LONDON.- Over 3,000 objects from around the world exploring the fundamental question of what it means to be human go on display this week as the Horniman’s much-anticipated World Gallery opens to the public.

The 600 sq m gallery opens following a major redevelopment of the historic South Hall to provide a bright and contemporary setting for the Horniman’s world-class anthropology collection.

A number of new acquisitions, special commissions and interactive exhibits are showcased alongside important and intriguing objects from the Horniman’s collection – including many on display for the first time in a generation.

Through vibrant and thought-provoking displays, the World Gallery showcases historic and contemporary objects from all five inhabited continents to show visitors some of the ways that people live their lives, looking at common virtues of love and compassion, trust and friendship, dignity and courage. Visitors are invited to discover and celebrate the beauty and diversity of the world’s cultures, and to share a sense of belonging and pride in human creativity and resilience.   The World Gallery is divided into four interlinked spaces. An ​Introductory area​ welcomes visitors into the gallery, where audio-visual installations and displays explore the sentimental attachment people have to objects​; Encounters​ has​ rich displays showing examples of ways of living across different times and places; ​Perspectives is​ an area that reflects on how and why we categorise, describe and understand the world; and ​Horniman’s Vision gives an overview of the Horniman family and the museum’s history.

The gallery space is completed with a beautiful display of kites and banners hanging from the newly renovated ceiling vault.​ ​Collected and commissioned from Guatemala, China, London and beyond, these emblems signify our human instinct to come together in celebration, play or protest. Highlights include kites by Ahmadzia Bakhtyari, a London-based kite-maker from Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, and a banner created by South East London artist Ed Hall with Horniman volunteers, inspired by the long tradition of Trade Union banners.

Launching on the anniversary of the current Museum building opening to the public on 29 June 1901, the World Gallery will continue Frederick Horniman’s ambition ‘to bring the world to Forest Hill’. Drawing on the knowledge, perspectives and voices from a wide range of community groups and individuals, and in collaboration with contemporary artists, photographers, film-makers and activists, the World Gallery was developed by Horniman staff in collaboration with over 200 people from its local, national and international networks and communities.

Made possible thanks to a £3.3m National Lottery grant, the World Gallery is part of the Horniman’s mission to encourage a wider appreciation of the world, its peoples and their cultures, and its environments.  

Nick Merriman, Chief Executive of the Horniman, says​: ​‘The World Gallery is an important reminder that we all share one planet, and that the things that unite us are greater than those that divide us. Promoting understanding between cultures and a sustainable world, the World Gallery could not be more timely or relevant. We are extremely grateful to all of our partners and funders who have made the World Gallery possible, and we look forward to welcoming visitors to this wonderful addition to the Horniman.’

Introductory area
The entrance to the gallery introduces the ways in which objects connect people, and the powerful emotions they can evoke. A series of audio-visual digital installations shows people from the Horniman’s community groups, volunteers, spiritual leaders, collectors and anthropologists talking about objects that have personal meaning for them. These films, presented alongside a display of objects selected for their emotional resonance, will encourage visitors to reflect on objects that hold meaning in their own lives.

Encounters
The Encounters present examples of ways of living from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Oceania and Europe, representing some of the Horniman’s strongest collections. They explore what it means to live a human life in different times and places.

● The ​African​ encounters display objects relating to people living in bustling cities, vast deserts and dense rainforests. They explore aspects of life in Nigeria and South Africa, as well as the Mbendjele people of the Congo basin and the Tuareg people of North Africa. Objects include: a full sized model camel complete with Tuareg saddle and equipment, objects collected from a Lagos market stall in 1980s, a pink beaded waistcoat from South Africa from the 1970s, an Mbendjele women’s basket containing everything needed to make a home in the Central African rainforest.

● The ​American​ encounters look at indigenous peoples of the North American Plains, the Arctic, the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest Coast and the Wai Wai people of Guyana and Brazil. They highlight a shared indigenous American understanding of generosity and respect as the basis for all social relations. Objects include: poisoned arrows from the South American rainforest, a Native American tomahawk, an Inuit sealskin parka, and a Tlingit robe.

● The ​Asian​ encounters focus on the cultures of China, the Himalayas, Nagaland and Thailand, revealing the diversity of religious belief and cultural practice in the world’s largest continent. Objects include: Chinese paper offerings for use in the afterlife, a Tibetan tsampa container, Nang Talung puppets from Thailand, and warrior headdresses from Nagaland.

● The ​Oceania​ encounters explore ways of thinking and living in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and other islands of the Pacific Ocean. They reflect on the shared respect people have with land and sea and how objects can create and reaffirm family and ancestral ties. Objects include: spectacular headdresses and masks from Papua New Guinea, barkcloth dresses worn in Fiji today for 1st and 21st birthdays, 19th-century bottle glass spearheads from Western Australia and a ‘wave’ of shell body ornaments from across the Pacific region.

● The ​European​ encounters reveal a strong connection between contemporary life and the distant past. Travel, trade and its consequences are explored with a focus on England, Poland, Sweden, Italy and the Mediterranean. The encounters demonstrate a curiosity about other cultures that has been part of the European worldview for thousands of years. Objects include: the prow of a Libyan refugee boat, protective charms worn by First World War soldiers, a Mamuthones costume from Sardinia, and objects commonly found on a Christmas table setting from Sweden.

A number of contemporary artists have been commissioned to create works for the World Gallery. These include a dress by Nigerian fashion designer Alafuro Sikoki-Coleman, inspired by a female god, Woyingi, once exclusively worshipped by the Ijaw people of southern Nigeria, and a Kiribati Eco-Warrior helmet by New Zealand artist Chris Charteris, which speaks to the importance of resourcefulness when facing the challenges of climate change. There is also a work by Lynette Nampijinpa Granites, an indigenous Warlpiri artist whose painting is central to the Oceania encounter, and a tattooed self-portrait sculpture by Temsuyanger Longkumer, a Naga artist working in London.

Children are invited to interact with some of the exhibits for a multisensory learning experience. They can touch intricately tooled Tuareg metalwork, arctic seal and reindeer skin and a digital coral reef, smell aromatic herbs used by Bhutanese ritual healers in the Himalayas, listen to epic First Nations’ stories from the Pacific Northwest Coast, and play in a Lagos market stall.

Perspectives
Perspectives​ presents objects in a variety of categories such as ‘Textiles’, ‘Miniatures’ and ‘Curiosities’, posing questions about how we classify the world around us, about who decides what a thing is, and about whose knowledge is important. Perspectives also examines what anthropology is and explores fieldwork undertaken by anthropologists who collected or donated material to the Museum. The Horniman has also​ ​worked with members of its Access Advisory Group to co-curate a display of objects linked to representations of disability and mental illness.

Horniman’s Vision
Horniman’s Vision​ ​provides an overview of the Museum’s history and ethos through the life of its founder, Frederick Horniman, who set out in the 19th century to ‘bring the world to Forest Hill.’ The displays include ancient Egyptian artefacts, pipes from around the world, a huge Cloisonné vase and items of natural history from Surrey House, Frederick’s family home, which he opened to the public on the site of the present museum. Horniman gave his museum and its collections to ‘the people in perpetuity’ in 1901 to help them discover the world – a legacy that lives on in the new gallery.

The World Gallery forms a major part of the museum's ongoing redevelopment programme thanks to lead support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the generosity of a number of Trusts and Foundations, businesses and individuals. The next stage of the project will be The Studio, opening in October 2018. The Studio is a repurposed contemporary arts space in which the Horniman will collaborate with artists and local community partners to create displays and events that respond to the collections.