Upcoming programme

In autumn 2022, Wellcome Collection, London, UK, brings its collection and archives into focus with Jim Naughten: Objects in Stereo and the UK premiere of Grace Ndiritu: The Healing Pavilion. These exhibitions will explore the past, present and future of museums. Photographer Jim Naughten focuses on objects hidden from public view in museum stores. Whilst Jarman Award 2022 nominee Grace Ndiritu reveals two large-scale tapestries based on photographs from museum archives and takes a critical view of what they reveal about museum practice.

On the ground floor of the building, major new exhibition In Plain Sight explores the different ways we see and are seen by others. It considers the central place that sight holds in society through the experiences of sighted, partially sighted and blind people.  

Wellcome Collection will close its long-running permanent display Medicine Man, on November 27, 2022. This closure marks a significant turning point for Wellcome Collection, as it prepares for a major project to transform how the collection is presented over the coming years, informed by the museum’s programme and research. The process will amplify the voices of those who have been previously erased or marginalised from museums and bring their stories of health and humanity to Wellcome Collection’s heart. More information will be announced in early 2023.

To mark the closure, a series of Thursday evening events will explore the collection critically and examine the legacy of some of the objects on display. Events include an object handling session and a zines workshop until (3 Nov). 

In Spring, Wellcome Collection focusses on power, politics and health. A major exhibition, Milk, will open in March 2023, exploring the interconnected scientific, cultural, political and economic forces that have helped establish milk’s reputation as “nature’s perfect food.” Later in Spring 2023, Larry Achiampong and David Blandy will unveil the fourth part of their Genetic Automata series, co commissioned by Wellcome Collection, Wellcome Connecting Science and Black Cultural Archives and screened for the first time in this exhibition, alongside the full series of films.

Melanie Keen, Director, Wellcome Collection said:

“Over the coming months and across our programme, Wellcome Collection will be asking important questions about the role of museums and collections across time in relation to power, knowledge  and representation.

Medicine Man has occupied a central position within Wellcome Collection since it opened in 2007 and is very much a product of its time. The world has changed in innumerable ways, so now is the right time to close this long running display. We are deeply committed to amplifying the voices of those whose histories and lives are embodied in the collection and to telling more inclusive and equitable stories about human life and health. To fully achieve our aims, we must create spaces where multiple perspectives about human life and health are favoured over the single perspective of a single privileged and powerful man, Henry Wellcome. I’m excited about the possibilities offered by sharing and involving our audiences in this urgent and transformative work as the project develops.”