Migration Museum

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Migration Museum

Building the UK’s Missing Museum. We explore how the movement of people to and from the UK has made us who we are.

Community guidelines → https://www.migrationmuseum.org/community-guidelines/ Migration is a pressing contemporary issue and is at the centre of polarised political and online debate. But there’s an underlying story of comings and goings stretching back many centuries. And this story goes to the heart of who we are today. Britain has thousands of museums, but none comprehensively focused on this im

portant theme that connects us all. The time is right for a highly relevant, accessible visitor attraction that shines a light on who we are, where we come from and where we are going. From our current home in the heart of Lewisham Shopping Centre, we stage engaging exhibitions and dynamic events, alongside a far-reaching education programme for primary, secondary, university and adult learners. Our museum is reopening to the public in May 2021. We have a growing digital presence and convene a knowledge-sharing Migration Network of museums and galleries across the UK. From February 14 2020, we'll be staging exhibitions,
events and education workshops from our new venue in the heart of Lewisham Shopping Centre.

21/08/2026

Phase 1 of our Young People’s Panel: COMPLETE 💥

From gallery visits and City walking tours to architectural drawing with the Royal Institute of British Architects and an exclusive talk from the National Archives, our incredible panel has been hard at work shaping the future of the Migration Museum.

So far, they’ve:
✨ Drafted a manifesto for how we work with & for young people
🎪 Started curating a brand-new youth event
💡 Challenged us to think about different ways of being a more inclusive, welcoming, and inspiring space for young people

Out of nearly 300 applicants, selecting just 11 was tough, but this group is already bringing so much energy. Next up? Bringing their event to life, mastering event marketing, and running the show. We can’t wait to see what they build!

A massive thank you to our 11 panel members and to City Bridge Foundation for funding this programme.

14/08/2026

Welcome to the Migration Museum! 👋

Many of you have started following us recently, so we wanted to share a bit about who we are, what we’re building – and how you can be part of our journey.

For over 10 years, we’ve been working to fill a vital gap: exploring how the movement of people to and from these shores across the centuries has shaped who we are and where we’re going through award-winning exhibitions, events, learning and community programmes.

Now, we’re preparing to open our first permanent home in the City of London in 2028, delivering the UK’s Missing Museum – a new cultural landmark providing essential context to conversations around migration and identity, and an inspiring home for all our stories.

Swipe through the carousel to discover our story, where we’re headed and what a permanent Migration Museum will mean for all of us.

If you love what we do, there are lots of ways you can get involved:

⭐Stay Connected: Follow us if you don’t already, engage with our posts, explore our online exhibitions and join us at an upcoming event.

⭐Spread the Word: Share our content and tell your friends and family about us.

⭐Shop Small: Visit our award-winning online store – our Migrant Makers Market. Every purchase supports makers from migrant backgrounds and helps fund our work.

⭐Support Us: Help us to create the UK’s missing museum via a donation, partnership or in-kind support. Find out more via the link in our bio or reach out to us for a chat.

Thank you for being here with us on this journey. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a museum of all our stories – we can’t do it without you! 💖

12/08/2026

Lager & Lime or Cherry Brandy ice-cream anyone? 🍺🍒

Forget Vanilla and Mint Choc Chip. Back in the day, Bristol was scooping up some happy-hour flavours.

If you’re currently using ice cream to survive this latest UK heatwave, you have Italian immigrants to thank.

Eugenio Verrecchia is one of them. He emigrated from Italy in around 1900 and set up Verrecchia’s Ice Cream in Bristol in 1925. Verrecchia's was known to generations of Bristolians as ‘Vereesha’s. As you can see from these amazing archival posters, Verrecchia's wasn't afraid to get creative with their menu!

Eugenio is one of many Italians who migrated to the UK during that era – and changed how Britain eats. Before Italian families arrived and set up street carts and factories, ice cream was a rare luxury only available to the very wealthy. Italian entrepreneurs brought cold treats to the masses, built local institutions and gave us the ice cream culture we now enjoy every single summer (especially this one).

Swipe through for some retro gold from the family’s archive – including the hard-working factory crew!

What's the wildest ice-cream flavour you've tried? Let us know below! 👇

Images courtesy of Museums. Copied from photographs loaned by Verrecchias in 1999.

