In this section
Press releases
- Plans approved to create new London Museum and regenerate Smithfield
- From DJ sets to late-night cinema Museum of London announces blockbuster festival weekends to close London Wall
- fabric to become world’s first nightclub-in-residence in a Museum
- Major new Museum of London Docklands exhibition uncovers London’s 700 year history of public executions
- 15-year-old Londoner takes over city bus stops as winner announced of Museum of London, BBC 100 & TfL poetry competition
- Museum of London unveils Greatest Hits mural to celebrate 45 years at London Wall
- Museum of London marks 100 days to closure with free event and giveaways for visitors
- Museum of London raises a further £7 million towards its new home at West Smithfield
- Museum of London celebrates 45 years at London Wall as it commences countdown to closure
- Sunil Gupta’s ‘Pretended’ Family Relationships photo series acquired by the Museum of London
- Putin’s Happy – Museum of London acquires Jeremy Deller film revealing a divided country and a city full of protest
- The Museum of London celebrates city's sporting hero with new display on Harry Kane
- The Museum of London presents 'Grime Stories: from the corner to the mainstream', opening 17 June 2022
- Joe Corré, Jordan and Richard Boon to appear in an uncensored, live Punk.London debate
- 300 year old love message embroidered in human hair to go on display at the Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London begins countdown to West Smithfield relocation
- Douglas Gilmore appointed Managing Director of Museum of London Docklands
- New research to shed fresh light on the impact of industrialisation
- The Prince of Wales becomes Museum of London Patron
- The Clash’s Paul Simonon’s famous Fender Precision bass to go on display
- Behind the Scenes of the Museum of London
- Stanton Williams and Asif Khan to design new Museum of London at West Smithfield
- Museum of London acquires ensemble inspired by the creativity of the Windrush generation
- Feeding Black: Community, Power & Place opening 16 July at Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London acquires NHS sign from ZSL London Zoo’s Giraffe House as part of Collecting COVID
- Museum of London sites set to reopen 19 May with extensions of Dub London: Bassline of a City and Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery
- Museum of London acquires Mayor of Lambeth’s homemade ceremonial chain as part of Collecting COVID project
- Museum of London acquires ‘viral’ Tweets for Collecting COVID
- Weavers’ Company donate £100,000 to the Museum of London’s move to Smithfield
- Museum of London receives Trump Baby blimp ahead of the Presidential Inauguration
- Museum of London to collect COVID dreams
- Arsenal’s captain donates Black Lives Matter shirt to the Museum of London
- Dub London: Bassline of a City opening 2 October at the Museum of London
- Public statement October 2020
- London Sugar & Slavery gallery
- New major exhibition Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery opens 11 September at the Museum of London Docklands
- Robert Milligan statue statement
- Museum of London sites to reopen 6 August with four-week extension of The Clash: London Calling display
- Public statement
- Museum of London releases first ever recorded soundscapes of London alongside new recordings of London in lockdown as part of Collecting COVID project
- Design concepts for new museum at West Smithfield revealed
- The Museum of London collects shared experiences of Ramadan in lockdown as part of Collecting COVID project
- Unheard oral histories are released by the Museum of London to mark Windrush Day
- Collecting Covid: the Museum of London seeks to mark unprecedented pandemic for the future
- Millicent Fawcett’s ‘Steadfastness and Courage’ brooch to go on permanent display for the first time
- Museum of London submits plans to create a new world-class cultural destination in West Smithfield
- King Charles I’s execution vest to go on display in new major exhibition
- Museum of London to celebrate Dub Reggae and its influence on the capital
- East End bastion Syd’s coffee stall to be donated to the Museum of London
- Free exhibit celebrating the making of The Clash’s ground-breaking album ‘London Calling’ now open
- Museum of London acquires extremely rare plate that belonged to Samuel Pepys
- The story of the Krios of Sierra Leone to be told in the Museum of London Docklands’ latest display
- Museum of London to host The Clash: London Calling exclusive free exhibit of over 100 personal items
- The largest ever Bronze Age hoard in London has been discovered
- Designs for Museum of London’s new West Smithfield home revealed
- Smithfield Street Party
- Museum of London hopes to acquire both the Trump Baby Blimp and the Sadiq Khan Blimp as part of their permanent collection
- Secret Rivers
- Beasts of London
- Recently acquired panorama goes on display for the first time at the Museum of London
- Museum of London appoints leading names to Board of Governors
- Earliest skull ever mudlarked from the Thames to go on display at the Museum of London
- Museum of London acquires beautiful panorama of lost Houses of Parliament
- Bengali arts and culture on show at the Museum of London Docklands family festival.
