Museums & Galleries Month

Britain is simply packed full of excellent museums and galleries. Whether you want to explore of our free national collections or have a particular interest in one of our many specialist museums, Museums and Galleries Month (MGM) (www.mgm.org.uk/), which takes place from 1 to 31 May, is the perfect time to make that visit.

This year’s MGM takes on a distinctly artier feel, with a new arts programme. MGM 2008 kicks off with a ‘Welcome Weekend’ on Friday 2 to Monday 5 May. The Welcome Weekend is made up of launch events, tours and lectures in museums and galleries across Britain.

Every year the events take a particular theme, and in 2008, it's ‘Ideas and Innovation’. Last year, the theme for the month was ‘People – who are we?’, a look at the relationships between museums and people and their history.

Museums at Night is one of MGM’s most popular events, and this year it takes place from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 May. All over Britain, museums and galleries will hold special late-night events

Nuit des Musees, the European-wide version, will be on Saturday 17 May. Another event not to miss is International Museums Day is on Sunday 18 May.
 
The presentation of The Art Fund Prize (formerly the Gulbenkian Prize) will take place in the last week of May.

MGM will also be hosting a series of debates.
 
For more information on Museums and Galleries Month 2008, visit MGM (www.mgm.org.uk/)