A Local Perspective on the Ipswich Museum Redevelopment

Last Tuesday, we met with local resident Liberty, who works at Colchester Institute, to show her around the Ipswich Museum redevelopment. She has lived in Ipswich her whole life and kindly agreed to share her thoughts and memories, giving us a resident’s view of the museum and the changes that have taken place.

Here’s what she had to say about her experience:

I have lived in Ipswich all my life (32 years). I’ve never left and have no plans to! I love being in a town with such a rich cultural, music and arts scene, plus beautiful coastal and green spaces right on my doorstep.

I remember lovely rainy afternoons with my mum wandering around the museum. We didn’t have a car, so having such a great attraction walking distance from our house was so valuable to us. It’s definitely where my lifelong love of museums began.

I always loved exploring the hidden taxidermy drawers beneath the display cases, some visitors didn’t notice them until I pointed them out, which made for a special sharing moment. The collection is incredible, seeing so many animals up close offers a unique educational and artistic reference you’d never get in the wild! While taxidermy raises ethical, environmental, and cultural questions, the preservation of these specimens remains an invaluable, irreplaceable resource.

I’ve just missed it being there! There’s been lots of times I would have loved to pop in for a wander.

I really wanted to see improved accessibility, as the old layout and flooring was difficult for many people to navigate and enjoy the collections fully.

WOW! I couldn’t believe the space and how open the galleries had become, but it still held the same familiar comfort of the museum I know and love.

The open space and light pouring in the building, the huge improvement of visitor experience and the careful preservation and restoration of the Victorian architectural assets and collections.

The new layout will improve visitor experience in so many ways. The spaces feel so open, easy to navigate and with the opening of the café and outdoor spaces you can really make a whole day out of a visit. The new toilets are also looking great, no more queuing!

I can’t wait to visit the new galleries and the collections within them. I’m also looking forward to bringing groups of Art and Design students to spend time learning and drawing from the collections, it will be such an amazing place for observation studies, drawing from real amazing artefacts.

It’s incredibly exciting and I can’t wait for everyone to see it! For anyone with doubts, rest assured, the museum’s history and essence are being carefully preserved and the improvements are incredible.