Borough's museums to tell city's stories for 2012 cultural olympiad

17 February 2010

Leighton House Museum and 18 Stafford Terrace are proud to announce that they have been selected to work with the London Museums Hub on the London: World City project, as part of MLA's national Stories of the World programme. Stories of the World, one of the major projects of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, is a series of exciting exhibitions that will reconnect museum collections with the people and communities that they came from. Many of London's treasures originated in this country but many others arrived after long journeys from the four corners of the world. London: World City is a 2012 project that will engage Londoners with these collections in creative ways. London: World City will bring key London collections together to develop an imaginative range of exhibitions around four aspects of life in the world city - identity, home, journeys and place. Leighton House Museum and 18 Stafford Terrace will focus on the theme of `Home' and will work closely with the Geffrye Museum from the London Museums Hub. As part of this programme, Leighton House Museum and 18 Stafford Terrace will receive funding and support to work with their collections, youth and community groups to rethink, rediscover and reinterpret London's world stories. Leighton House Museum and 18 Stafford Terrace will recruit young people and work with them to select and interpret objects that show how London has grown through encounters with different people and places. This work will give young people new opportunities and experiences and will result in a rich mix of films, podcasts, exhibitions and events that can be enjoyed across London in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Their involvement, creativity and innovation will reshape the public perception of London as it gets ready to welcome the world in 2012. Councillor Nick Paget-Brown, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure, said: "We are very proud of the borough's museums and are delighted that they were among only 59 museums to be selected nationally to be part of the Cultural Olympiad initiative `Stories of the World'. "This success will play an important role in our preparations for 2012. While museums like Leighton House have given thousands of visitors a glimpse of our past, projects such as this show that our museums are well placed to be contemporary resources that provide training and education to our young people." Mayor of London Boris Johnson says: 'In 1000 days, people from across the world will converge on London for the 2012 Games and the Cultural Olympiad will offer an unparalleled opportunity to celebrate London's creativity, its people and its history. Museums are one of the greatest achievements of mankind, a constantly changing repository of knowledge that informs, educates and inspires. So I am delighted that the capital's museums, large and small, will have a key role in creating London: World City.' Andrew Motion Chair of MLA says: "These museums include some of the gems of London's cultural scene with collections of national importance like the Jewish Museum and those at the cutting edge of learning and community engagement like Orleans House, Brent and Redbridge museum services. We applaud the London Museums Hub for forging such a strong partnership which will multiply the benefits to Londoners and visitors towards 2012 and long after." Tony Hall, Chair of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Board says: "This is another fantastic project driven by young people that will culminate in an amazing year in 2012. I love the fact that such a broad cross section of London's impressive variety of museums and galleries are joining together to create something to celebrate London's incredible history and culture. For me, that's what the Cultural Olympiad is all about."