- Bonus Levels: Artist Lawrence Lek invites viewers to re-imagine future London
- Young Londoners to take over Museum of London this March
- The Museum of London hopes to acquire Whitechapel 'fatberg'
- Treasured children’s author Jacqueline Wilson’s latest book Wave Me Goodbye inspires family day at the Museum of London Docklands
- The City is Ours: A Tale of New Cities
- Adventures in Peter Pan’s Neverland at Museum of London Docklands
- Photography of Londoners and their pastimes on show at Museum of London
- Tracking London’s most talked about topics and emojis
- London Nights: Museum of London unveils the city at night in major photography exhibition
- Museum of London Docklands celebrates Chinese New Year this February half term
- Statement on 20 May 2017
- Whitechapel’s famous monster fatberg is coming to the Museum of London
- Museum of London Docklands to showcase rare Roman sarcophagus in first public display
- Malcolm Reading Consultants appointed to run West Smithfield International Design Competition
- 8,000 years of human history on display at the Museum of London Docklands
- An Idea for a Future London open call winner announced
- Five Museum of London apprentices appointed
- London Visions: Hypothetical scenarios of a future London
- “Reputational whitewashing” investigated in latest display at the Museum of London Docklands.
- Rare George Cross medal goes on display at the Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London displays recently acquired Sutherland drawings in new exhibition of Blitz artwork
- What does the future hold for London and cities around the world?
- Mayor of London and City of London Corporation pledge support for new Museum of London at West Smithfield
- Smithfield street party: Museum of London celebrates 150 years of Smithfield markets
- Museum of London uses Minecraft to recreate the Great Fire of 1666
- Museum of London releases third and final Great Fire 1666 Minecraft map
- Taste not waste: Be inspired by unique recipes using your leftover food for a more sustainable future London
- Museum of London opens most theatrical exhibition ever to mark 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London
- Museum of London acquires 100 menswear items worn by townscape consultant Francis Golding
- Votes for Women programme
- Technology replacing jobs won’t halt our working spirit
- Rare Victoria Cross with mysterious story to go on display at the Museum of London
- New display at the Museum of London traces the capital’s obsession with ice skating
- Rare tools give insight into working lives of Roman Londoners at the Museum of London
- New display reveals complex history of British Army’s West India Regiments
- Historic vessels Knocker White and Varlet set sail to new home at Trinity Buoy Wharf
- Missing Bake Off? Take your taste buds back in time with 17th century gingerbread
- Paddington returns to Museum of London
- Learn how to code like a pro and celebrate digital technology at the Museum of London’s free family festival
- 17th century fire engine restored for Great Fire exhibition
- Museum of London boosts Great Fire collections with mysterious manuscript
- Major new gallery at Museum of London Docklands explores history of the world's largest docks
- Sir Edward Lister joins Museum of London Board of Governors
- West Smithfield Design Competition shortlist announced
- Museum of London bolsters its art collections
- West Smithfield International Design Competition launched
- Another record-breaking year for the Museum of London
- After dark at The Night Museum
- New display about the life of ‘The Royal African’ and the slave trade
- Statue of Robert Milligan joins Museum of London collection
- Our statement on Fabric
- People of Punk bring the year of celebration to an end
- Tunnel: the archaeology of Crossrail
- Museum of London to make 5,000 stories from the capital available to the public for the first time
- The Museum of London Docklands announces major exhibition with public call out to find iconic pieces of fashion history
- Trump Baby Blimp undergoes test inflation
- Museum of London Docklands launches the Dodger family trail, based on BAFTA-winning BBC TV series, Dodger
- Museum of London Docklands announces Indo + Caribbean: The creation of a culture