🍦Betty Verrecchia with an accordian holding an ice cream sundae, c.1990.
🍦5 workers in the factory, 1976. and Self-adhesive sticker advertising Cherry Brandy, Lager & Lime and Cola Specialities ices.
🍦Paper sign for Verrecchia’s Ices Family Pack with young girl holding a red lollie surrounded by an ice cream cone and an ice cream sandwich.
🍦Verrecchias Ice Cream factory, staff filling ice cream tubs. and Verrecchias Ice Cream factory, Brislington, Bristol, c.1990.
🍦3 ladies packing ice lollies. 1976
🍦Image possibly shows a moulding machine in factory, 1976. and Paper poster showing four lollies named: Rum & Raisin, Strawberry, Vanilla and Mint.
🍦Mr and Mrs Verrecchia with their daughter, c.1990. and Verrecchia's Raspberry Ripple ice cream carton. Unused, flat, pink box with image of ice cream in silver cup.
🍦Joe Verrecchia holding two bricks of ice cream, 1976.

07/08/2026

Join the Migration Museum at London Museum Docklands for a family-friendly, drop-in art experience for all ages, bringing food, stories and culture together as part of the Family Festival of Caribbean Culture. 🎨🍽️✨

📅 Date and Time: Friday 21 August, 10.30am–3.30pm
📍Location: London Museum Docklands, No. 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, London E14 4AL
🎟️ Admission: Free, drop-in event (no booking required!)

A large paper roll will be spread across a communal table, transforming it into a shared “dining table” where everyone can gather and draw their favourite dishes. As participants add their creations to the growing feast, we’ll encourage reflection on family traditions, passed-down recipes, migration stories, and the ways food connects us to culture and community. By the end of the day, the table will showcase a vibrant, collective celebration – colourful, diverse, and created together.

Find out more here: https://www.migrationmuseum.org/events/feast-a-migration-museum-takeover-at-london-museum-docklands-family-festival-of-caribbean-culture/

04/08/2026

Major funding secured! 🏛️💛

We're thrilled to share that the Wolfson Foundation has committed £600,000 to help us realise our vision for the UK's missing museum, opening in 2028.

Our new Founding Partner will fund the fit-out of our new permanent home in the City of London, and the development of content, including story-led core and temporary exhibitions, learning programmes and special events.

We can't wait to reopen in Spring 2028! We're expecting 140,000 visitors a year (we’ve saved you a spot in the queue already, obvs 🎟️✨) for our brand-new exhibitions, events, and programmes – including 20,000 learners.

The new Migration Museum will challenge perceptions of what a museum can be and do – surprising and delighting through relevant, resonant and unexpected experiences and collaborations, with personal stories at the heart of everything we do.

A massive thank you to the Wolfson Foundation for championing our work – your support is transformational.

🔗 Read more about the announcement and find out how to get involved here: https://www.migrationmuseum.org/wolfson-foundation-commits-600000-to-the-uks-missing-museum/

📸 Images: Migration Museum, Elzbieta Piekacz, Poppy Williams

30/07/2026

“I was born and raised in Switzerland, my mother is from London, born and raised, both my parents are Pakistani. And so we have these questions around migration and how it shapes our identity, but also our own belonging... it’s an everyday question I’m asking myself.”
– Waqas Mirza, People’s Panel member

Waqas feels it’s extremely important to have a space like the Migration Museum for a city like London and a country like the UK, which has very much been shaped by these stories of migration.

At the , we believe the best way to bridge gaps and find common ground is through storytelling and story sharing. We want to be a place where everyone feels a sense of ownership and representation; a space for the kind of honest dialogue that helps us understand one another better.

Because we want to build a museum that reflects who we are and the world we live in, we are working with our People’s Panel of 50+ incredible individuals from all walks of life who are helping to shape key aspects of our permanent home.

Waqas’ story is just one of many that make up the complex past, present and future collective story of the UK.

This , we are proud to celebrate the diverse voices — like Waqas’ — that shape our communities.

👀 Keep an eye out for more introductions from our panel. 🔗 Hit the link in our bio to see how panel members are helping us shape our museum.

Video: Felix Ursell
Photos: courtesy of Waqas Mirza

29/07/2026

Looking for a book to get lost in this summer? 📖🌞🐚

Celebrate a rich tapestry of personal histories, community, and identity with the Migration Museum Summer Reading List – handpicked by our team!

From personal reflections on mixed-race experiences to deep dives into music, language, and modern food culture, these recommendations offer the perfect summer reads to unpack what it means to find, make, and redefine home.

