Key Points
- The Manchester Museum, a university museum at the University of Manchester, will initiate a three-year programme aimed at rethinking the interpretation of its archaeology collections.
- The project will be carried out in partnership with Getty through the Getty’s New Interpretations grant programme.
- There will be three Imagination Fellowships that will see the coming together of community members, practitioners, academics and museum staff to collaboratively design interpretive interventions for the Archaeology gallery.
- Manchester Museum holds around 60,000 items belonging to the archaeology collection which date back to more than 50,000 years of human history and material culture.
- The museum’s archaeology collection is designated by Arts Council England as internationally significant.
- Manchester Museum becomes one of the 11 museums and arts organizations selected for the New Interpretations grants pilot round, and the only European institution.
- Getty has offered $2.7 million funding for the 11 pilot projects.
- This programme is designed to move beyond traditional museum interpretation such as wall text and labels through community engagement, research on visitors, accessibility measures and experimental displays.
- Esme Ward, Director of Manchester Museum said the project will integrate values-based practice in archaeology interpretation and develop new ways of collaborative display.
Manchester (Manchester Mirror) October 29, 2026 – Manchester Museum is to begin a three-year programme to reshape how its archaeology collections are presented to the public, with support from Getty’s New Interpretations initiative. The project will focus on co-creating new interpretive displays for the museum’s Archaeology gallery, drawing on the perspectives of communities, practitioners, researchers and museum staff.
As reported by Manchester Museum, the programme will use three Imagination Fellowships to support collaboration and the development of new interpretive interventions. The museum said the displays would be shaped by diverse perspectives and guided by its stated values of inclusion, imagination and care.
What Will Manchester Museum Change?
The project will not focus on acquiring new objects. Instead, it will examine how the museum explains, contextualises and presents the archaeology collections already in its care. Manchester Museum said interpretation would be used not only to explain the past, but also to help people imagine better futures.
The museum’s archaeology holdings include around 60,000 objects covering more than 50,000 years of human history and material culture. According to Manchester Museum, the collection includes the largest group of excavated Roman-era assemblages from in and around Manchester, as well as prehistoric material from Europe, West Asia, South Asia and Africa. It also holds rare Classical Greek ceramics that the museum says challenge long-held understandings of well-known mythological narratives.
The collections are Designated by Arts Council England, a status that recognises their international significance.
Why Has Getty Supported the Project?
Getty announced the New Interpretations initiative on October 28, 2026, describing it as a grant programme designed to strengthen visitor-centred approaches to the interpretation of artworks in museums worldwide. For its pilot round, Getty awarded $2.7 million to 11 projects at museums and arts organisations.
As reported by Getty, the initiative supports work that goes beyond familiar forms of interpretation such as gallery handouts and wall text. It includes multisensory experiences, interactive displays and partnerships with artists and community members to present complex or challenging subjects.
Heather E. MacDonald, senior programme officer at the Getty Foundation, said:
“These dynamic projects reaffirm the importance of museums as trusted public institutions and will help visitors access the multitude of meanings that art objects can hold.”
Manchester Museum is the only European organisation among the 11 recipients in the pilot round. The other grantees are the Walker Art Center, Queens Museum, Leeum Museum of Art in partnership with M+, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Fowler Museum at UCLA, First Americans Museum, Denver Art Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and the Association for Art Museum Interpretation.
How Will the Imagination Fellowships Work?
Manchester Museum said the three Imagination Fellowships would “catalyse collaboration” between communities, practitioners, researchers and museum staff. The fellowships will support the co-design of interpretive interventions for the Archaeology gallery.
The museum did not announce the names of the fellows, the exact value of its grant, or a timetable for when revised displays will open. It said the programme would run for three years and aims to create new models for co-creation.
Esme Ward, Director of Manchester Museum, said:
“This is an incredible opportunity to embed values-based practice throughout our archaeological interpretation, working with communities to develop new knowledge and build a future founded on inclusion, imagination and care.”
Ward added that the museum’s position within the University of Manchester would help it “move forward faster together” and create new models for collaborative display focused on “building belonging, hope and agency in a rapidly-changing world”.
What Does the Project Aim to Achieve?
Manchester Museum said it intends to develop sector-leading models for interpretation and display that could influence museum practice in the United Kingdom and internationally. It said the project would reconsider how collections of deep history can support civic participation and social connection.
The announcement aligns with Getty’s wider stated aim of helping museums deepen connections between audiences and artworks. Getty said the programme places emphasis on experimentation, visitor research and evaluation so that institutions can learn from one another.
As reported by Hannah Sage Kay of The Art Newspaper, the foundation’s initiative is intended to rethink how language, accessibility and community engagement can enrich visitors’ experiences. The publication reported that the programme moves beyond traditional wall texts and labels and emphasises research, collaboration and technology-led approaches.
MacDonald told The Art Newspaper that Getty sought to partner with museums that had demonstrated a commitment to visitor-centred research. She said the foundation hoped the work would reach peers and other organisations, creating a “ripple effect” as ideas were transmitted and scaled up.
Which Other Museums Received Grants?
Getty’s pilot round includes institutions in the United States, Asia, Australia and Europe. The full list comprises:
- Walker Art Center
- Queens Museum
- Leeum Museum of Art, in partnership with M+
- Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Fowler Museum at UCLA
- First Americans Museum
- Denver Art Museum
- Baltimore Museum of Art
- Australian Centre for the Moving Image
- Association for Art Museum Interpretation
The Art Newspaper reported that the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul and M+ in Hong Kong will host some of the first public-facing projects under the initiative. These include an international gathering at M+ in December 2026 for museum professionals to discuss new approaches to interpretation and visitor engagement in Asia.
Background of the Development
Manchester Museum is part of the University of Manchester and holds archaeology collections of international significance. Its holdings range from Roman-era material found in and around Manchester to prehistoric objects from Europe, West Asia, South Asia and Africa, alongside Classical Greek ceramics.
The new programme forms part of Getty’s New Interpretations initiative, launched on October 28, 2026. Getty described the initiative as a worldwide grant programme supporting museums and visual arts non-profits of different sizes and types, with a focus on visual artworks. It said the grants will be awarded annually.
The initiative reflects a broader shift in museum practice towards interpretation that involves audiences more directly. Rather than treating museum labels and gallery text as the main means of communication, the funded projects are expected to test community collaboration, accessibility measures, visitor research and new forms of display.
Prediction: How Could This Affect Museum Visitors?
For visitors in Manchester and the wider North West, the programme could lead to Archaeology gallery displays that present objects through a wider range of community perspectives. The museum has said the work will be co-designed with communities, practitioners, researchers and staff, which may result in new interpretive approaches rather than conventional object labels alone.
For local communities, the Imagination Fellowships could create opportunities to contribute directly to how archaeological material is interpreted. The museum has framed this as a way to develop new knowledge and build displays based on inclusion, imagination and care.
For the museum sector, the project may provide a model for other institutions considering how to make historic collections more accessible and socially relevant. Getty has said it expects the funded projects to prioritise visitor research and evaluation, with findings shared so that other organisations can learn from the results.
For students, researchers and cultural-sector professionals, the three-year programme may generate practical examples of collaborative curation and interpretation. Manchester Museum has said it aims to create models that can shape practice nationally and internationally, although the eventual effect will depend on how the fellowships and resulting displays are delivered.