- Young Londoners push for a more sustainable city in Museum of London report
- Museum of London Docklands announces street party to mark its 20th anniversary, with Vanity Milan, star of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, to headline
- Museum of London formally appoints Sir Robert McAlpine as Construction Management Company on Smithfield project
- Rare Festival of Britain sculpture discovered in London garden will join Museum of London collection
- Jennifer Francis appointed Director of External Affairs at Museum of London
- Museum of London announces acquisition of major sports collecting project, including Wimbledon oral histories
- Coats worn by Princess Diana and Dot Cotton to go on display as part of a major new exhibition
- Bridget Banton and Samir Patel join Museum of London Board of Governors
- Museum of London issues public call for iconic signs from across the capital
- First witness to the Great Fire of London uncovered
- Opening Friday 13 October – Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners shaped global style at Museum of London Docklands
- Foundation stone unveiled for the new London Museum as principal construction works begin
- New research finds Black women of African descent more likely to die of medieval plague
- Rare tie discovered in charity shop goes on display in London fashion exhibition
- Museum of London Docklands launches new display in collaboration with Mind and Taking Shape Association
- Acclaimed Fashion City exhibition extended to 7 July 2024 with free student ticket offer for April and May
15-year-old Londoner takes over city bus stops as winner announced of Museum of London, BBC 100 & TfL poetry competition
- Winning poem inspired by London bus journey to be displayed at London bus stops and TFL sites
- Competition part of My London Story – a landmark Museum of London project celebrating 100 years of the BBC and London’s youth
- Judged by award-winning poet Raymond Antrobus, and poet and Young People’s Laureate for London Cecilia Knapp
15-year-old Zaynab from Tower Hamlets was today announced as the winner of the My London Story: Poems on the Buses poetry competition, a collaboration between Museum of London, BBC 100 and Transport for London (TfL).
Coinciding with National Poetry Day on Thursday 6th October, the winning poem, A slideshow of London, will be displayed this autumn at London bus stops and TfL sites between Mile End and Paddington which inspired Zaynab.
Poems on the Buses poetry competition is part of My London Story – a landmark project by the Museum of London to capture the unique histories of London’s children, past, present and future. My London Story is a Museum of London project for BBC 100, celebrating the broadcaster’s centenary.
Zaynab’s winning poem will be added to the Museum of London’s collection, alongside stunning archaeological finds and rare pieces from London’s rich cultural past. It will also feature on the Museum of London website and be included in a My London Story zine to be produced by the museum.
The competition was judged by Raymond Antrobus and Cecilia Knapp. Raymond is an award-winning poet, educator and spoken-word artist. Born in Hackney to an English mother and Jamaican father, his work draws on his lived experience as a Londoner and as a d/Deaf person. Cecilia is a poet, playwright and novelist and the Young People’s Laureate for London.
My London Story judge Cecilia Knapp said: ”It was such a joy to judge this competition. Reading about the bus journeys of young Londoners was more than that, it was reading about their lives. That’s what I love about poetry; it’s a window showing us all the different and magical parts of the world. That’s why I think it’s so important that young people feel entitled to occupy the exciting space of poetry. It gives us an opportunity to see through their true lens, in their own voices, on their own terms, and that is a valuable contribution to the world.”
Robert Seatter, Head of BBC History, said: “Broadcasting is all about giving voice, so we were delighted to partner with Museum of London on My London Story and capture fresh and inspiring words of young Londoners. Here are new voices – including Zaynab’s on her blinding red bus journey – to add to a 100 years of BBC voices, taking us right into the London of now.”