Take your pick:
🎤 The Pop Culture History: 'Tonight the Music Seems So Loud: The Meaning of George Michael' by Sathnam Sanghera ()
🕊️ The Page-Turning Family Saga: 'We Are All Birds of Uganda' by Hafsa Zayyan ()
💭 The Candid & Reflective Read: 'The Half of It' by Emma Slade Edmondson () & Nicole Ocran ()
🏛️ The Essential Nuanced History: 'Everyone Everywhere: 21 Stories of Mixed Race Britain' by Lucas Fothergill ()
✨ The Multi-Perspective Classic: 'Girl, Woman, Other' by Bernardine Evaristo ()
🎷 The Tender & Timeless Novel: 'Trumpet' by Jackie Kay ()
🥘 The Delicious Cultural Exploration: 'All You Can Eat: The Search for a New British Menu' by Ben Benton ()
🧠 The Thought-Provoking Deep Dive: 'How to Kill a Language: Power, Resistance and the Race to Save Our Words' by Sophia Smith-Galer ()

Which one are you adding to your TBR pile? Or tell us your own recommendation in the comments!

Support our work by shopping the full list in our online store – link in bio.

23/07/2026

“I felt like it was a really close, intimate space we created. A lot of conversations around identity and migration were had. And I learned so much about different people’s journeys...also why they chose to learn hand embroidery and creatively decide to express themselves. Some were gifts to people, some were shirts that people had for a long time that needed a new life.”
– Nicole Chui

Saturdays don’t get much better than this. 🧵✨Shout out to for creating such a wonderful, welcoming space and encouraging everyone to embrace their creativity.

Held just a few hours before the England-France game kicked off, the session gave people a chance to personalise their football shirts – customising kits while reflecting on identity, home, and belonging. And we even got to revisit our Football Moves People campaign. (iykyk) ⚽️

Big thanks to for welcoming us as one of 40 local partners for the first ever : East – an 8-week, free, summer arts festival.

To learn more, head to our link in bio 👆

22/07/2026

✨Join the Migration Museum Community Curators Programme ✨

We’re launching a UK-wide programme bringing diverse voices, lived experiences, and perspectives into the creation of the UK’s Missing Museum.

We’re looking for 10 Community Curators to work with museums and galleries across the UK to co-curate displays and creative outputs exploring migration stories in their local areas. These outputs will be shown in Spring 2027 and will help shape exhibitions in the Migration Museum’s permanent home in London, opening in 2028.

We’re working with (The Food Museum), Glasgow Life Museums, (Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts), (Museum of Free Derry) and (Hastings Museum & Art Gallery).

Community Curators will:
📖 Take part in training with creative professionals
🤝 Work with a partner museum to develop a local creative output on migration
🔎 Research stories, commission artworks, or develop new creative work
💙 Engage with local communities to support inclusive storytelling
🏛️ Help deliver an exhibition launch and related events

No museum experience needed — just interest in people, stories, and making change.

💷 Paid opportunity (£20 per hour), running Sept 2026 – May 2027.
📍 Apply via link in bio
📅Deadline: 23 August 2026 (11.59pm)

This programme is supported using public funding by the . The programme is also generously supported by funding from .

08/07/2026

We asked the team to choose migration-related artworks that resonate. Swipe to explore 👉

☁️Joana De Silva (1792), William Wood |

This painting carries a difficult past and offers a gentle hope for our present. Many South Asian ayahs hired by British families for one-way sea journeys were abandoned upon arrival. Joana de Silva was a Bengali nanny for an East India Company officer's family, later accompanying their orphaned daughter to England where she sat for this rare portrait. Seeing Joana here serves as a reminder that migration is often rooted in care.

👜Embroidered Handbag, Unknown Artist | The Embroiderers' Guild

When I think of migration and art, I think of my family's history of moving. Our home has always been full of beautiful things, but carrying art across borders was never simple, so much of what we kept was textile. Cloth folds into a suitcase, travels light and fills a room with warmth. This small handbag captures that feeling. When you can take so little, you learn to find beauty in everyday things. Migration is not just about carrying objects, but the memories folded into them. A bag can be a way to carry your homeland with you.

🎨The Last of England, Ford Madox Brown | Birmingham Museums Trust

The day feels believable–the weather, the clothing, the physical touches, the determined future-gazing stares. Its circular form creates a close-up on one family's choice to emigrate from England in the mid-19th century, when millions were making the same decision. This artwork asks you to focus on the singular to consider the whole, which is what museums do too.

🪪Caribbean Takeaway Takeover,

Following the death of my father, who emigrated from Ireland to the UK in the 1950s, I pivoted to a career in heritage to help preserve stories like his. I’m drawn to EVEWRIGHT who, inspired by his Jamaican heritage, examines similar themes. In Caribbean Takeaway he captures the disappearing personal histories of the Windrush generation. I love that he brings to life everyday items–old photos, documents–and combines them with oral histories to produce art that is both moving and social history.

Address

Lewisham Shopping Centre
London
SE137HB

Telephone

+2034884508

Website

http://www.migrationmuseum.org/

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