00:00It's a Titanic undertaking at the Maritime Museum, where staff are busy packing, cataloguing and carefully moving thousands of objects out of the building and into storage.
00:11We've taken walls down in this gallery, so this one probably looks the most decanted. All the objects are out.
00:18Walls came down in order to move the mighty Titanic model, which is behind me.
00:23So that's really what we're focusing on today. There's lots of objects across the whole gallery.
00:27Not all the floors that we've been decanting, so we've been doing a lot of work.
00:31The International Slavery Museum and the Maritime Museum are both currently closed as they undergo a major transformation.
00:37This is part of Liverpool's ambitious ÂŁ58 million waterfront transformation project.
00:43There's about 2,500 objects in all that have been firstly condition checked and just made sure there's no damage on them or no specific needs.
00:53Since last time, we've looked at the objects, work out what bespoke packaging we needed.
00:58Obviously, all the objects of different sizes, so from coins to large ship models, sculptures, paintings.
01:05Some of the paintings are huge.
01:07Both museums shut their doors in early 2025 and are due to reopen in 2029.
01:12When they do, visitors will see a completely reimagined experience, including a striking new entrance for the International Slavery Museum in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. building,
01:24connected by an iron and glass bridge to the Maritime Museum, offering sweeping views over the docks.
01:30It's huge and, of course, it's not just the objects.
01:33We have an archive centre, which is obviously the place where people came to get all their information on the Maritime-related archives.
01:41So that in itself is huge as well.
01:44The Maritime Museum will also see major improvements with new gallery spaces, better visitor facilities and enhanced cafes, shops and events areas.
01:52It's been a while.
01:54I mean, some of the galleries, obviously, have been there and the objects have been on display for quite a long time.
01:59So it's a really good opportunity to refresh everything and renew loans that we're wanting to keep on to and the returning loans and that sort of thing.
02:09So it's not just our own collections because obviously every museum holds loans as well.
02:14A new link bridge will connect the two sites physically and symbolically,
02:19weaving together Liverpool's maritime story and its links to the transatlantic slave trade.
02:24A reminder that these histories are not distant, but deeply rooted in the place we stand today.
02:31It's a bold reimagining of two of Liverpool's most important cultural landmarks
02:35and a project that aims to honour the past whilst inspiring the future.
02:39It's really exciting.
02:40So it'll be great to see it refreshed and things in different locations and new galleries.
02:45It's all very, very exciting.
02:46From a small basement gallery 30 years ago, the International Slavery Museum has grown into a world-leading institution.
02:55This redevelopment marks its next chapter, one that is truly worthy of its global mission.
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