accessible and more sustainable for the future. Our new Collections CoLab opening in April 2027 funded by DCMS/Wolfson Museum and Galleries Improvement Fund, will be an important part of that work.”
As well as embarking on this major new planning work, for its 30th year, Thackray will open a headline exhibition in February 2027. Running until June, Complexion, will focus on the complicated experiences of people with melanin-rich skin, balancing the profound joy and pride they find in their skin with their stories of being unheard, overlooked and mistreated. The exhibition will head a season dedicated to platforming the beauty and intricacies of having melanin-rich skin, including a special edition of our popular Thackray Lates event series, No Filter: A Love Letter to Melanin on Thursday 11 February 2027, and a deep dive talk, Body Politics on 13 March 2027, as part of the long-running Thackray Insights series.
In advance of 2027, the new Autumn / Winter season will begin this October with the Mighty Mushrooms half-term family events programme linked with our latest exhibition, Where Magic Grows, which will continue its successful run until January 2027. The popular series of adult-only Thackray Lates also continues with a gothic-inspired evening on 29 October, exploring the darker side of medical history with Grave Expectations: Gothic Fiction Unmasked, uncovering what tales of mystery, monsters and the macabre can reveal about health, science and society.
Professor Neil Kaiper-Holmes, outgoing chair of Thackray Museum of Medicine said:
“As my time as chair comes to an end and I begin the handover to Neil Clephan OBE, chair-elect, I am heartened by the progress that has been made during my time with Thackray over the past seven years and the ambitions that remain to help shape a better tomorrow for the museum, its collections, visitors and local community. Thackray has a great team behind it, who I know will explore all the opportunities that this funding offers. With Neil Clephan’s support I’m sure they will deliver a plan for the next 30 years that allows the museum to be financially sustainable, environmentally responsible and resilient to future challenges. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what happens next, and to celebrating the 30th birthday milestone next year with and exciting new season of programmed events.”
Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:
“We’re delighted that thanks to money raised by National Lottery players we can support the Thackray to work towards a strong and resilient future as it marks its 30th anniversary. It is fantastic news that the Thackray will put their visitors and local communities at the heart of their plans to shape the future of this much-loved heritage attraction.”