Jewish Museum London announces closure of current building

• Current building to close this Summer as Board develops plans for new museum fit for the future, in more prominent location
• Activity will continue online and in temporary venues as part of transition plan – with more details to be announced in due course
• Board’s decision also reflects the need to make the museum more sustainable into the future.
• Centenary vision to develop a new museum to engage a wider audience with the rich heritage, creativity & hospitality of Jewish culture

Thursday 1 June, London – The trustees of Jewish Museum London today announce that they are preparing to close the current site in Camden’s Albert Street.

Jewish Museum London houses and displays the UK’s nationally designated collection of judaica, as well as collections from the Jewish Military Museum, United Synagogue and Jewish Historical Society of England.

Since opening in 2010, the museum’s home in Camden has been the site of transformative exhibitions and events, and the home of its award-winning education programme. JML was awarded National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status by Arts Council England in November 2022, securing £224k in annual funding until 2026.

However, as with many similar institutions, Jewish Museum London has also faced unanticipated rising costs, which has prevented its return to producing temporary exhibitions. The board’s decision also reflects the need to make the museum more sustainable into the future.

Jewish Museum London is the smallest Jewish museum among major European cities, despite being home to the second largest Jewish community and boasting the second largest collection. The museum is unable to meet all the demands of its successful schools programme in the current site, while the exhibition space is relatively small, and is not sufficient for the future ambitions of the organisation.

The collections will move to specialised storage so that the Collections team can continue working on projects, the Learning team can continue with their award-winning programmes, and researchers can continue to have access to objects online.

Please read the full press release here: JML press release 1.06.2023

FAQ

When are you closing to the public?  

The last open day to the public will be Sunday 30th July. Please keep an eye on our web site for updates as the sale progresses.

I have a school booking – what will happen to that?

All bookings up to the end of July will go ahead – if your booking is from September 23 onwards, our schools booking team will be in touch with you soon to discuss options but it may take a few days to hear from the team so please bear with us.

I have an event booking – what will happen to that?

All bookings up to the end of July will go ahead – our Ops team will be in touch with you shortly to discuss how our future plans affect your booking.

I have an object on loan to you – I want to know what will happen to it?

The Museum is an Accredited Museum, an award from Arts Council England demonstrating our excellent standard of care for our collections. We will continue to care for all our objects including our loans and ensure that any temporary storage has the right conditions to keep all our objects safe. This is our highest priority as a Museum to care for our collections to national standards.

I have booked tickets to visit the Museum – what happens now?

We expect to be closing at the end of July and all tickets up to that point will be honoured and you can visit on the allocated day we are open. When we do close, we will refund any tickets for future dates and ticket bookings for August onwards are closed.