NRM’s ground-breaking Wonderlab gallery is on track for opening in 2023
BUILDING work on the National Railway Museum’s new groundbreaking interactive Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery has begun with the aim of opening it to the public in May.
Elmwood Projects has been appointed as the main contractor for the base building of the 1500sqm Wonderlab. The firm, a specialist fit-out contractor operating predominantly in the museum, heritage and commercial sectors, has delivered high-profile projects at venues including the British Museum, the V&A London, and Dundee and National Museums Scotland.
The gallery will be packed with 18 interactive exhibits on an engineering theme and two specially-commissioned art installations, one of which will be designed by Pippa Hale, in a partnership announced in November 2021.
County Durham-based artist Steve Messam has been unveiled as the creator of the second artwork. His site-specific and ‘bigger than a house’ installations have appeared at cultural and historic sites around the world.
His piece Portico was shortlisted for a 2022 Aesthetica Art Prize and is now on display at the York Art Gallery as part of that exhibition.
Portico will feature at the heart of the new Wonderlab gallery, where visitors will be able to get up close with the piece and think about the engineering behind the artwork. Steve said: “I’m thrilled that the NRM has commissioned me to create a new installation in the Wonderlab gallery. It will aid the museum’s vision of inspiring the next generation of engineers by allowing visitors to walk through and see firsthand how the work is able to stand tall at the heart of Wonderlab.”
NRM lead interactive gallery curator Rose Mockford said:
“We are delighted that building work has begun, marking an exciting milestone.
“Steve’s work is held in high regard and to have our own individual Messam installation in our Wonderlab is a real privilege.”
The design for Wonderlab has been shortlisted for a World Architecture Festival award. The engaging and open-plan design, drawn up by architects De Matos Ryan, has been shortlisted in the Future Projects – Culture category, with a winner to be announced at the WAF Gala in December.
The gallery’s major funding partner, the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, pledged £2.5 milion towards it creation in March 2022. Wonderlab has also been funded by the Friends of the National Railway Museum, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, and The Holbeck Charitable Trust. The NRM is also seeking additional funding to further Wonderlab and its wider Vision 2025 projects.
➜ To find out more about Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery and other Vision 2025 projects, visit www. railwaymuseum.org.uk/2025