Brighton Museum set to reopen with Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery will reopen this weekend (14 September) with the stunning Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. The Museum has been closed for the last month as the 9-month long vital restoration work on the historic lantern roof begins.
The world-renowned exhibition, on loan from the Natural History Museum in London, features exceptional images which capture fascinating animal behaviour, spectacular species and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world. The exhibition will run from 14 September 2024 – 16 March 2025.
Using photography’s unique emotive power to engage and inspire audiences, the images shine a light on stories and species around the world and encourage a future of advocating for the planet.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, providing a global platform that showcases some of the best photography talent from around the world for nearly 60 years. Launching in 1965, today the competition receives entries from 95 countries all over the world, highlighting its enduring appeal. This year’s award-winning images will embark on an international tour that will allow them to be seen by well over a million people.
This year’s competition attracted an astounding 49,957 entries from photographers of all ages and experience levels from 95 countries. During an intense week at the Natural History Museum in London, entries were judged anonymously on their creativity, originality, and technical excellence by an international panel of industry experts.
CEO of Brighton & Hove Museums Hedley Swain said: “We are very happy to be reopening Brighton Museum & Art Gallery after six weeks of closure following major repairs to our roof.
“It is even more fabulous to be opening with Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition which we know is extremely popular with our visitors especially families and young people.
“This is an important show which illustrates the variety, beauty and importance of wildlife in our world with a vital environmental message at the heart of it. We hope visitors will enjoy the astounding photography while learning some of the ways they can help protect the world.”
Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum said: “We are facing urgent biodiversity and climate crises, and photography is a powerful catalyst for change. The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition reveals some of nature’s most wondrous sights whilst offering hope and achievable actions visitors can take to help protect the natural world.”
Chair of the judging panel, Kathy Moran said: “What most impressed the jury was the range of subjects, from absolute beauty, rarely seen behaviors and species to images that are stark reminders of what we are doing to the natural world. We felt a powerful tension between wonder and woe that we believe came together to create a thought-provoking collection of photographs.”
