Feature: Wellcome Collection’s hybrid vigour
30 April 2007. By Henry Nicholls.
For the past couple of years, architects and builders have been in and out of 183 Euston Road, crafting a major new London venue. Wellcome Collection's doors will open this summer, giving the public the chance to dwell on the rich connections between science, art and life. "There is not a venue in the UK, dare I say the world, like it," says Clare Matterson, who is leading on the business activities in Wellcome Collection. "I think it will be a world first," she says.
Sir Henry Wellcome, were he still alive, would surely be delighted. During his lifetime, the entrepreneur and founder of the Wellcome Trust amassed an extraordinary collection of more than a million fascinating objects from around the world, but one that struggled to find a natural home. Partly this reflects the extraordinary diversity of his acquisitions, which spanned numerous disciplines. Wellcome Collection will be equally difficult to pigeonhole.
"Wellcome Collection is not just another science centre; it's not another medical museum; it's not a conventional art gallery," says Ken Arnold, Head of Public Programmes at the Trust. "It's a mixture of all of those," he says. "This is science's answer to a cross between Tate Modern and the ICA." Dr Arnold is the man with ultimate responsibility for filling the 1350 m2 of permanent and temporary exhibition space, and the ambitious programme of public events. There will be two permanent exhibitions: 'Medicine Man' is a new version of a hugely successful Wellcome Trust exhibition hosted by the British Museum in 2003, which attracted more than 200 000 people in under five months. It will contain some 500 objects from Sir Henry's original collection, including Japanese sex aids, Napoleon's toothbrush, Darwin's walking stick, more than 30 amputation saws and a lock of George III's hair.
Medicine Now, by contrast, will examine contemporary medical topics through the eyes of scientists and artists and also popular culture, illustrating the extraordinary development of biomedical science in the last few decades.
The largest gallery, however, will be for temporary exhibitions of impressive proportions. The first of these, 'The Heart', brings together contemporary and historic artefacts from around the world that illuminate the scientific and symbolic significance of this focal organ. Other major exhibitions planned for this space are 'Sleep and Dreaming' at the end of this year and 'War and Medicine' in 2008.
The constant turnover of exhibitions is crucial to this venue, says Dr Arnold. "The idea is to make sure there's always something fresh, that this is a home to ideas on the move." This variety will be complemented by a lively programme of public events - for example, a live link-up to a heart surgeon performing an operation, and a drumming workshop exploring the rhythms of life, both associated with 'The Heart' exhibition. "There are lots of places that put on good exhibitions. There are rather fewer places that do interesting live programming around science," says Dr Arnold. And even fewer that do both.
The exhibitions and public events aside, there will be plenty of other reasons to visit Wellcome Collection: a Picasso mural, sculptures by Antony Gormley and Marc Quinn, and a dozen other striking works of art are positioned throughout the building, each with a story to tell; an entrance hall boasting a healthy café from Peyton and Byrne and a spacious Blackwell bookshop; and a members' club, which for a small annual fee gives access to a private members' room and several other benefits; and new conference facilities occupying the lower two floors of the building.
Wellcome Collection is also home to the Wellcome Library. With around 2.5 million items, including 600 000 books and journals, an extensive range of manuscripts, and more than 100 000 illustrations, it's one of the world's major resources for the study of the history of medicine. A touch-screen display will allow the visiting public to flip through virtual copies of 1000 of the Library's most prized possessions. "Hopefully, this will inspire some visitors to explore the history of medicine in greater detail, join and visit the Library," says its Head, Frances Norton.
Bringing these different strands together has been a massive undertaking and not without stress. "You think you've got everything covered and something comes out of left field," says Clare Matterson - not least several challenges presented by the state of the building's original fabric and a flood that affected the site during the final stages of the main construction phase last September. But in spite of such challenges, everything is coming together. "We're on track. It's going to look fantastic."
In time, it is hoped Wellcome Collection will help to clear up some serious misunderstandings about the Wellcome Trust. "People still think we are linked with a major pharmaceutical company," says Clare Matterson. "There are even those who think we're a service station on the M4" (referring to Welcome Break). With a conservative projection of 100 000 visits in the first year, an imaginative advertising campaign and plenty of press coverage, more people should recognise the Wellcome Trust as the largest charity in the UK, spending more than £500m each year on biomedical research.
When the doors finally open to Wellcome Collection on 21 June, there will still be plenty to do. "We have to work out who's coming and why, what they think of it, what is working well and what we can do more of," says Dr Arnold. "Some exhibits will work exactly as we imagined and others will produce completely unexpected reactions," he says. "Come and see what we've got, but don't forget to bring your mind."
