The IWM has commissioned a design consultancy and proposed new galleries focused on post-1945 conflicts, prompting complaints that it is abandoning core First and Second World War material.
The IWM has hired a consultancy to redesign displays aimed at 'contemporary audiences', concentrating on conflicts within living memory.
Museum leaders argue changing audiences lack personal connections to the world wars, which is part of the rationale for the refocus.
Museum (IWM) has drawn criticism after moving to reframe exhibitions toward younger and 'contemporary' audiences by highlighting post‑1945 conflicts. The decision follows the controversial closure of the gallery that housed the world's largest Victoria Cross collection earlier this year.
The museum's three‑year plan for 2026–2029 proposes new displays that are "within many of our visitors' living memory." The specific topics listed include the Cold War, the Falklands War, and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The approach also anticipates temporary exhibitions "exploring rarely told stories and topics." A separate corporate plan for 2025–2028 explains the shift as a response to a growing number of people without a family connection to someone who experienced the First or Second World Wars.
Critics have accused the IWM of "turning its back on the past" by prioritising later conflicts and programming meant to appeal to younger visitors. Public concern intensified after the museum closed the Victoria Crosses gallery in February, a move that attracted strong backlash because of the symbolic and historic value of those medals. Opponents see the recent strategy as de‑emphasising the two world wars in favour of more recent, and in some views more politically contested, conflicts.
The IWM's corporate plan frames the rebrand as a corrective to a "growing public misunderstanding about what the IWM does and why it exists." The documents say part of the problem is demographic: fewer people have direct connections to the First and Second World Wars or to the immediate post‑1945 conflicts. The museum has hired a London‑based design and brand consultancy to help create exhibitions and displays that will connect with contemporary audiences.
What this means for visitors and veterans
For visitors without family links to the world wars, the changes are intended to make the museum's content feel more relevant and relatable. For veterans, former service personnel, and others who prioritise traditional military history, the programme raises questions about how the museum will balance commemoration, object care, and historical interpretation across different conflicts.
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