What is The Museums That Make Us?

Art historian Neil MacGregor presents a new Radio 4 series, The Museums That Make Us. The ambition is to explore local, regional and city museums across Britain and in the process answer the question, ‘What are museums for in 2022?’

When is The Museums That Make Us on Radio 4?

The first episode of The Museums That Make Us will be broadcast on Radio 4 at 1.45pm on Monday 7 March. Episodes will then be broadcast at 1.45pm each weekday. There are 20 episodes together.

What is The Museums That Make Us about?

In each episode of The Museums That Make Us, Neil MacGregor visits a single museum, inviting them to choose an object from their collections which they feel best illustrates their civic role, and the way they relate and want to relate to their local audience. The programme will cover the great national museums of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as smaller local museums. The first episode sees Neil visit Stowe, a country house in Buckinghamshire, where in the 1740s the first example of a vision of Britain outside London, was established, complete with a Temple of British worthies.

Who is Neil MacGregor?

Neil MacGregor is an art historian who was Director of the National Gallery from 1987 to 2002 and Director of the British Museum from 2002 to 2015. In 2010 he wrote and presented the Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 Objects, which looked at 100 items in the British Museum’s collections.