Louise Cheeseman, Director of Buses for Transport for London, said: “Buses are much more than just a way of getting from A to B, as shown by the incredible entries to this competition. We hope that customers will enjoy reading Zaynab’s poem on their very own bus journeys. TfL has a long history of spotlighting poetry on our network, with Poems on the Underground celebrating its 35th anniversary last year.”
Lauren Parker, Head of Creative Partnerships, Museum of London, said: “The Museum of London tells the stories of all Londoners – including London’s children and young people. My London Story reveals and captures the experiences of living in London as a child – past, present and future – inspired by the BBC Archives, Museum of London’s collection and, most importantly, the voices of young people themselves. We are delighted that these voices will be part of the Museum’s collections now and into the future.”
Notes to Editors
About My London Story
Poems on the Buses poetry competition is part of My London Story – a landmark project which aims to capture the unique histories of London’s children – past, present and future – and part of BBC100, celebrating the broadcaster’s centenary. It has two strands: a schools project funded by the Kusuma Trust UK and a poetry competition for young Londoners, supported with public funding by Arts Council England.
The schools project engages with ten schools across London in a series of workshops with a focus on Identity, Belonging and Place. The project aims to build on the museum’s oral history collection by recording and acquiring video histories of up to 40 children aged between 12-14yrs, taking inspiration from the BBC Archives and the Museum of London’s collections.
About the Museum of London
The Museum of London tells the ever-changing story of this great world city and its people, from 450,000 BC to the present day. Our galleries, exhibitions, displays and activities seek to inspire a passion for London and provide a sense of the vibrancy that makes the city such a unique place.
The museum is open Monday–Sunday 10am–5pm and is FREE to all. You can explore the Museum of London with collections online – home to 90,000 objects with more being added regularly. Visit www.museumoflondon.org.uk for more.
About Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is London’s integrated transport authority and is responsible for most aspects of the transport system in London. This includes buses, London Underground, the Elizabeth line, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway, London Cable Car, river services, the Congestion Charge, the Low Emission Zone and Ultra Low Emission Zone, the main road network, taxis and private hire, the Oyster and contactless smartcard ticketing system and the Santander Cycle Hire scheme. It also works with all 33 London Boroughs to actively promote walking and cycling across the city and provides a range of data feeds relating to public transport, walking and cycling via its free Open Data API.
About BBC 100
As the BBC marks its centenary, BBC 100 celebrates and reflects on the unique role the BBC plays in the lives of audiences across the UK as our national broadcaster. From the early days of radio to the rise of television, millions now consume our content on digital services with nine in ten people across the UK using the BBC every week. To see more from the BBC’s first 100 years please go to bbc.co.uk/100
About the My London Story judges
Raymond Antrobus MBE FRSL was born in London and is the author of Shapes & Disfigurements (Burning Eye, 2012), To Sweeten Bitter (Out-Spoken Press, 2017), The Perseverance (Penned In The Margins / Tin House, 2018) and All The Names Given (Picador / Tin House, 2021). In 2019 he became the first ever poet to be awarded the Rathbones Folio Prize, and his other accolades include the Ted Hughes Award, Lucille Clifton Legacy Award, PBS Winter Choice, A Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, Somerset Maugham Award and The Guardian Poetry Book of the Year 2018, as well as being shortlisted for The Griffin Prize, T.S. Eliot Prize and Forward Prize. His poems have been published in POETRY, Poetry Review, Lit Hub, New Statesman and The Deaf Poets Society, among others. Raymond also writes for young readers.
Cecilia Knapp is a poet, playwright and novelist, and the Young People’s Laureate for London 2020/2021. She was shortlisted for the 2022 Forward prize for best single poem. She is the winner of the 2021 Ruth Rendell award and has been shortlisted for both the Rebecca Swift Women’s prize and the Outspoken poetry prize. Her debut poetry collection Peach Pig will be published by Corsair in 2022. Her poems have appeared in The White Review, Wasafiri, Popshot, Ambit, Magma and bath magg and anthologised. She curated the anthology Everything is Going to be All Right: Poems for When you Really Need Them, published by Trapeze in 2021. Her debut novel Little Boxes is published by The Borough Press.